Mental model
Encyclopedia
A mental model is an explanation of someone's thought
process about how something works in the real world. It is a representation of the surrounding world, the relationships between its various parts and a person's intuitive perception about his or her own acts and their consequences. Mental models can help shape behaviour and set an approach to solving problems (akin to a personal algorithm
) and doing tasks.
, reasoning and decision-making. Kenneth Craik
suggested in 1943 that the mind constructs "small-scale models" of reality that it uses to anticipate events.
One example is provided in the following description from physicist Richard Feynman
:
Jay Wright Forrester
defined general mental models as:
In psychology, the term "mental models" is sometimes used to refer to mental representations or mental simulation generally. At other times it is used to refer to mental models and reasoning and to the mental model theory of reasoning developed by Philip Johnson-Laird
and Ruth M.J. Byrne.
in his 1943 book The Nature of Explanation. Georges-Henri Luquet in Le dessin enfantin (Children's Drawings), published in 1927 by Alcan, Paris, argued that children construct internal models, a view that influenced, among others, child psychologist Jean Piaget
.
Philip Johnson-Laird
published Mental Models: Towards a Cognitive Science of Language, Inference and Consciousness in 1983. In the same year, Dedre Gentner
and Albert Stevens edited a collection of chapters in a book also titled Mental Models. The first line of their book explains the idea further: "One function of this chapter is to belabor the obvious; people's views of the world, of themselves, of their own capabilities, and of the tasks that they are asked to perform, or topics they are asked to learn, depend heavily on the conceptualizations that they bring to the task." (see: Mental Models (Gentner-Stevens book)
).
Since then, there has been much discussion and use of the idea in human-computer interaction and usability
by researchers including Donald Norman
and Steve Krug (in his book Don't Make Me Think
). Walter Kintsch and Teun A. van Dijk
, using the term situation model (in their book Strategies of Discourse Comprehension, 1983), showed the relevance of mental models for the production and comprehension of discourse
.
in 1922. Philip Johnson-Laird
and Ruth M.J. Byrne developed a theory of mental models which makes the assumption that reasoning depends, not on logical form, but on mental models (Johnson-Laird and Byrne, 1991).
s (axiom
s), which distinguish them from other proposed representations in the psychology of reasoning
(Byrne and Johnson-Laird, 2009). Each mental model represents a possibility. A mental model represents one possibility, capturing what is common to all the different ways in which the possibility may occur (Johnson-Laird and Byrne, 2002). Mental models are iconic, i.e., each part of a model corresponds to each part of what it represents (Johnson-Laird, 2006). Mental models are based on a principle of truth: they typically represent only those situations that are possible, and each model of a possibility represents only what is true in that possibility according to the proposition. However, mental models can represent what is false, temporarily assumed to be true, for example, in the case of counterfactual conditionals and counterfactual thinking
(Byrne, 2005).
Mental models are a fundamental way to understand organizational learning. Mental models are "deeply held images of thinking and acting." Mental models are so basic to understanding of the world that people are hardly conscious of them.
Those forms allow showing a mental model, as a written model, which can help remember more details, such as more items in a long list.
.
These two disciplines can help to construct a better coordination with the reality of mental models and simulate it accurately. They increase the probability that the consequences of how to decide and act in accordance with how to plan.
is a back-loop process, and feedback
loops can be illustrated as: single-loop learning or double-loop learning.
Thought
"Thought" generally refers to any mental or intellectual activity involving an individual's subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas. Similar concepts include cognition, sentience, consciousness, and imagination...
process about how something works in the real world. It is a representation of the surrounding world, the relationships between its various parts and a person's intuitive perception about his or her own acts and their consequences. Mental models can help shape behaviour and set an approach to solving problems (akin to a personal algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
) and doing tasks.
Overview
A mental model is a kind of internal symbol or representation of external reality, hypothesized to play a major role in cognitionCognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
, reasoning and decision-making. Kenneth Craik
Kenneth Craik
Kenneth James Williams Craik was a philosopher and psychologist who studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and received his doctorate from Cambridge University in 1940...
suggested in 1943 that the mind constructs "small-scale models" of reality that it uses to anticipate events.
One example is provided in the following description from physicist Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
:
I had a scheme, which I still use today when somebody is explaining something that I'm trying to understand: I keep making up examples. For instance, the mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
s would come in with a terrific theoremTheoremIn mathematics, a theorem is a statement that has been proven on the basis of previously established statements, such as other theorems, and previously accepted statements, such as axioms...
, and they're all excited. As they're telling me the conditions of the theorem, I construct something which fits all the conditions. You know, you have a set (one ball) – disjoint (two balls). Then the balls turn colors, grow hairs, or whatever, in my head as they put more conditions on. Finally they state the theorem, which is some dumb thing about the ball which isn't true for my hairy green ball thing, so I say, 'False!
