Mental model

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 their own acts and their consequences. Mental models can help shape
behaviour and set an approach to solving problems (similar to a personal algorithm) and doing tasks.

A mental model is a kind of internal symbol or representation of external reality, hypothesized to play a
major role in cognition, reasoning and decision-making. Kenneth Craik suggested in 1943 that the mind
constructs "small-scale models" of reality that it uses to anticipate events.

Jay Wright 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 (Forrester, 1971).

In psychology, the term mental models is sometimes used to refer to mental representations or mental
simulation generally. The concepts of schema (psychology) and conceptual models are cognitively
adjacent. 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.

Contents
History
Mental models and reasoning
Principles of mental models
Reasoning with mental models
Criticisms
Mental models of dynamics systems: mental models in system dynamics
Characteristics
Expression of mental models of dynamic systems
Mental model in relation to system dynamics and systemic thinking
Single and double-loop learning
Single-loop learning
Double-loop learning
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
History
The term mental model is believed to have originated with Kenneth Craik in his 1943 book The Nature of
Explanation.[1][2] 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.[3] 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 the book: Mental Models).

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.

Charlie Munger popularized the use of multi-disciplinary mental models for making business and
investment decisions.[4]

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 similar 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 Wittgenstein in 1922. Philip Johnson-Laird and Ruth M.J. Byrne
developed their mental model theory of reasoning 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 assumptions (axioms), 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).

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).

Mental models of dynamics systems: mental models in system

dynamics

Characteristics

A mental model is generally:

founded on unquantifiable, impugnable, obscure, or incomplete facts;

flexible – considerably variable in positive as well as in negative sense;
an information filter that causes selective perception, perception of only selected parts of
information;
very limited, compared with the complexities of the world, and even when a scientific model
is extensive and in accordance with a certain reality in the derivation of logical
consequences of it, it must take into account such restrictions as working memory; i.e., rules
on the maximum number of elements that people are able to remember, gestaltisms or
failure of the principles of logic, etc.;
dependent on sources of information, which one cannot find anywhere else, are available at
any time and can be used.[5][6][7]

Mental models are a fundamental way to understand organizational learning. Mental models, in popular
science parlance, have been described as "deeply held images of thinking and acting".[8] Mental models are
so basic to understanding the world that people are hardly conscious of them.

Expression of mental models of dynamic systems

S.N. Groesser and M. Schaffernicht (2012) describe three basic methods which are typically used:

Causal loop diagrams – displaying tendency and a direction of information connections and
the resulting causality and feedback loops
System structure diagrams – another way to express the structure of a qualitative dynamic
system
Stock and flow diagrams - a way to quantify the structure of a dynamic system
These methods allow showing a mental model of a dynamic system, as an explicit, written model about a
certain system based on internal beliefs. Analyzing these graphical representations has been an increasing
area of research across many social science fields.[9] Additionally software tools that attempt to capture and
analyze the structural and functional properties of individual mental models such as Mental Modeler, "a
participatory modeling tool based in fuzzy-logic cognitive mapping",[10] have recently been developed and
used to collect/compare/combine mental model representations collected from individuals for use in social
science research, collaborative decision-making, and natural resource planning.

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 dynamics.

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.[5]

System dynamics – 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.

Experimental studies carried out in weightlessness[11] and on Earth using neuroimaging

[12] showed that
humans are endowed with a mental model of the effects of gravity on object motion.

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. Learning is a back-loop process, and feedback loops can be illustrated as: single-
loop learning or double-loop learning.

Single-loop learning

Mental models affect the way that people work with information, and also how they 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.

Double-loop learning

Double-loop learning (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.[6]

Process of learning
Feedback process Single-loop learning Double-loop learning

See also
All models are wrong
Cognitive map
Cognitive psychology
Conceptual model
Educational psychology
Folk psychology
Internal model (motor control)
Knowledge representation
Lovemap
Macrocognition
Map–territory relation
Model-dependent realism
Neuro-linguistic programming
Neuroeconomics
Neuroplasticity
OODA loop
Psyche (psychology)
Self-stereotyping
Social intuitionism
Space mapping
System dynamics
Text and conversation theory

