Instructional manipulation of users' mental models for electronic calculators

Abstract

A mental model for a calculator or computer refers to the user's conception of the “invisible” information processing states and transformations that occur between input and output. This paper explores the following ideas concerning users' mental models for electronic calculators: (1) users differ greatly in their mental models in spite of similar “hands-on” experience; (2) users often tend to develop either impoverished or incorrect models; (3) users can be encouraged to develop more useful mental models through instructional intervention.