Jay Wright Forrester
Jay Wright Forrester
Jay Wright Forrester is a pioneer American computer engineer, systems scientist and was a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Forrester is known as the founder of System Dynamics, which deals with the simulation of interactions between objects in dynamic systems.- Biography :Forrester...
defined general mental models as:
"The image of the world around us, which we carry in our head, is just a model. Nobody in his head imagines all the world, government or country. He has only selected concepts, and relationships between them, and uses those to represent the real system."
In psychology, the term "mental models" is sometimes used to refer to mental representations or mental simulation generally. At other times it is used to refer to mental models and reasoning and to the mental model theory of reasoning developed by Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird is a professor at Princeton University's Department of Psychology and author of several notable books on human cognition and the psychology of reasoning....
and Ruth M.J. Byrne.
History
The term "mental model" is believed to have originated with Kenneth CraikKenneth Craik
Kenneth James Williams Craik was a philosopher and psychologist who studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and received his doctorate from Cambridge University in 1940...
in his 1943 book The Nature of Explanation. Georges-Henri Luquet in Le dessin enfantin (Children's Drawings), published in 1927 by Alcan, Paris, argued that children construct internal models, a view that influenced, among others, child psychologist Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. His theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemology"....
.
Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird is a professor at Princeton University's Department of Psychology and author of several notable books on human cognition and the psychology of reasoning....
published Mental Models: Towards a Cognitive Science of Language, Inference and Consciousness in 1983. In the same year, Dedre Gentner
Dedre Gentner
Dedre Gentner is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University. She is a prominent researcher in the study of analogical reasoning. Her work on structure-mapping theory was foundational for the development of the structure mapping engine by Ken Forbus...
and Albert Stevens edited a collection of chapters in a book also titled Mental Models. The first line of their book explains the idea further: "One function of this chapter is to belabor the obvious; people's views of the world, of themselves, of their own capabilities, and of the tasks that they are asked to perform, or topics they are asked to learn, depend heavily on the conceptualizations that they bring to the task." (see: Mental Models (Gentner-Stevens book)
Mental Models (Gentner-Stevens book)
Mental Models is a book published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., in 1983 ISBN 0-89859-242-9. It was edited by Dedre Gentner and Albert L. Stevens, both employees of Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Inc. at the time. It appeared at about the same time as a book by the same name by Philip...
).
Since then, there has been much discussion and use of the idea in human-computer interaction and usability
Usability
Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job...
by researchers including Donald Norman
Donald Norman
Donald Arthur Norman is an academic in the field of cognitive science, design and usability engineering and a co-founder and consultant with the Nielsen Norman Group. He is the author of the book The Design of Everyday Things....
and Steve Krug (in his book Don't Make Me Think
Don't Make Me Think
Don't Make Me Think is a book by Steve Krug about human-computer interaction and web usability. The book's premise is that a good software program or web site should let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible...
). Walter Kintsch and Teun A. van Dijk
Teun A. van Dijk
Teun Adrianus van Dijk , is a scholar in the fields of text linguistics, discourse analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis ....
, using the term situation model (in their book Strategies of Discourse Comprehension, 1983), showed the relevance of mental models for the production and comprehension of discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
.
Mental models and reasoning
One view of human reasoning is that it depends on mental models. In this view, mental models can be constructed from perception, imagination, or the comprehension of discourse (Johnson-Laird, 1983). Such mental models are akin to architects' models or to physicists' diagrams in that their structure is analogous to the structure of the situation that they represent, unlike, say, the structure of logical forms used in formal rule theories of reasoning. In this respect, they are a little like pictures in the "picture" theory of language described by philosopher Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
in 1922. Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird is a professor at Princeton University's Department of Psychology and author of several notable books on human cognition and the psychology of reasoning....
and Ruth M.J. Byrne developed a theory of mental models which makes the assumption that reasoning depends, not on logical form, but on mental models (Johnson-Laird and Byrne, 1991).
Principles of mental models
Mental models are based on a small set of fundamental assumptionAssumption
In logic an assumption is a proposition that is taken for granted, as if it were true based upon presupposition without preponderance of the facts...
s (axiom
Axiom
In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proven or demonstrated but considered either to be self-evident or to define and delimit the realm of analysis. In other words, an axiom is a logical statement that is assumed to be true...
s), which distinguish them from other proposed representations in the psychology of reasoning
Psychology of reasoning
The psychology of reasoning is the study of how people reason, often broadly defined as the process of drawing conclusions to inform how people solve problems and make decisions...
