What are mental models in the context of product interactions?

Mental models in the context of product interactions refer to users' internal representations or cognitive frameworks that help them understand and predict how a product or system will function based on their past experiences, beliefs, and knowledge. When users interact with a product, they rely on these mental models to form expectations about how the product behaves and what actions they can take to achieve their goals.

This internal mapping allows users to navigate and use a product more intuitively, as it aligns with their existing perceptions and understanding of how similar products operate. For instance, if a user has previously interacted with a particular type of interface or functionality, they will likely apply that experience to new, similar products, which informs their expectations and interactions.

The other options reflect concepts that don't encapsulate the essence of mental models. Predicted outcomes from product use represent the conclusions users draw after engaging with a product but do not capture the internal mapping aspect of mental models. User-generated feedback relates to responses from users about a product's performance, which can inform product development but does not directly pertain to the cognitive frameworks users employ. Lastly, external influences on consumer behavior pertain to factors outside the user’s internal reasoning, focusing instead on societal, cultural, and marketing effects on user behavior, rather than