31. People Create Mental Models

People Create Mental Models

Thinker 28741 1280 (binary/octet-stream)

Caption: : “Thinker Thinking Person.” Pixabay, 11 Apr. 2012, pixabay.com/en/thinker-thinking-person-idea-28741/.

You have never seen or heard of an iPad. You were handed one and told that you could read books on it. What are your thoughts? How will it look on the screen, how will it work, Is it same as a kindle? These type of questions are made from your mental model.  Note the differentiation of the questions, not everyones mental model is the same.

What exactly is a mental model?

A person's thought process of how something will work based on past experience, incomplete facts, and intuitive perceptions. Mental models help shape actions and behaviors, influence attention in complicated situations, define a persons approach to solve problems.

Giphy (video/mp4)

Caption: : “STEVEN UNIVERSE THINKING GIF.” Giphy, giphy.com/gifs/steven-universe-thinking-here-comes-a-thought-2xF8ihOYNJCG0iAXNU.

What is a mental model in design

People will create mental models before using software or devices by predicting how systems, software, or products do, and how to do it.