Mental model: concept, definition, characteristics, causes and effects of world perception

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Have you ever thought about the fact that the brain can be taught to oil in a different way, in a new way? You just need to expand the set of mental models. They are natural and inherent in every person, even regardless of whether he knows about their presence. They form a versatile system - a worldview. We will understand this and much more in our article.

What is mentality?

This is a form of thinking and a way of perceiving the world, characteristic of both an individual and a specific social group of people. The mental person is a personality characteristic that includes the conscious and the unconscious. The concept is determined by the composition of the mind, the level of intelligence or a set of psychological and social attitudes, options for analyzing and perceiving information obtained in the course of thinking and the process of sensations. Now let's define the next term.

Mental models

First let's understand systems thinking. This is a look at a problem thatInfluencing circumstances are taken into account: circle of contacts, goals far and near, past and future. In linear thinking, only one causal line is considered. Here there is a skill to look at the situation on a larger scale, wider and further. That is, if the task is not solved "on the forehead", you can find a way out with the help of competent preparation, you may need to "go in from all sides".

Now that we understand what systems thinking is, it can be used to analyze the main stimuli that will guide our mental image and methodology to solve problems. The quality of the result will be determined by the process used to accept them. Let's try to examine our thinking for the prejudices and delusions it contains.

We will use systems thinking:

1. Directly to solve problems. And above all to overcome the thought process that generates them.
2. To discover and overcome labels of pattern thinking.
3. To show how our thinking is inseparable from emerging problems. Which don't just come out of nowhere. They are a product of events and what we think about them. We are the main link of our failures. Staying at the same level of thinking that creates them, we will not solve them.
4. Understanding and better understanding beliefs and ways of acting can be done using systems thinking, applying its principles to the direct process of thinking, since our beliefs also add up to a system.

Any work is directed by those deeply embedded in the subconsciousideas, strategies, in other words, mental models. "Mental" - because they are hidden in our mind, directing actions. And "models" - as we build and create them on the basis of the experience gained. You can call them general ideas that shape our thoughts and actions, and ideas about expected outcomes.

Let's consider one of them

Let's give an example of a mental model. So:

• All such hypotheses simplify reality.
• We don't know the exact number of voters, but we know it's huge.
• It is not known what characteristics of a candidate will serve as positive aspects for voting in his favor for some, and negative for others.
• But we will rely on the fact that persons of less popular candidates will not be nominated for the vote.

The essence of human cognitive function is to create mental models of the world. This means that when an individual learns something, he automatically builds a model of the object being studied. For example:

• Exploring the territory, makes a map of the area, that is, forms a geographical model.
• Studying the laws of physics, builds mathematical models of these laws and so on.

When forming models, a person collects all possible information based on his senses, and then tries to present it in an understandable concise form. Models help in making decisions, for example, a geographical map is created in order to lay the desired route, economic laws allow you to control the production process or salesproducts.

Mental models give a general picture of the world. And we, in turn, must improve its quality. Self-improvement, namely to read books, study new disciplines, learn from the experience of successful people.

Everyone has them

Only the individual may not be aware of them. We perceive everything around us through them, we live in them. That is, it can be seen in the way we talk about our own beliefs, which we hold, reject or defend, accept that we have them. Having lost faith in something, as a rule, forever, it is necessary to fill the resulting void inside. And here our mental models are able to change and develop with new experience, and getting into an unknown social sphere, for example, they are forced to improve. This complicates the process of thinking a little. Therefore, the mental model is of great importance. It is important to take seriously the processes that are responsible for their formation.

Guide all our actions

Mental models are a stable anchor you can count on. We need a retroactive force that would confirm and feed them. And sometimes you want to find it so much that people are happy and unfortunate in order to affirm that they were right in their warning.

Thus, mental models give meaning to the events through which we explain our experience. Deeply settled in the subconscious, models in a sense organize the worldview. We use them to make distinctions and choices to decide what is for us.important and what doesn't matter. We can accept imagination as reality.

How does it happen? Our eyes see the world and capture pictures not as objectively as a camera. They work in tandem with the brain, which interprets the visible world in a different way. Therefore, what we see is a partial reality and a product of our way of seeing. The same is observed in the example of mental models, they form in an identical way what we see, hear and feel. They are common to all and are not permanent.

Thus, mental models are ideas based on past experience, strategies, perception techniques that exist in the mind of a person and direct him to take actions.

