Knowledge Representation: Defining Mental Models (Part II)

Mental Models Series

Even if a good definition for a concept is available this doesn’t mean that people are able to recognize concept’s characteristics, usage and area of applicability. Therefore, the easiest way to understand what a concept like ‘mental model’ is about is by having one or more representative examples. Even if the examples aren’t always sufficient, they allow us in theory more chances to succeed. With this in mind, let’s consider the scenario of ‘opening a door’. 

If I need to open the door, then I can use the door knob or latch to do that. If I try that and the door doesn’t open, then I might also need a certain key (or one deals with something that isn’t a door, e.g. a false door). Only a specific key will work unless I have a master key which can open any door within the building, though not in other buildings. Supposing that I have other special skills, I could open a locked door with other objects – a big and hard object that will break the door, maybe a picklock, or any other device that will help me achieve that. Otherwise I can call somebody who has the skills or means to do it. I still need to differentiate between the different types of doors, keys or on whether I am or not entitled to enter the building.

We deal thus with a set of objects (doors, keys, knobs, latches, picklock), subjects (doorman, security man, locksmith), actions (opening, breaking, entering), heuristics (trying the knob first, first trying by myself then ask for help) and contexts (am I entitled to open the door?, can I ask for help?) which, when put together form a mental model. If we look at this mix, one can break it down to smaller units – how to open a door, a lock, how to bypass security, how to break a door, etc. All these can be considered as separate mental models which when put within a context or situation can form another mental model. Therefore, the delimitation between mental models is really thin as many mental models overlap or aggregate to handle more complex situations. 

To open a door, one even doesn’t need to know how the objects or subjects are called. Being able to use a language gives us this luxury. In contrast, a cat or a dog can open an unlocked door (when that is possible) and probably there must have some cognitive structure that allows them to recognize that they deal with something that can be opened, how it could be opened, and repeat the action when needed. Of course, they could also mimic behavior they have seen (us opening the door), though there must be a small sprung of intelligence in recognizing that by reaching to the door latch and grabbing it the door will open.

Being able to use language allows us to describe and communicate how to open a door, how to arrive from A to B, how to solve problems, etc. Labeling things and agreeing on the labels with other people helps in the process, to the degree that we can use the respective labels to communicate with people we don’t even know, or cope with unknown situations based on descriptions using the labels we know (e.g. opening a door with a touch key). It helps also that the labels carry with them some characteristics that define them and that characteristics apply to a set of objects sharing them. There are also characteristics that can slightly differ, while upon case these variances can be ignored or make a considerable difference.

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