Mental Model: What Is It? (+Common Examples)

Mental models are your mind’s way of making sense of something. They represent how you see the world, including the possibilities you anticipate, what you find believable, and the relationships between events. 

Knowing what a mental model is, why you use it, identifying the various types, and understanding how to debug it can help you learn and examine problems. To strengthen your ability to use them, explore five types of mental models and when they might be applicable. 

What is a mental model? 

A mental model is what you use to understand and interact with the world around you. Formed through personal experience, education, cultural influences, and other sources of information, mental models help us make sense of information and interpret situations. 

Mental models also help you:

• Make decisions

• Perceive and process information

• Organize and categorize knowledge

• Predict outcomes

• Guide your actions

You engage in mental modeling consciously and subconsciously. That can make things trickier, but mental models can evolve and change as you recognize them and make conscious choices about how and when to use them. 

Who uses mental models?

Everyone uses mental models. Yet, every individual does so differently. Here are some examples of when you take a walk along a beach, you’ll view it differently depending on your model:

• A biologist might focus on the birds.

• An environmentalist might look for evidence of the impact of climate change.

• An engineer could seek signs of erosion.

• A business person might want to predict the value of the land.

• Artists might seek a view they want to capture in paints or a photograph.

You could go to that beach and look at it with several mental models at once. That’s where the different types of mental models come into play.

Types of mental models 

You might use several types of mental models to understand and interact with information and others around you. Explore several typical mental models, considering that you can simultaneously incorporate various elements of different models. 

1. Conceptual models

Conceptual models represent abstract concepts and the relationships between them. These models provide a high-level understanding of a domain or a system. For instance, you might try to comprehend or communicate a complicated process by describing it, creating a table, or thinking of a comic strip progression of tasks. 

Conceptual models apply to science, mathematics, philosophy, and other abstract areas. They allow individuals to grasp the fundamental principles and structure. 

2. Causal models

Casual models depict cause-and-effect relationships between variables or events and can help you understand how a single factor influences or contributes to another. You can expect to use causal models in business, public health, science, and many other areas, as this is how you can predict outcomes, analyze complex systems, and identify root causes.

3. Mental imagery models

Mental imagery models involve visual or sensory representations of objects, events, or processes in the mind. These models let us mentally simulate experiences, scenarios, or actions. You might use mental imagery to aid in problem-solving, creativity, and memory recall in the workplace or your personal life. 

4. Analogical models

Analogical models draw comparisons and inferences between different domains or situations and help us transfer knowledge from one context to another. You can tackle an unfamiliar domain by applying what you know about a familiar domain as an analogy. For instance, a teen learning to drive might apply the analogical model of a racing car video game when first taking to the actual road. In a team meeting at work, you might compare the functions and benefits of a hybrid work environment to the capacity of a hybrid car to function well with two different energy sources.

5. Domain-specific models

Domain-specific models represent specialized knowledge developed through special study or personal experiences. They are often specific to particular domains or areas of expertise, such as medicine, engineering, finance, or sports. These models make it possible to navigate and excel in a particular field.

You might use domain-specific mental models to make decisions and consider potential outcomes in a business profession. In this context, you might need familiarity with mental models that include supply and demand and the power of compound interest. You may also need to know about opportunity costs, which means everything is a trade-off, and making one choice means you can’t do the other option. These mental models may be more relevant to your professional needs than other professions and hold a more central place in your thought processes.

Debugging your mental model 

Mental models can evolve and change as we do. You can grow and develop by regularly examining and evaluating the accuracy and effectiveness of your mental models. You should continually reflect on your mental models, including awareness of their limitations and potential biases. Some ways you can take action to debug your mental models include the following steps. 

1. Be aware of your mental models.

Start by recognizing that you employ your own mental models. Next, acknowledge that they may not always be perfect or complete. This acknowledgment can open you up to reflecting on your beliefs and assumptions. Consider that other mental models can also have truth in them, even if they differ from your own.

2. Identify biases and limitations.

Recognize that biases can influence mental models and challenge yourself to overcome them. Common biases you could encounter include:

• Confirmation bias: Favoring information that confirms existing beliefs

• Anchoring bias: Favoring your first instinct or inclination rather than considering new evidence or alternate solutions

• Attribution bias: Believing that positive things happen due to your own actions, while unfavorable occurrences are due to external circumstances; may also occur when you attribute others’ failures to personal mistakes and successes to luck 

3. Seek diverse perspectives.

Engaging with various perspectives, opinions, and sources of information can help challenge your existing mental models. Often, mental models change in response to new information or experiences. Constructive discussions, reading diverse literature, or seeking out experts in a particular field can broaden your understanding.

4. Test and experiment.

Actively seek out situations that can either validate or challenge your models. Experimenting with new approaches, ideas, or behaviors helps refine your mental models based on real-world outcomes. If you can, create opportunities for others to challenge their mental models in the early stages of formation.

Remaining open to feedback can also support mental model updates and help you refine and improve your understanding of the world.

Why use mental models?

Mental models come in handy in many contexts. They play a crucial role in how you:

• Understand and make sense of complex information

• Organize knowledge for better retention and recall

• Work collaboratively on larger-scale initiatives

• Assess potential outcomes of different choices 

• Identify relevant factors and generate potential solutions

• Break complex problems into manageable components

• Make predictions about future events or outcomes 

• Relate to new concepts and ideas 

• Exchange information effectively

Continue developing your mental models on Coursera

Mental models shape how you see the world, categorize new information, make decisions, and more. Mental models cover diverse thought structures, including conceptual, analogical, and contextual models. You can improve your models’ accuracy and effectiveness by actively engaging in the mental modeling process and taking steps to debug your mental models. Doing so can lead to better decision-making and understanding of the world around you.

Develop your mental models by engaging in lifelong learning, curiosity, and seeking new opportunities. You can also expand your mental model of self by taking Leading Oneself With Self-Knowledge through the University of Colorado, Boulder, on Coursera, or Know Thyself: The Value and Limits of Self-Knowledge through the University of Edinburgh on Coursera.