A cognitive model is a human-made artifact that represents how people think, reason, and make decisions within a specific domain. Parameters: the domain of knowledge being modeled, the cognitive processes represented (perception, memory, reasoning, decision-making), the fidelity level (qualitative sketch vs. quantitative computational implementation). Persistence mechanism: documentation (papers, manuals), software implementations (expert systems, Bayesian models), and pedagogical transmission (teaching, training protocols). Cognitive models are distinguished from cognitive maps (which represent spatial/environmental understanding) and mental models (which reside within individual minds rather than being external artifacts). [formal: cognitum_model | substrate: mind | horizon: hours | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
cognitive-model
A cognitive model is a human-made artifact that represents how people think, reason, and make decisions within a specific domain. Parameters: the domain of knowledge being modeled, the cognitive processes represented (perception, memory, r…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made representational artifact that formalizes how people think, reason, and make decisions within a domain. Built by researchers, designers, and AI engineers to model, predict, and improve human cognition in specific contexts. Persists through documentation, software implementations, and pedagogical teaching.
Names and aliases
- cognitive-modelen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmru5nrqe003sr671qxjyxhiqINSTANCE_OF →
Direction tested: cognitive-model is newer/specific, model is older/general. A cognitive model IS a model — it is a specific kind of representational model formalizing how people think and make decisions. Law 9: 'a cognitive model is a model.'
Relations to this entry
- cmrmezisv000hd1nlnhxbatfz← INSTANCE_OF
Direction tested: cognitive-architecture IS a specific kind of cognitive-model. A cognitive architecture (ACT-R, SOAR, etc.) is a comprehensive computational model of the structure of cognition — it is a particular type of cognitive model, distinguished by its systematic coverage of multiple cognitive functions. A competent speaker would call a cognitive architecture 'a type of cognitive model.'
- cmrmp851r0160d1nl3rlfwv3r← INSTANCE_OF
Direction tested: cognitive map IS a specific kind of cognitive-model. It is a structured internal representation organizing spatial and conceptual relationships — a particular type of cognitive model. Nearest kind.
- cmrvau5fi00ky2cei43yja17h← INSTANCE_OF
Theory of mind IS a specific kind of cognitive model: it is a model for representing and reasoning about others' mental states. A competent speaker calls theory of mind 'a cognitive model.' Nearest general is cognitive-model.
- cmsie22c4001anzgd751o8pwl← DEPENDS_ON
Cognitive walkthrough as a usability evaluation method requires cognitive models of users to simulate their problem-solving. Remove cognitive-model and the method has no framework to evaluate — it stops operating.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 21, 2026, 11:01 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 764c5256dcbf910339336863d891c962ba5df05e7262673c5e48d8937e8d5cdc