A Taxonomy and Theory of Mental Models

The work of systems researchers such as Conant and Ashby (1970) and Wonham (1976) has shown that good controllers of dynamic systems logically require internal models of the processes controlled. Since human operators are good controllers it follows that they must use mental models and hence the remaining problem is to elucidate their nature, but the literature on mental models is confused because mental models are used in situations other than manual control. A taxonomy is developed to describe the relation between different types of mental models, from those proposed by Johnson-Laird (1983) for logical problems to those proposed by Bainbridge (1991) and others for complex industrial processes. Such a taxonomy provides a coherent description of mental models which can clear up the conceptual difficulties noted by Wilson and Rutherford (1989). A brief outline is given of the application of Mapping Theory and Lattice Theory as formalisms for mental models, especially in relation to the use of Conant's Method to identify systems and models (Conant, 1976).