[{"title":"Forms of Understanding for XAI-Explanations","date_created":"2025-09-08T14:24:32Z","year":"2025","quality_controlled":"1","ddc":["006"],"keyword":["understanding","explaining","explanations","explainable","AI","interdisciplinarity","comprehension","enabledness","agency"],"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"abstract":[{"text":"Explainability has become an important topic in computer science and artificial intelligence, leading to a subfield called Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). The goal of providing or seeking explanations is to achieve (better) ‘understanding’ on the part of the explainee. However, what it means to ‘understand’ is still not clearly defined, and the concept itself is rarely the subject of scientific investigation. This conceptual article aims to present a model of forms of understanding for XAI-explanations and beyond. From an interdisciplinary perspective bringing together computer science, linguistics, sociology, philosophy and psychology, a definition of understanding and its forms, assessment, and dynamics during the process of giving everyday explanations are explored. Two types of understanding are considered as possible outcomes of explanations, namely enabledness, ‘knowing how’ to do or decide something, and comprehension, ‘knowing that’ – both in different degrees (from shallow to deep). Explanations regularly start with shallow understanding in a specific domain and can lead to deep comprehension and enabledness of the explanandum, which we see as a prerequisite for human users to gain agency. In this process, the increase of comprehension and enabledness are highly interdependent. Against the background of this systematization, special challenges of understanding in XAI are discussed.","lang":"eng"}],"file":[{"file_name":"Buschmeier-etal-2025-COGSYS.pdf","access_level":"closed","file_id":"62730","file_size":10114981,"creator":"hbuschme","date_created":"2025-12-01T21:02:20Z","date_updated":"2025-12-01T21:02:20Z","relation":"main_file","success":1,"content_type":"application/pdf"}],"publication":"Cognitive Systems Research","main_file_link":[{"url":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389041725000993?via%3Dihub","open_access":"1"}],"doi":"10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419","date_updated":"2025-12-05T15:32:25Z","oa":"1","author":[{"first_name":"Hendrik","full_name":"Buschmeier, Hendrik","id":"76456","orcid":"0000-0002-9613-5713","last_name":"Buschmeier"},{"first_name":"Heike M.","full_name":"Buhl, Heike M.","id":"27152","last_name":"Buhl"},{"full_name":"Kern, Friederike","last_name":"Kern","first_name":"Friederike"},{"last_name":"Grimminger","id":"57578","full_name":"Grimminger, Angela","first_name":"Angela"},{"first_name":"Helen","full_name":"Beierling, Helen","id":"50995","last_name":"Beierling"},{"id":"56345","full_name":"Fisher, Josephine Beryl","last_name":"Fisher","orcid":"0000-0002-9997-9241","first_name":"Josephine Beryl"},{"first_name":"André","id":"93405","full_name":"Groß, André","orcid":"0000-0002-9593-7220","last_name":"Groß"},{"full_name":"Horwath, Ilona","id":"68836","last_name":"Horwath","first_name":"Ilona"},{"first_name":"Nils","last_name":"Klowait","orcid":"0000-0002-7347-099X","id":"98454","full_name":"Klowait, Nils"},{"first_name":"Stefan Teodorov","orcid":"0009-0009-0892-9483","last_name":"Lazarov","id":"90345","full_name":"Lazarov, Stefan Teodorov"},{"full_name":"Lenke, Michael","last_name":"Lenke","first_name":"Michael"},{"last_name":"Lohmer","full_name":"Lohmer, Vivien","first_name":"Vivien"},{"id":"50352","full_name":"Rohlfing, Katharina","orcid":"0000-0002-5676-8233","last_name":"Rohlfing","first_name":"Katharina"},{"first_name":"Ingrid","full_name":"Scharlau, Ingrid","id":"451","last_name":"Scharlau","orcid":"0000-0003-2364-9489"},{"first_name":"Amit","orcid":"0000-0002-7789-1521","last_name":"Singh","id":"91018","full_name":"Singh, Amit"},{"id":"37320","full_name":"Terfloth, Lutz","last_name":"Terfloth","first_name":"Lutz"},{"last_name":"Vollmer","id":"86589","full_name":"Vollmer, Anna-Lisa","first_name":"Anna-Lisa"},{"last_name":"Wang","full_name":"Wang, Yu","first_name":"Yu"},{"full_name":"Wilmes, Annedore","last_name":"Wilmes","first_name":"Annedore"},{"last_name":"Wrede","full_name":"Wrede, Britta","first_name":"Britta"}],"volume":94,"citation":{"apa":"Buschmeier, H., Buhl, H. M., Kern, F., Grimminger, A., Beierling, H., Fisher, J. B., Groß, A., Horwath, I., Klowait, N., Lazarov, S. T., Lenke, M., Lohmer, V., Rohlfing, K., Scharlau, I., Singh, A., Terfloth, L., Vollmer, A.-L., Wang, Y., Wilmes, A., &#38; Wrede, B. (2025). Forms of Understanding for XAI-Explanations. <i>Cognitive Systems Research</i>, <i>94</i>, Article 101419. