Rendering understanding as a general causal account is problematic. This leads us toward accusations of partial understanding, or illusory understanding, characterized by understanding that lacks depth. The discourse comprehension literature offers an alternative: rendering understanding as the construction of a situation model, a model that integrates knowledge, purpose, and context. On this account, the question is never whether understanding is complete, but whether it is adequate for what it aims to achieve.
Motz et al. (Tue,) studied this question.