Notes
1. Nersessian, Nancy J. (1992). "In the Theoretician's Laboratory: Thought Experimenting as
Mental Modeling" (http://www.cc.gatech.edu/aimosaic/faculty/nersessian/papers/in-the-theor
eticians-laboratory.pdf) (PDF). PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy
of Science Association. 1992 (2): 291–301. doi:10.1086/psaprocbienmeetp.1992.2.192843
(https://doi.org/10.1086%2Fpsaprocbienmeetp.1992.2.192843). S2CID 141149408 (https://a
pi.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:141149408). Retrieved 17 July 2014. "The contemporary
notion that mental modelling plays a significant role in human reasoning was formulated,
initially, by Kenneth Craik in 1943."
 2. Staggers, Nancy; Norcio, A.F. (1993). "Mental models: concepts for human-computer
interaction research" (http://userpages.umbc.edu/~norcio/papers/1993/Staggers-MM-IJMMS.
pdf) (PDF). International Journal of Man-Machine Studies. 38 (4): 587–605.
doi:10.1006/imms.1993.1028 (https://doi.org/10.1006%2Fimms.1993.1028). Retrieved
17 July 2014. "Although Johnson-Laird (1989) is generally credited with coining the term
mental model, the history of the concept may be traced to Craik's (1943) work entitled The
Nature of Explanation."
3. "Mental models" (http://www.lauradove.info/reports/mental%20models.htm) Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20110518220333/http://www.lauradove.info/reports/mental%20model
s.htm) 2011-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, report at www.lauradove.info.
4. "The Psychology of Human Misjudgement" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqzcCfUglw
s), speech by Charlie Munger
5. Šusta, Marek. "Několik slov o systémové dynamice a systémovém myšlení" (http://proverbs.
cz/media/art/SM_ST.pdf) (PDF) (in Czech). Proverbs, a.s. pp. 3–9. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
6. Mildeova, S., Vojtko V. (2003). Systémová dynamika (in Czech). Prague: Oeconomica.
pp. 19–24. ISBN 978-80-245-0626-5.
7. Ford, David N., Sterman, John D. "Expert Knowledge Elicitation to Improve Mental and
Formal Models" (http://web.mit.edu/jsterman/www/ford_sterman_elicit_1.pdf) (PDF).
Cambridge, Massachusetts, US - Massachusetts Institute of Technology. pp. 18–23.
Retrieved 2009-01-11.
8. "Leading for a Change", Ralph Jacobson, 2000, Chapter 5, Page102
9. Jones, Natalie A.; Ross, Helen; Lynam, Timothy; Perez, Pascal; Leitch, Anne (2011).
"Mental Models: An Interdisciplinary Synthesis of Theory and Methods" (http://espace.library.
uq.edu.au/view/UQ:271714/UQ271714_OA.pdf) (PDF). Ecology and Society. 16 (1).
doi:10.5751/ES-03802-160146 (https://doi.org/10.5751%2FES-03802-160146).
10. "Mental Modeler: A Fuzzy-Logic Cognitive Mapping Modeling Tool for Adaptive
Environmental Management" (http://www.mentalmodeler.com/articles/Gray%20et%20al%20
Mental%20Modeler%202013.pdf) (PDF). mentalmodeler.com. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
11. McIntyre J, Zago M, Berthoz A, Lacquaniti F (2001). "Does the brain model Newton's laws?".
Nature Neuroscience. 4 (7): 693–694. doi:10.1038/89477 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F8947
7). PMID 11426224 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11426224). S2CID 30444364 (https://a
pi.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:30444364).
12. Indovina I, et al. (2005). "Representation of visual gravitational motion in the human
vestibular cortex". Science. 308 (5720): 416–419. Bibcode:2005Sci...308..416I (https://ui.ads
abs.harvard.edu/abs/2005Sci...308..416I). doi:10.1126/science.1107961 (https://doi.org/10.1
126%2Fscience.1107961). hdl:2108/19501 (https://hdl.handle.net/2108%2F19501).
PMID 15831760 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15831760). S2CID 22179461 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:22179461).

