CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM
CONCEPT MAP
INTRODUCTION Cognitive map is also known as concept map, mental map or mental model. It is a type of mental representation which serves an individual to acquire code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in everyday or metaphorical spatial environment. The concept was introduced by Edward Tolman in 1948. Cognitive maps have been studied in various fields, such as psychology, education, archaeology, planning, geography, cartography, architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, management and history. Cognitive maps serve the construction and accumulation of spatial knowledge, allowing the "mind's eye" to visualize images in order to reduce cognitive load, enhance recall and learning of information. This type of spatial thinking can also be used as a metaphor for non-spatial tasks, where people performing non-spatial tasks involving memory and imaging use spatia...
