Conceptual Models

Definition

Conceptual models (also called mental models) are the explanations people form of how objects, devices, or systems work. Donald Norman defines a conceptual model as a simplified explanation of a system's operation that allows users to predict the effects of their actions. "A good conceptual model allows us to predict the effects of our actions. Without a good model we operate by rote, blindly." In design, the goal is to provide a system image (the visible structure, documentation, labels) that accurately conveys the design model (how the system actually works), so users form accurate mental models. False or inadequate conceptual models lead to frustration and error—as in Norman's refrigerator example, where two controls suggest independent temperature control when there is actually only one thermostat.

Key Thinkers

• donald norman — conceptual models as simplified explanations that enable prediction; the designer's task is to make the system image match the design model
• Kenneth Craik — early cognitive psychology; mental models as internal representations of external reality

Related Concepts

• affordances — affordances help users form accurate conceptual models by making operation obvious
• thing ontology — conceptual models concern how we understand the causal structure of things
• everyday life — conceptual models as the cognitive infrastructure of everyday object-use
• habitus — the "feel for the game" as an embodied conceptual model of practice (Bourdieu)

Source Support

Sources in the wiki that discuss this concept:

• The Design of Everyday Things (Norman 1990) — central concept; "provide a good conceptual model" as one of two fundamental design principles
• The Logic of Practice (Bourdieu 1990) — the "feel for the game" as an embodied, practical conceptual model that guides action without conscious representation.

Open Questions

• How do conceptual models relate to phenomenological accounts of embodied understanding (Merleau-Ponty, Pallasmaa)?
• Is the conceptual model a conscious cognitive representation or an embodied, tacit understanding?
• How do conceptual models operate at the architectural scale (not just device scale)?