Mentale modellen

Mentale modellen
Joske Houtkamp, 03/09/2014
Tbv Introductiecollege C&C RJ en opdracht werkcollege; zie Powerpoint Introductiecollege, pagina
14 en verder.
Er bestaan verschillende definities van “mentaal model”. Het lastige is dat Matlin de term niet
gebruikt. In HCI is mental model ingeburgerd, maar in de cognitieve psychologie kan de definitie
anders zijn, en daar heeft het ook een wat andere rol; Matlin beschrijft aanverwante begrippen maar
ze anders benoemt (zie onder).
Weinschenk hanteert Susan Carey’s definitie:
“A mental model represents a person’s thought process for how something works (i.e., a person’s
understanding of the surrounding world). Mental models are based on incomplete facts, past
experiences, and even intuitive perceptions. They help shape actions and behavior, influence what
people pay attention to in complicated situations, and define how people approach and solve
problems.”
Ze neemt ‘how something works’ dus heel ruim, inclusief allerlei complexe situaties in het dagelijks
leven.
In usability is meer focus op interactie met systemen, namelijk:
“For HCI practitioners, a mental model is a set of beliefs about how a system works. Humans interact
with systems based on these beliefs. (Norman, 1988) This makes mental models very important to
HCI and its primary objective, usability.”
Matlin gebruikt niet de term mental model, maar
• Mental representation
• Mental image, mental imagery (p. 179: we mentally represent objects, actions, or ideas that
are not physically present; p. 208: the mental representation of stimuli when those stimuli
are not physically present)
• Visual imagery (the mental representation of visual stimuli, p.209; itt bijv. Auditory imagery).
Hier noemt ze voorbeelden als het roteren van een mental image.
Iets uitgebreider, uit http://www.lauradove.info/reports/mental%20models.htm
Mental Models and Usability 1999,Mary Jo Davidson, Laura Dove, Julie Weltz
“For purposes of our discussion we will consider two different, but related, descriptions and uses of
mental models.
For most cognitive scientists today, a mental model is an internal scale-model representation of an
external reality. It is built on-the-fly, from knowledge of prior experience, schema segments,
perception, and problem-solving strategies. A mental model contains minimal information. It is
unstable and subject to change. It is used to make decisions in novel circumstances. A mental model
must be “runnable” and able to provide feedback on the results. Humans must be able to evaluate
the results of action or the consequences of a change of state. They must be able to mentally
rehearse their intended actions. Cognitive scientists often use academic studies of mental models to
gain information on the processes of the mind. This information can then be used to contribute to
work on artificial intelligence and simulations. (Markham, 1999)
The field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is relatively new. The seeds of the demand for HCI
were planted when the first electronic computer was developed, but it has become much more
important now that the explosive growth of computer usage has changed how humans see
themselves and each other, as well as computers (Dix, 1998). HCI has been called upon consistently
to help humans make sense of an increasingly complex world. (Rogers, et.al. 1992) To date, many of
the explanations have been a part of the knowledge base developed by cognitive scientists. It
naturally follows that mental models would become a part of the vocabulary that HCI practitioners
use to explain a very complex world.
For HCI practitioners, a mental model is a set of beliefs about how a system works. Humans interact
with systems based on these beliefs. (Norman, 1988) This makes mental models very important to
HCI and its primary objective, usability.”

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