Patterns of vibrotactile stimulation were delivered to the index fingertips of naive blindfolded subjects. The attributions made by these subjects when they were allowed to experience transformations of vibrotactile stimulation correlated with self-movement were assessed. Although the subjects became aware of the relationship between self-movement and stimulation transformation, they never developed the hypothesis of distal attribution, ie the hypothesis that the ultimate cause of their vibrotactile experience was an encounter with an object in the environment. It is proposed that further investigations of the course of acquisition of distal attribution in the situation described may be instructive in the study of externalization in other modalities.

In this conceptual paper we propose a shift of perspective for parts of AI – from search to model construction. We claim that humans construct a model of a problem situation consisting of only a few, hierarchically structured elements. A model allows selective exploration of possible continuations and solutions, and for the flexible instantiation and adaptation of concepts. We underpin our claims with results from two protocol studies on problem-solving imagery and on the inductive learning of an algorithmic structure. We suggest that a fresh look into the small-scale construction processes humans execute would further ideas in categorization, analogy, concept formation, conceptual blending, and related fields of AI. Relevance: In accordance with von Glasersfeld’s postulate that knowledge is actively built up by the cognizing subject, the paper emphasizes the constructive nature of human intelligence. While problem space models in AI also partly reflect this, the metaphorical language of problem space search lends itself to epistemological misinterpretations.