Let's consider how to form

They are developed and preserved using the following basic tools:

• Crossing out. It is a filter of information based on interests, emotional state, perplexity and sensitivity.
• Design. The ability to see what is not, the ability in the circumstances of uncertainty to discover interpretations similar to the truth, taking them for reality.
• Distortion. Transformation of lived reality with the downplaying of some elements and the exaggeration of others.
• Generalization. Formation of mental models based on a single experience, which we perceive as a characteristic phenomenon.

All information entering the brain first passes the filter. That is, it is compared withestablished worldview and, if it contradicts the prevailing stereotypes, it is eliminated, and accepted if confirmed. Further, there is a distortion of the received data. We tie them to the facts already collected earlier. In order to form a general picture, some of the missing information is thought out and remembered as reliable. Then all the information is summarized and a new mental model is formed. It remains in our minds forever, but it can be corrected.

How does it work in practice?

Let's give an example of the formation of a negative mental model. Suppose Natalya Andreevna promised to make a presentation for the lesson. But she didn't keep her promise.

Steps in the formation of a new model:

• Sifting: we evaluate the event and compare with expectations: "I knew that she could not be relied upon."
• Distortion: we interpret the situation in our favor: "It's not my fault, it's Natalya Andreevna's fault".
• Fantasy: inventing something that didn't really exist. For example: "If I asked her to prepare for an open lesson, she would also not complete the task."
• Generalization: we interpret the isolated case as characteristic: "You can't rely on her for anything."

Types of mental models

There are two kinds of patterns:

• Negative. They don't solve the problem, they only make it worse. Limit opportunities.
• Positive. Get out of the situation. Multiply opportunities.

Allmental models create a complex system - our worldview. They can both positively influence the process of learning and development, and hinder it.

The presence of limiting mental models is evidenced by:

• The tendency to stand up for the fact that all your ideas are completely true.
• Blaming problems on yourself and others.
• A narrow circle of interests that does not allow you to learn new things.
• The desire to avoid uncertainty, and rather draw conclusions.
• Constant use of phrases: "shouldn't", "should", "shouldn't" and others.
• The systematic use of generalizing concepts: "everyone", "nobody", "never" and others.
• The habit of summarizing everything based on a single case.
• Lack of curiosity.
• Experience does not encourage revision of existing beliefs.

And models that help to understand and better navigate in making the right decision are called "supporting". To start working with them, it is necessary to recreate the internal picture of the perception of the world, work them out well and study them. You need to have learning conversations to demonstrate your thinking, to open yourself up to the influence that other people can have.

Let's talk about psychological deviations

Autism, mental retardation, hyperactivity and other illnesses speak of mental disorders. And here it is very important notto notice the prerequisites for the disease, but to recognize that they exist and the child needs professional help. It is necessary to observe the development of the baby from birth. Unreasonable crying and excessive hypertonicity or hypotonicity of muscles, poor sleep, etc. should alert. In this case, you need to contact specialists.

Mental disorders are the cause of poor adaptation in society. Such children suffer from a low level of intelligence, passivity in all areas of activity. They have features that are expressed in the poor development of motor and speech functions, a decrease in the cognitive process, and so on. The degree of their manifestation will vary from mild to deep forms. Major disorders in children with mental disabilities:

• Communicative. There is no full interaction with others, in particular, parents.
• Motor.
• Touch. Perception is underdeveloped.

Mental disorders are increasingly being diagnosed in people. Many factors contribute to this: ecology, heredity, stress, etc. And schizophrenia plays a leading role among mental illnesses.

Let's move on to the next question

Let's talk about general mental models. They form the boundaries for the same perception of reality by the participants in the relationship and serve as a fundamental factor in any joint work. They are characterized by the following components: general knowledge, values, expectations, meanings, beliefs. Shared mental models are the foundation of any interaction.

Factors affecting themeducation

So, allocate:

• Biological. These are the racial external features of a person - skin and hair color, eye shape, height, and so on. Genetic background also matters.
• Social factor. Mentality, level of culture of society.
• Individual. Does not coincide with the mental model of society. Stacks exclusively at the level of one person.

So, we figured out the mental models of a person, learned how they are formed and what they are, what they mean in life. They are an integral part of it, help to simplify it. There is another concept of "mental age". Means the level of intellectual development of the individual determined by special tests.

And finally, learn how to make decisions using models

When a problem arises, we draw conclusions based on our experience and beliefs. And in order to achieve the goal, the situation must be considered from different angles, and this will require a set of mental models. So, to the advice:

• Simplify the complex.
• Eradicate prejudice.
• Look at the world more broadly, through the prism of various disciplines.

You need to improve yourself, create a lot of mental models. And they must be from different disciplines, because it is impossible to concentrate the whole world in one area.