ABSTRACT
Representationalskills,atypeofmentalmodel,areessentialcomponentsof skilledperformanceincomplexaviationtasks.Representationalskillsare dynamicmentaldepictionsofdevices,processes,orsystemsusedtopredict theoutcomeofanactionthroughmentalsimulation.Representationalskills aresubtask-specific,andareadistinctformofmentalmodel.Themore generalterm"mentalmodel"hasincludedsuchabroadrangeof phenomenonthattheconcepthaslostfocusandclearmeaning.Mental modelshavebeenpresentedasbothknowledgeandskills,andhave includedmentalmodelsofsystemsaswellasmentalmodelsofthework environment.Mentalmodels,intheirgeneralform,aremodelsofthe world.Theyhavebeenusedtoexplainawiderangeofpsychological phenomena,fromvisualperceptiontoreasoning.Further,mentalmodels havebeenconfusedwithmodelsofusers;modelsdevelopedbyscientists, expertsystemandintelligenttutordevelopers,andengineers(Wilsonand Rutherford,1989).
