Construction–Integration and the Structure Building Framework: Twin siblings born of different parents

ABSTRACT

Walter Kintsch’s Construction–Integration Model furthered our understanding of text comprehension by emphasizing readers’ active role in constructing mental representations from textual information and integrating them with existing knowledge. Kintsch’s Construction–Integration Model has implications not only for comprehension but also for education. Coincident with Kintsch publishing his model, I published my Structure Building Framework, which also focuses on mental representations, incremental construction, and interactive cognition. While the Construction–Integration Model delves into detailed architectures of mental representations at the proposition level, the Structure Building Framework paints a broader picture that can be extended to words, sentences, paragraphs, and even nonverbal picture stories. Both approaches underscore the dynamic and interactive nature of comprehension, a comparison I have humorously likened to twin siblings born of different parents. Kintsch’s rich contributions to cognitive psychology extend beyond his Construction–Integration Model to encompass his studies on memory, learning, and problem-solving that continue to influence researchers and educators.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.