mental map
Mind's spatial model
A mental map is an internal representation of spatial relationships—the layout of a neighborhood, the route to work, how countries are positioned on a globe.
Unlike physical maps, mental maps are subjective and often distorted: My mental map of the city is completely wrong once I get south of the river.
The term extends to any cognitive framework for organizing information or navigating a subject: She has a detailed mental map of the company's politics.
- spatial memoryRecollection of layouts and positions
- sense of directionSpatial navigation instinct
- navigationDetermining position and course
- orientationPosition relative to surroundings
- wayfindingNavigating through physical spaces
getting around · schema · internal compass · lay of the land · territory · route · neighborhood · geography · bird's eye view · perception · visualization · place · direction · familiar · shortcut · street · city · home
- thoughtsthought, idea, thoughts, ideas, thinking
- mental imagerymind's eye, inner vision, visual imagery, imagination, inner eye
- Pacific voyagingwaka, double hull, voyaging, outrigger canoe, wayfinding
- Mazesmaze, labyrinth, corn maze, hedge maze, ball maze
- memorizationrote learning, cramming, mnemonics, rehearsal, by heart
- navigationcompass, compass rose, signs, charts, navbar
mental mapphysical map
Geography showing natural features
paper map · GPS display · globe · street atlas · satellite image
mental, map, mentally, mentality, maps, mapped, mapping, mapper