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419\">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419</a>","bibtex":"@article{Buschmeier_Buhl_Kern_Grimminger_Beierling_Fisher_Groß_Horwath_Klowait_Lazarov_et al._2025, title={Forms of Understanding for XAI-Explanations}, volume={94}, DOI={<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419\">10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419</a>}, number={101419}, journal={Cognitive Systems Research}, author={Buschmeier, Hendrik and Buhl, Heike M. and Kern, Friederike and Grimminger, Angela and Beierling, Helen and Fisher, Josephine Beryl and Groß, André and Horwath, Ilona and Klowait, Nils and Lazarov, Stefan Teodorov and et al.}, year={2025} }","short":"H. Buschmeier, H.M. Buhl, F. Kern, A. Grimminger, H. Beierling, J.B. Fisher, A. Groß, I. Horwath, N. Klowait, S.T. Lazarov, M. Lenke, V. Lohmer, K. Rohlfing, I. Scharlau, A. Singh, L. Terfloth, A.-L. Vollmer, Y. Wang, A. Wilmes, B. Wrede, Cognitive Systems Research 94 (2025).","mla":"Buschmeier, Hendrik, et al. “Forms of Understanding for XAI-Explanations.” <i>Cognitive Systems Research</i>, vol. 94, 101419, 2025, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419\">10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419</a>.","ama":"Buschmeier H, Buhl HM, Kern F, et al. Forms of Understanding for XAI-Explanations. <i>Cognitive Systems Research</i>. 2025;94. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419\">10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419</a>","ieee":"H. Buschmeier <i>et al.</i>, “Forms of Understanding for XAI-Explanations,” <i>Cognitive Systems Research</i>, vol. 94, Art. no. 101419, 2025, doi: <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419\">10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419</a>.","chicago":"Buschmeier, Hendrik, Heike M. Buhl, Friederike Kern, Angela Grimminger, Helen Beierling, Josephine Beryl Fisher, André Groß, et al. “Forms of Understanding for XAI-Explanations.” <i>Cognitive Systems Research</i> 94 (2025). <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419\">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101419</a>."},"intvolume":"        94","publication_status":"published","has_accepted_license":"1","article_type":"original","article_number":"101419","file_date_updated":"2025-12-01T21:02:20Z","project":[{"name":"TRR 318; TP A01: Adaptives Erklären","_id":"111"},{"_id":"112","name":"TRR 318; TP A02: Verstehensprozess einer Erklärung beobachten und auswerten"},{"_id":"113","name":"TRR 318 - Subproject A3"},{"name":"TRR 318; TP A04: Integration des technischen Modells in das Partnermodell bei der Erklärung von digitalen Artefakten","_id":"114"},{"name":"TRR 318; TP A05: Echtzeitmessung der Aufmerksamkeit im Mensch-Roboter-Erklärdialog","_id":"115"},{"_id":"122","name":"TRR 318 - Subproject B3"},{"_id":"123","name":"TRR 318 - Subproject B5"},{"name":"TRR 318 - Project Area Ö","_id":"119"}],"_id":"61156","user_id":"57578","department":[{"_id":"660"}],"status":"public","type":"journal_article"},{"keyword":["Agency Workplace learning Professional development Proactivity Self-direction"],"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"_id":"30289","department":[{"_id":"452"}],"user_id":"50788","abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"This chapter presents a discussion of the concept of agency. Agency is understood as a multifaceted construct describing the idea that human beings make choices, act on these choices, and thereby exercise influence on their own lives as well as their environment. We argue that the concept is discussed from three different perspectives in the literature—transformational, dispositional, and relational—that are each related to learning and development in work contexts. These perspectives do not reflect incompatible positions but rather different aspects of the same phenomena. The chapter also offers an avenue of insight into empirical studies that employ agency as a central concept as well as discussions about concepts that closely overlap with ideas of human beings as agents of power and influence."}],"status":"public","publication":"Research Approaches on Workplace Learning","type":"book_chapter","title":"Agency: Taking Stock of Workplace Learning Research","doi":"10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1","date_updated":"2022-03-13T19:14:43Z","publisher":"Springer International Publishing","author":[{"last_name":"Goller","orcid":"0000-0002-2820-9178","id":"30984","full_name":"Goller, Michael","first_name":"Michael"},{"first_name":"Susanna","last_name":"Paloniemi","full_name":"Paloniemi, Susanna"}],"date_created":"2022-03-13T19:09:20Z","year":"2022","place":"Cham","citation":{"apa":"Goller, M., &#38; Paloniemi, S. (2022). Agency: Taking Stock of Workplace Learning Research. In <i>Research Approaches on Workplace Learning</i>. Springer International Publishing. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1\">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1</a>","mla":"Goller, Michael, and Susanna Paloniemi. “Agency: Taking Stock of Workplace Learning Research.” <i>Research Approaches on Workplace Learning</i>, Springer International Publishing, 2022, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1\">10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1</a>.","short":"M. Goller, S. Paloniemi, in: Research Approaches on Workplace Learning, Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2022.","bibtex":"@inbook{Goller_Paloniemi_2022, place={Cham}, title={Agency: Taking Stock of Workplace Learning Research}, DOI={<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1\">10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1</a>}, booktitle={Research Approaches on Workplace Learning}, publisher={Springer International Publishing}, author={Goller, Michael and Paloniemi, Susanna}, year={2022} }","ama":"Goller M, Paloniemi S. Agency: Taking Stock of Workplace Learning Research. In: <i>Research Approaches on Workplace Learning</i>. Springer International Publishing; 2022. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1\">10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1</a>","ieee":"M. Goller and S. Paloniemi, “Agency: Taking Stock of Workplace Learning Research,” in <i>Research Approaches on Workplace Learning</i>, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022.","chicago":"Goller, Michael, and Susanna Paloniemi. “Agency: Taking Stock of Workplace Learning Research.” In <i>Research Approaches on Workplace Learning</i>. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1\">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1</a>."},"publication_identifier":{"isbn":["9783030895815","9783030895822"],"issn":["2210-5549","2210-5557"]},"publication_status":"published","related_material":{"link":[{"url":"https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_1#Abs1","relation":"other"}]}},{"abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Michael Goller gives a structured overview of the current discourses of human agency in relation to professional learning and development. Based on this discussion, the author develops a theoretical framework including human agency as an individual feature (i. e., a disposition) as well as a set of self-initiated and goal-directed behaviours that are assumed to affect employees’ learning and development (e. g., crafting of new work experiences). He then further specifies this theoretical framework and investigates it empirically in the domain of geriatric care nursing. Based on the findings of the three empirical studies conducted, the author discusses the relevance of human agency for the development of professional expertise of geriatric care nurses.\r\n\r\nThe work received the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Workplace Learning SIG 2017 Dissertation of the Year Award."}],"status":"public","type":"book","keyword":["Workplace learning","Agency","Expertise"],"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"_id":"3600","user_id":"30984","department":[{"_id":"452"}],"year":"2017","place":"Wiesbaden","citation":{"ama":"Goller M. <i>Human Agency at Work: An Active Approach towards Expertise Development</i>. Wiesbaden: Springer; 2017. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1\">10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1</a>","ieee":"M. Goller, <i>Human agency at work: An active approach towards expertise development</i>. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2017.","chicago":"Goller, Michael. <i>Human Agency at Work: An Active Approach towards Expertise Development</i>. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2017. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1\">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1</a>.","bibtex":"@book{Goller_2017, place={Wiesbaden}, title={Human agency at work: An active approach towards expertise development}, DOI={<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1\">10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1</a>}, publisher={Springer}, author={Goller, Michael}, year={2017} }","mla":"Goller, Michael. <i>Human Agency at Work: An Active Approach towards Expertise Development</i>. Springer, 2017, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1\">10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1</a>.","short":"M. Goller, Human Agency at Work: An Active Approach towards Expertise Development, Springer, Wiesbaden, 2017.","apa":"Goller, M. (2017). <i>Human agency at work: An active approach towards expertise development</i>. Wiesbaden: Springer. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1\">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1</a>"},"page":"373","publication_status":"published","publication_identifier":{"isbn":["978-3-658-18285-4"]},"quality_controlled":"1","title":"Human agency at work: An active approach towards expertise development","main_file_link":[{"url":"https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-658-18286-1"}],"doi":"10.1007/978-3-658-18286-1","publisher":"Springer","date_updated":"2022-01-06T06:59:27Z","date_created":"2018-07-23T09:29:39Z","author":[{"first_name":"Michael","full_name":"Goller, Michael","id":"30984","orcid":"0000-0002-2820-9178","last_name":"Goller"}]},{"oa":"1","date_updated":"2022-02-03T13:26:36Z","author":[{"last_name":"Paloniemi","full_name":"Paloniemi, Susanna","first_name":"Susanna"},{"id":"30984","full_name":"Goller, Michael","orcid":"0000-0002-2820-9178","last_name":"Goller","first_name":"Michael"}],"doi":"10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23","main_file_link":[{"open_access":"1","url":"https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23"}],"publication_identifier":{"isbn":["9783319609423","9783319609430"],"issn":["2210-5549","2210-5557"]},"publication_status":"published","place":"Cham","page":"465-478","citation":{"chicago":"Paloniemi, Susanna, and Michael Goller. “The Multifaceted Nature of Agency and Professional Learning.” In <i>Agency at Work: An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development</i>, edited by Michael Goller and Susanna Paloniemi, 465–78. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23\">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23</a>.","ieee":"S. Paloniemi and M. Goller, “The Multifaceted Nature of Agency and Professional Learning,” in <i>Agency at work: An agentic perspective on professional learning and development</i>, M. Goller and S. Paloniemi, Eds. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017, pp. 465–478.","ama":"Paloniemi S, Goller M. The Multifaceted Nature of Agency and Professional Learning. In: Goller M, Paloniemi S, eds. <i>Agency at Work: An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development</i>. Springer International Publishing; 2017:465-478. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23\">10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23</a>","apa":"Paloniemi, S., &#38; Goller, M. (2017). The Multifaceted Nature of Agency and Professional Learning. In M. Goller &#38; S. Paloniemi (Eds.), <i>Agency at work: An agentic perspective on professional learning and development</i> (pp. 465–478). Springer International Publishing. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23\">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23</a>","bibtex":"@inbook{Paloniemi_Goller_2017, place={Cham}, title={The Multifaceted Nature of Agency and Professional Learning}, DOI={<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23\">10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23</a>}, booktitle={Agency at work: An agentic perspective on professional learning and development}, publisher={Springer International Publishing}, author={Paloniemi, Susanna and Goller, Michael}, editor={Goller, Michael and Paloniemi, Susanna}, year={2017}, pages={465–478} }","mla":"Paloniemi, Susanna, and Michael Goller. “The Multifaceted Nature of Agency and Professional Learning.” <i>Agency at Work: An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development</i>, edited by Michael Goller and Susanna Paloniemi, Springer International Publishing, 2017, pp. 465–78, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23\">10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_23</a>.","short":"S. Paloniemi, M. Goller, in: M. Goller, S. Paloniemi (Eds.), Agency at Work: An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development, Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2017, pp. 465–478."},"_id":"29735","department":[{"_id":"452"}],"user_id":"79910","type":"book_chapter","editor":[{"first_name":"Michael","last_name":"Goller","full_name":"Goller, Michael"},{"first_name":"Susanna","full_name":"Paloniemi, Susanna","last_name":"Paloniemi"}],"status":"public","publisher":"Springer International Publishing","date_created":"2022-02-03T12:26:49Z","title":"The Multifaceted Nature of Agency and Professional Learning","year":"2017","keyword":["Agency","Workplace learning","Professional development"],"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"publication":"Agency at work: An agentic perspective on professional learning and development","abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"The present volume has aimed to cover a broad range of approaches to agency at work, exploring its relationship with professional learning and development. Thus, the chapters included in this book have discussed the role of agency in learning and development, considering a variety of working life contexts and applying both conceptual and empirical perspectives. This final chapter provides an overview of both the conceptual approaches and the empirical implementations. We see the perspectives as complementary. From the content of the book, we discern the phenomena as falling on two main dimensions, clustering at opposite ends of these dimensions. Thus, the following contrasts are evidenced: (a) agency understood as a personal capacity, vs. agency as behaviour, and (b) agency as an individual phenomenon, vs. agency as a collective phenomenon. All the chapters emphasise that agency is needed for learning and development. However, they differ in how they view the relationships between the concepts. They also exhibit differences in the empirical decisions taken and the research strategies chosen. In this concluding chapter, we discuss the main similarities and differences emerging from the chapters. We also highlight avenues for future research on agency and its relationship with professional learning."}]}]