Definition from Tomas Laurinavicius
βA mental model is an explanation of a personβs thought process about how something works in real life. The closer a userβs mental model is to the functionality of a site, the more intuitive user experience.β
Going further
I've curated 400+ definitions just like this one in a tiny dictionary. In this glossary you can easily access, search and understand 400+ terms that service designers and other innovators use.