mental models
Internal reasoning templates
Mental models are internal representations of how things work—simplified frameworks the mind uses to understand systems, predict outcomes, and navigate decisions.
Everyone carries mental models of physical reality (how objects fall), social dynamics (how people react), and abstract domains (how markets behave).
The term appears frequently in psychology, design, and business strategy, where cultivating better mental models supposedly improves thinking: Her mental model of the company was outdated.
Mental models can be accurate or flawed, and much of learning involves updating them.
- frameworksFoundational organizational systems
- folk psychologyIntuitive beliefs about minds
- cognitionMental knowledge acquisition
- decision-makingProcess of choosing actions
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
big picture · problem-solving · understanding · mindset · working theory · abstraction · thought experiments · assumptions · blind spots · perception · heuristics · rule of thumb · systems thinking · connect the dots · beliefs · cognitive maps · cognitive flexibility · chunking
- schemasschemas, schemata, data model, star schema
- thinking techniquesbrainstorming, mind mapping, critical thinking, lateral thinking, analysis
- UX designuser research, wireframing, user experience, user testing, user needs
- frameworksframework, frameworks, schema, schemas, schemata
- cognitive sciencecognitive psychology, cognitive science, cognitive development, cognitive load, cognitive maps
- thinkingthinking, reasoning, thought, ponder, contemplate
mental modelsreality
What actually exists
objective reality · ground truth · physical reality · facts · truth
mental modelsraw data
Unanalyzed collected information
direct experience · sensory input · empirical observation · lived experience
mental modelsinstinct
Innate behavioral tendency
reflexes · gut reaction · knee-jerk reactions · mental confusion
measure, mental, models, mentality, mentally, mentalist, modulus, mentalism, mentalists