Evaluating the Application of the Mental Model Mapping Tool (M-Tool)

How do people understand the spread of COVID-19 infections? Mapping mental models of factors contributing to the pandemic

OBJECTIVE

To describe the mental models people hold about the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on how they understand the factors that drive the spread of COVID-19 and what kind of beliefs are associated with these models.

DESIGN

In a series of three studies (total N = 461), we asked participants to identify factors that are relevant for COVID-19 proliferation (Study 1a), rate the importance of factors (Study 1 b), and create a mental model of how these factors relate to virus spread by employing a validated tool for mental model elicitation (Study 2). Main outcome measures: inclusion and centrality of factors in mental models of COVID-19 infection spread.

RESULTS

Mitigation measures issued by government, adherence to measures, and virus characteristics were most strongly represented in participants' mental models. Participants who perceived measures as appropriate or who experienced more control and more worry over the spread of the virus created more complex models compared to participants who were less satisfied with measures or who felt lower control and less worry.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that people are able to create sensible mental models of virus transmission but may appreciate transparent communication to comprehend the bigger picture behind the governmental mitigation strategy.

Mental models of the protein shift: Exploring consumers' perceptions of the transition

The protein transition is one of today's major societal challenges to mitigate climate change. To support lasting consumer engagement, it has been suggested to look into consumers' understanding of the protein transition to identify barriers that go beyond the practical issues of changing one's diet. The current study explored consumers' mental models of how the transition unfolds to examine which factors consumers perceive as important drivers of the transition. With a fixed set of factors and actors identified with a questionnaire, Dutch consumers (N = 214) mapped their mental models. The content and structure of the mental models were analyzed with a focus on how consumers perceive their own role. Animal well-being and environmental concerns were most often included as important drivers. The findings showed a lack of consensus about which actor(s) drive the transition (i.e., none of the actors were included by a majority of the participants). This diffusion of responsibility may be a barrier for consumers to act. Moreover, the relative simplicity of the observed mental models suggests that consumers do not yet employ systems thinking. A systems thinking mindset may help consumers understand how the system behind the transition works and how their individual contributions matter. Two avenues to encourage consumer engagement were identified: 1) emphasizing the responsibility of different actors and what consumers can contribute, and 2) encouraging a systems thinking mindset.

Performance Influence Mechanism of Individuals’ Spatial Ability in Teleoperation

BACKGROUND: Teleoperation enables performing tasks in hazardous or inaccessible environments. The relationship between spatial ability and teleoperation performance has been extensively studied; however, relatively few studies have considered examples wherein the specific influence mechanism between the two is examined. This study aims to explore how individuals’ spatial ability affects teleoperation performance.METHODS: Forty subjects completed teleoperated expedition and escape tasks in a virtual unfamiliar environment according to the assigned requirements. After each expedition task, subjects’ mental model about the unfamiliar environment was evaluated. The escape task performance was measured in terms of path length, completion time, and the number of collisions. The impact of spatial ability on escape task performance wherein mental model as a mediator was examined. The Bootstrapping method was used to examine the hypothesis regarding the mediating role of mental model in the influence of spatial ability on teleoperation performance.RESULTS: Subjects with higher spatial ability exhibited significantly better mental models and had fewer collisions. In addition, subjects with better mental models had significantly shorter path lengths and spent marginally less time on escape. In general, the mental model appeared important for path length and completion time, but not collisions.CONCLUSIONS: The combined results of the two tasks preliminarily proved that spatial ability affected path length of the escape task through the mental model after the exploration task. The findings are expected to aid in astronaut selection and teleoperation training for space station missions.Pan D, Liu D, Tian Z, Zhang Y. Performance influence mechanism of individuals’ spatial ability in teleoperation. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2022; 93(10):717–724.