31. People Create Mental Models

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WHAT EXACTLY IS A MENTAL MODEL

“Cognitive Science and Science Education,” states:

“A mental model represents a person’s thought process for how something works (i.e., a person’s understanding of the surrounding world). Mental models are based on incomplete facts, past experiences, and even intuitive perceptions. They help shape actions and behavior, influence what people pay attention to in complicated situations, and define how people approach and solve problems.”

WHAT IS A MENTAL MODEL IN DESIGN?

In the field of design, a mental model refers to the representation of something—the real world, a device, software, and so on—that a person has in mind.

Takeaways

People always have a mental model.

People get their mental models from past experience.

Not everyone has the same mental model.

An important reason for doing user or customer research is so you can understand the mental models of your target audience.