(Byrne and Johnson-Laird, 2009). Each mental model represents a possibility. A mental model represents one possibility, capturing what is common to all the different ways in which the possibility may occur (Johnson-Laird and Byrne, 2002). Mental models are iconic, i.e., each part of a model corresponds to each part of what it represents (Johnson-Laird, 2006). Mental models are based on a principle of truth: they typically represent only those situations that are possible, and each model of a possibility represents only what is true in that possibility according to the proposition. However, mental models can represent what is false, temporarily assumed to be true, for example, in the case of counterfactual conditionals and counterfactual thinking
Counterfactual thinking
Counterfactual thinking is a term of psychology that describes the tendency people have to imagine alternatives to reality. Humans are predisposed to think about how things could have turned out differently if only..., and also to imagine what if?....
(Byrne, 2005).
Reasoning with mental models
People infer that a conclusion is valid if it holds in all the possibilities. Procedures for reasoning with mental models rely on counter-examples to refute invalid inferences; they establish validity by ensuring that a conclusion holds over all the models of the premises. Reasoners focus on a subset of the possible models of multiple-model problems, often just a single model. The ease with which reasoners can make deductions is affected by many factors, including age and working memory (Barrouillet, et al., 2000). They reject a conclusion if they find a counterexample, i.e., a possibility in which the premises hold, but the conclusion does not (Schroyens, et al. 2003; Verschueren, et al., 2005).Criticisms
Scientific debate continues about whether human reasoning is based on mental models, versus formal rules of inference (e.g., O'Brien, 2009), domain-specific rules of inference (e.g., Cheng & Holyoak, 2008; Cosmides, 2005), or probabilities (e.g., Oaksford and Chater, 2007). Many empirical comparisons of the different theories have been carried out (e.g., Oberauer, 2006).Characteristics
A mental model is generally:- founded on hardly qualifiable, impugnable, obscure, or incomplete facts
- flexibleCognitive flexibilityCognitive flexibility is the term used to describe one of the executive functions; a function which is an important component of human behavior; the ability to switch behavioral response according to the context of the situation...
– is considerably variable in positive as well as in negative sense - effects as information filterInformation filterInformation filter may refer to*Information filtering system*Kalman filter#Information filter...
– causes selective perceptionSelective perceptionSelective perception may refer to any number of cognitive biases in psychology related to the way expectations affect perception.For instance, several studies have shown that students who were told they were consuming alcoholic beverages perceived themselves as being "drunk", exhibited fewer...
, perception of only selected parts of informationInformationInformation in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as... - compared with the complexities surrounding the world, it is very limited, and even when the scientific modelScientific modellingScientific modelling is the process of generating abstract, conceptual, graphical and/or mathematical models. Science offers a growing collection of methods, techniques and theory about all kinds of specialized scientific modelling...
is extensive and in accordance with a certain realityRealityIn philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
in the derivation of logical consequences of it. It must take into account such restrictions on working memoryWorking memoryWorking memory has been defined as the system which actively holds information in the mind to do verbal and nonverbal tasks such as reasoning and comprehension, and to make it available for further information processing...
; i.e., well-known rules on the maximum number of elements that people are suddenly able to remember, gestaltismus or failure of the principles of logicLogicIn philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, etc. - sources of information, which one can not find anywhere else, are available at any time and can be used.
Mental models are a fundamental way to understand organizational learning. Mental models are "deeply held images of thinking and acting." Mental models are so basic to understanding of the world that people are hardly conscious of them.
Expression of mental models
Three basic forms are typically used:- PolygonPolygonIn geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
s – whose vertices sharing the edge represent related items. - Causal-loop diagramsCausal loop diagramA causal loop diagram is a causal diagram that aids in visualizing how interrelated variables affect one another. The diagram consists of a set of nodes representing the variables connected together...
– displaying tendency and a direction of information connections and the resulting causality - Flow diagramFlow diagramFlow diagram may refer to:* Alluvial diagram, highlights and summarizes the significant structural changes in networks* Flowchart, schematic representation of a process which can give a step-by-step solution to a given problem....
s – a more appropriate way to express a dynamic system.
Those forms allow showing a mental model, as a written model, which can help remember more details, such as more items in a long list.
Mental model in relation to system dynamics and systemic thinking
In the simplification of reality, creating a model can find a sense of reality, seeking to overcome systemic thinking and system dynamicsSystem dynamics
System dynamics is an approach to understanding the behaviour of complex systems over time. It deals with internal feedback loops and time delays that affect the behaviour of the entire system. What makes using system dynamics different from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use...
.
These two disciplines can help to construct a better coordination with the reality of mental models and simulate it accurately. They increase the probability that the consequences of how to decide and act in accordance with how to plan.
