cognitive map

American  

noun

1. Psychology. a mental picture of one's physical or spatial environment.

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cognitive map British  

noun

1. psychol a mental map of one's environment

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Other Word Forms

• cognitive mapping
  noun

Etymology

Origin of cognitive map

First recorded in 1948; first used by behavioral psychologist Edward C. Tolman

Example Sentences

The first step was allowing the rats to create a baseline cognitive map of this virtual environment.

From Scientific American • Nov. 2, 2023

It will instead have to rely on memory in its cognitive map.

From Nature • Jul. 10, 2018

The cognitive map is now understood to have its own physical location, as a collection of electrochemical firings in the brain.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2016

The activated cells are known as place cells because they create a cognitive map of physical spaces, acting as a sort of GPS for the brain.

From The Verge • Mar. 9, 2015

“I learned to create a cognitive map of the world, sort of like The Matrix,” she says.

From BusinessWeek • Sep. 26, 2013