Mental Map
Updated 2026-08-04
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A concept from environmental psychology and behavioral geography, describing the internal model a person holds of a space or process. It is not a faithful copy of the objective layout: familiar regions are enlarged, unfamiliar or threatening regions are compressed or blanked out, and routes are simplified. In design and research the concept directs attention to psychological distance rather than physical distance, since a step that is objectively short can be subjectively remote and therefore never taken.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Distance reading: judge how far something is psychologically, not how many clicks it takes. - Distortion search: find the areas a user has enlarged or blanked out in their model. - Behavior calibration: trust observed behavior over stated familiarity when the two disagree.
Anchor fast decisions
Navigation and choice use the internal model rather than the terrain, so effort is estimated from the map, not from the actual route. Regions that have been traversed many times become detailed and feel close, while regions that are unfamiliar or associated with discomfort are represented vaguely or not at all, which makes them feel distant. Because the model is what the decision consults, an objectively trivial step can be avoided indefinitely, and no amount of shortening the physical path changes the outcome.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BF%83%E7%90%86%E5%9C%B0%E5%9C%96verified
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