References
Barrouillet, P. et al. (2000). Conditional reasoning by mental models: chronometric and
developmental evidence (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0277(00)00066-4). Cognit. 75, 237-
266.
Byrne, R.M.J. (2005). The Rational Imagination: How People Create Counterfactual
Alternatives to Reality (https://books.google.com/books?id=JHDCzU6UzgEC&printsec=front
cover#v=onepage&q&f=false). Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Byrne, R.M.J. & Johnson-Laird, P.N. (2009). 'If' and the problems of conditional reasoning.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 13, 282-287
 Cheng, P.C. and Holyoak, K.J. (2008) Pragmatic reasoning schemas. In Reasoning: studies
of human inference and its foundations (https://books.google.com/books?id=ZQg9DL1WSco
C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false) (Adler, J.E. and Rips, L.J., eds), pp. 827–
842, Cambridge University Press
Cosmides, L. et al. (2005) Detecting cheaters. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 9,505–506
Forrester, J. W. (1971) Counterintuitive behavior of social systems (https://doi.org/10.1016/S
0040-1625(71)80001-X). Technology Review.
Oberauer K. (2006) Reasoning with conditionals: A test of formal models of four theories (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2006.04.001). Cognit. Psychol. 53:238–283.
O’Brien, D. (2009). Human reasoning includes a mental logic. Behav. Brain Sci. 32, 96–97
Oaksford, M. and Chater, N. (2007) Bayesian Rationality. Oxford University Press
Johnson-Laird, P.N. (1983). Mental Models: Towards a Cognitive Science of Language,
Inference, and Consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson-Laird, P.N. (2006) How We Reason. Oxford University Press
Johnson-Laird, P.N. and Byrne, R.M.J. (2002) Conditionals: a theory of meaning, inference,
and pragmatics. Psychol. Rev. 109, 646–678
Schroyens, W. et al. (2003). In search of counterexamples: Deductive rationality in human
reasoning (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02724980245000043). Quart. J. Exp. Psychol. 56(A),
1129–1145.
Verschueren, N. et al. (2005). Everyday conditional reasoning: A working memory-
dependent tradeoff between counterexample and likelihood use (https://doi.org/10.3758/BF0
3195301). Mem. Cognit. 33, 107-119.

Further reading
Georges-Henri Luquet (2001). Children's Drawings. Free Association Books. ISBN 1-85343-
516-3
Chater, N. et al. (2006) Probabilistic Models of Cognition: Conceptual Foundations. Trends
Cogn Sci 10(7):287-91. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2006.05.007 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.tics.200
6.05.007).
Gentner, Dedre; Stevens, Albert L., eds. (1983). Mental Models (https://archive.org/details/m
entalmodels00theo). Hillsdale: Erlbaum 1983.
Groesser, S.N. (2012). Mental model of dynamic systems (https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/2
08757/1/Groesser_1838_ESL.pdf). In N.M. Seel (Ed.). The encyclopedia of the sciences of
learning (Vol. 5, pp. 2195–2200). New York: Springer.
Groesser, S.N. & Schaffernicht, M. (2012). Mental Models of Dynamic Systems: Taking Stock
and Looking Ahead. System Dynamics Review, 28(1): 46-68, Wiley.
Johnson-Laird, P.N. 2005. The History of Mental Models (http://mentalmodels.princeton.edu/
papers/2005HistoryMentalModels.pdf)
Jones, N. A. et al. (2011). "Mental Models: an interdisciplinary synthesis of theory and
methods (http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/art46/)" Ecology and Society.16 (1):
46.
Jones, N. A. et al. (2014). "Eliciting mental models: a comparison of interview procedures in
the context of natural resource management (http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss1/ar
t13/)" Ecology and Society.19 (1): 13.
Prediger, S. (2008). "Discontinuities for mental models - a source for difficulties with the
multiplication of fractions (http://www.mathematik.uni-dortmund.de/~prediger/veroeff/08-ICM
E11-TSG10-Fractions.pdf)" Proceedings of ICME-11, Topic Study Group 10, Research and
Development of Number Systems and Arithmetic. (See also Prediger's references to
Fischbein 1985 and Fischbein 1989, "Tacit models and mathematical reasoning".)
 Robles-De-La-Torre, G. & Sekuler, R. (2004). "Numerically Estimating Internal Models of
Dynamic Virtual Objects (http://www.roblesdelatorre.com/gabriel/GR-RS-Estimating-Internal-
Models.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080517084201/http://www.roblesdelato
rre.com/gabriel/GR-RS-Estimating-Internal-Models.pdf) 2008-05-17 at the Wayback
Machine". In: ACM Transactions on Applied Perception 1(2), pp. 102–117.
Sterman, John D. A Skeptic’s Guide to Computer Models, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (http://web.mit.edu/jsterman/www/Skeptic%27s_Guide.html)

External links
Mental Models and Reasoning Laboratory (http://mentalmodels.princeton.edu/)
Systems Analysis, Modelling and Prediction Group, University of Oxford (https://web.archive.
org/web/20070406053155/http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/samp/)
System Dynamics Society (http://www.systemdynamics.org/)

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