M-tool : M-Tool: the mental model mapping tool

M-Tool: the mental model mapping tool

M-Tool,mental models,cognitive mapping,complex systems,ecology,decision-making,elicitation mental mapping,methods,natural resource management,participatory modelling,socio-ecological systems,stakeholder perceptions,system thinking

Mental Model Mapping Tool to create visual diagrams depicting people’s mental model of any system. M-TOOL, the Mental Model Mapping Tool, allows you to capture stakeholders’ mental models. Mental models are internal representations of an external system or environment. Mental models are highly relevant as they shape how stakeholders explain events, predict future developments, and ultimately how they act in their environment. The environment can be virtually any type of system that consists of factors and causal links between those factors. For example, M-TOOL could create fishermen’s mental models of an ecosystem, policymakers’ mental models of their regions’ economy, or children's mental models of the climate.