Mental Models in UX Research

Mental models are all about a user’s beliefs rather than facts. They’re based on what users know (or think they know) rather than actual facts about the way a system or product works.

Mental models influence the way users interact with your product. They take action based on the way they think the system will work, often based on past experience with similar systems. Designers should aim to create interactions in their products that assist users in creating accurate and useful mental models.

Every user has a slightly different mental model based on their past experiences. This is true even when using the same products; each user will build a slightly different mental model of the way it works.

Because designers are so intimately involved in the creation of their products, their mental models tend to be very complete and accurate. Users, however, have less information about the product and are more likely to create deficient mental models. It’s up to designers to bridge that knowledge gap to help users create more accurate mental models.

Users build mental models based on their past experiences.^[1] For example, if they arrive on your e-commerce site for the first time, they likely have an idea of how they think the site should work. Their mental models include things like how to add a product to their shopping cart, how to enter their shipping information, and how to pay for their purchase.

While each user’s mental model may be slightly different, there are similarities between them. As designers, we should understand the common elements of these mental models and capitalize on them to create a more intuitive user experience.

Because users’ mental models are based on beliefs rather than facts, they’re flexible and can change as users have new experiences. As designers, we can use this flexibility to help users create new mental models for our products.

One way to improve user mental models is to explain things within your interface so that they have a better understanding of how it works. Even something as simple as labeling your interface elements to make them more transparent can have a profound effect on a user’s mental model.^[2]

Because user mental models are based on beliefs rather than facts, they are not always accurate. For example, many users will type a website address in a search field rather than in the address bar of their browser. Their mental model of how to most efficiently get to a new website is mixed up.

Mixed-up mental models are a key factor in usability issues. If users think a particular UI element should function a particular way, that’s the way they will attempt to use it. Understanding the most common mixed-up mental models can help designers prevent usability issues before they happen, either by changing the system to better fit the mixed-up mental model or by including a better explanation of how the system actually works.

Mental models have inertia — things that users already know tend to stick in their mind, even when those models aren’t helpful in the current situation. This can cause problems for designers who aim to create a new way for users to interact with their product.

When you do something new, you have to overcome the inertia of users' existing mental models. Because of this, it’s best to only create something new when it’s superior to the old way of doing things. Take Netflix, for example. Users expected to have to complete an order before DVDs in their queue would be sent to them. But in reality, Netflix would automatically send the next DVD in a user’s queue when they returned their last DVD.

Users had to adjust their mental models to this new way of doing things, but considering Netflix’s success, they found it worth it to do so.^[3]

One of the easiest ways to prevent usability issues is by making your product conform to users’ existing mental models, assuming those models are similar. For example, most users assume that the close function on a modal window will appear in the upper right-hand corner of the modal. If you place the close function elsewhere, it’s more likely to confuse (and frustrate) users.

Unless you have an excellent reason for straying from the likely mental models of your users, conforming to those models makes your product more intuitive for them to use.

If you’re creating a new product with new interaction methods, it can be difficult to overcome users’ existing mental models. That doesn’t mean you can’t, though. The most important aspect of overcoming an existing model is to educate users. Show them not only how to use your product but also why the way you’ve designed it is better than existing models.

Mental models are key when creating things like documentation, user manuals, or onboarding flows. By showing users where your product differs from their existing mental models, you’ll shorten the learning curve for them and prevent frustration.

Mental models are cognitive frameworks that represent users' understanding of systems based on past experiences and knowledge. By incorporating mental models, designers gain deeper insights into user behavior and expectations. Key aspects include prior experiences with similar products, domain knowledge, cultural context, and technological literacy.

Integrating mental models in personas allows designers to create intuitive interfaces aligned with user expectations and develop targeted onboarding experiences.^[4]

Mental model-enriched personas help designers:

• Identify where users need guidance
• Determine necessary onboarding steps
• Decide when to conform to established patterns or introduce novel interactions