Identifying the dimensions of mental models of strategic decision makers: A study of Iranian MPs

This paper, by examining the trends and events in the Ninth Parliament, seeks to explore the dimensions and components of mental models of MPs that affect the decisions and behavior of parliamentarians. Participants of this study were forty parliament representatives who had served in the Ninth Parliament, and played a significant role in enactment of forty major legislative bills. We collected data by semi-structured interviews and used thematic analysis for its interpretation. The analysis of interviews led to the discovery of four fundamental dimensions of PMs mental models that dominate their decisions and behavior at the Parliament. These include: MPs beliefs and values, attentiveness to principles of sovereignty, their past experiences and individual worldviews, each of which has several components that in general, makes up the MPs mental framework at work.