- System dynamicsSystem dynamicsSystem dynamics is an approach to understanding the behaviour of complex systems over time. It deals with internal feedback loops and time delays that affect the behaviour of the entire system. What makes using system dynamics different from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use...
– extending mental models through the creation of explicit models, which are clear, easily communicated and can be compared with each other. - Systemic thinking – seeking the means to improve the mental models and thereby improve the quality of dynamic decisions that are based on mental models.
Single and double-loop learning
After analyzing the basic characteristics, it is necessary to bring the process of changing the mental models, or the process of learning. LearningLearning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
is a back-loop process, and feedback
Feedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
loops can be illustrated as: single-loop learning or double-loop learning.
Single-loop learning
Mental models affect the way people work with the information and determine the final decision. The decision itself changes, but the mental models remain the same. It is the predominant method of learning, because it is very convenient. One established mental model is fixed, so the next decision is very fast.Double-loop learning
A double-loop process (see diagram below) is used when it is necessary to change the mental model on which a decision depends. Unlike single loops, this model includes a shift in understanding, from simple and static to broader and more dynamic, such as taking into account the changes in the surroundings and the need for expression changes in mental models.| Process of learning | ||
|---|---|---|
See also
|
Metaknowledge Metaknowledge or meta-knowledge is knowledge about a preselected knowledge.For the reason of different definitions of knowledge in the subject matter literature, meta-information is or is not included in meta-knowledge. Detailed cognitive, systemic and epistemic study of human knowledge requires a... Neuroeconomics Neuroeconomics is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain human decision making, the ability to process multiple alternatives and to choose an optimal course of action. It studies how economic behavior can shape our understanding of the brain, and how neuroscientific discoveries can... Neuro-linguistic programming Neuro-linguistic programming is an approach to psychotherapy, self-help and organizational change. Founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder say that NLP is a model of interpersonal communication and a system of alternative therapy which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective... Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity is a non-specific neuroscience term referring to the ability of the brain and nervous system in all species to change structurally and functionally as a result of input from the environment. Plasticity occurs on a variety of levels, ranging from cellular changes involved in... Knowledge representation Knowledge representation is an area of artificial intelligence research aimed at representing knowledge in symbols to facilitate inferencing from those knowledge elements, creating new elements of knowledge... Psyche (psychology) The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older... Qualia Qualia , singular "quale" , from a Latin word meaning for "what sort" or "what kind," is a term used in philosophy to refer to subjective conscious experiences as 'raw feels'. Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, the experience of taking a recreational drug, or the... Self-Stereotyping The term self-stereotyping was coined as part of self-categorization theory and describes a process by which a perceiver will come to see themselves in a way more consistent with stereotypes about their in-group than they otherwise would... |
Social intuitionism Social intuitionism is a movement in moral psychology that arose in contrast to more heavily rationalist theories of morality, like that of Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg developed a stage theory of moral reasoning that he claimed accounts for people's moral behavior... Social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all... System dynamics System dynamics is an approach to understanding the behaviour of complex systems over time. It deals with internal feedback loops and time delays that affect the behaviour of the entire system. What makes using system dynamics different from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use... Thought disorder In psychiatry, thought disorder or formal thought disorder is a term used to describe incomprehensible language, either speech or writing, that is presumed to reflect thinking. There are different types... Conceptual model In the most general sense, a model is anything used in any way to represent anything else. Some models are physical objects, for instance, a toy model which may be assembled, and may even be made to work like the object it represents. They are used to help us know and understand the subject matter... Text and conversation theory Text and conversation is a theory in the field of organizational communication illustrating how communication makes up an organization. In the theory's simplest explanation, an organization is created and defined by communication. communication “is” the organization and the organization exists... OODA Loop The OODA loop is a concept originally applied to the combat operations process, often at the strategic level in military operations. It is now also often applied to understand commercial operations and learning processes... |
Further reading
- Georges-Henri Luquet (2001). Children's Drawings. Free Association BooksFree Association BooksFree Association Books is an innovative project started in 1980s London. It arose as the brainchild of Bob Young and colleagues, who, disillusioned by the decline of the liberatory movement, began a search using psychoanalysis to understand the problems of liberation...
. ISBN 1-85343-516-3 - G. Robles-De-La-Torre & R. Sekuler (2004). "Numerically Estimating Internal Models of Dynamic Virtual Objects". In: ACM Transactions on Applied Perception 1(2), pp. 102–117.
- John D. Sterman, A Skeptic’s Guide to Computer Models, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- P.N.Johnson-Laird, The History of Mental Models
- P.N.Johnson-Laird, Mental Models, Deductive Reasoning, and the Brain
- Jones, N. A. et al. (2011). "Mental Models: an interdisciplinary synthesis of theory and methods" Ecology and Society.16 (1): 46.