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Mental Models

Agent skill
1 skill

Use when reasoning about how a system, user, or designer's internal model of behavior may diverge from reality — applies across UX, distributed systems, type systems, API design, and team collaboration. Covers the three-model frame (designer / system image / user), the two gulfs (execution and evaluation), analogy and metaphor as model-seeding, the five failure modes (transfer, overgeneralization, underspecification, drift, invariant blindness), the surface/operational/architectural/domain layering, and the discipline of validating a model against the system it claims to represent. Do NOT use for the visual representation of a model (use knowledge-modeling), for the formal-domain entities-attributes-relationships of conceptual modeling (use conceptual-modeling), for cognitive biases in decision-making (out of scope), or for empirically eliciting user models via research methods (use user-research).

Install with
Claude CodeCodexCursorGitHub CopilotGemini CLI

Supported by the Atlas install prompt. Skill-specific requirements vary.

Skill stats

Skills1CategoryScience & researchStars0

About this skill

Use when reasoning about how a system, user, or designer's internal model of behavior may diverge from reality — applies across UX, distributed systems, type systems, API design, and team collaboration. Covers the three-model frame (designer / system image / user), the two gulfs (execution and evaluation), analogy and metaphor as model-seeding, the five failure modes (transfer, overgeneralization, underspecification, drift, invariant blindness), the surface/operational/architectural/domain layering, and the discipline of validating a model against the system it claims to represent. Do NOT use for the visual representation of a model (use knowledge-modeling), for the formal-domain entities-attributes-relationships of conceptual modeling (use conceptual-modeling), for cognitive biases in decision-making (out of scope), or for empirically eliciting user models via research methods (use user-research).

Quick start

  1. Copy the install prompt. Use the green button above this README.
  2. Send it to your agent. Paste it into your coding agent’s chat and send.
  3. Review the setup. Your agent checks the skill’s instructions, requirements, and installation scope.
Review, license & listing details
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0 potential findings · Scanned 11/4/2026 · Scanner 0.2.1

Content SHA-256: 0dc0bf785c88247f7a9f9896fa518ed116eec4174357668f1e4cb76c877a6f56

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About this listing

Category
Science & research
Reported license
Not specified
Listing language (estimated)
English
Review status
Not individually reviewed
Agent compatibility
Atlas installation supports Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor. Skill-specific dependencies and features are checked during setup.
Mental Models | Agent Skills Atlas