Question

5 Advantages and 5 disadvantages of The Iceberg Model of Meaning

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) The Iceberg Model has been designed to help discern patterns of thought, behaviour and mental models that underlie an event.

The model would form an iceberg with the top level labelled as, “Events – What is happening (seen)?” The level below would be “Patterns of behaviour – (generally unseen)”, the level after that would be, “structures – things that have influenced these patterns” the level at the bottom would be “mental models – (values, beliefs and assumptions)”

Advantages – It helps to recognise behavioural patterns of individual and spot consistent actions.

It helps predict behaviour based on patterns.

It helps determine the facets of the environment that may have probably been the cause of a certain type of behaviour.

It helps determine the thought process behind certain actions.

It helps spot potential vagaries in behaviour, patterns, actions and even in the environment in which it occurs.

Disadvantages – It is difficult to determine an absolute cause and effect.

Since the pattern can accommodate several confounding variables, the information is generally chaotic and difficult to sequence.

Information is generally implied for patterns, structures and mental models as they are below the iceberg. In other words, they are implied causes and may not be the absolute cause.

It takes a great deal of experience to sharpen one’s estimations about mental models, influencers. Since the information is not always presented as facts, it is important to come up with calibrated estimations.

Anything ascertained from the Iceberg Model would have to be proven separately as this model is based on implications, it would not serve as hard evidence for a causal relationship between variables.