The utility of mental images: How to construct stable mental models in an unstable image medium

We propose a strategy of how to construct useful mental images given that these are inexact. Inexactness is modelled as constructed image element (point) positions represented probabilistically, which leads to slight changes over time in the spatial relations extracted from this image by inspection. This may make the extracted information unstable or even incorrect. We show that the proposed strategy ‘regularise’ achieves maximal usefulness of mental images constructed in this way if the images are to serve as depictions of mental models, which should be stable over time. Strategy choice is shown to be the optimal solution to a decision problem. We also discuss empirical data which support the claim of the existence of this strategy.