Editing Cognitive map (section)

== Mental map distinction ==
A cognitive map is a spatial representation of the outside world that is kept within the mind, until an actual manifestation (usually, a drawing) of this perceived knowledge is generated, a mental map. Cognitive mapping is the implicit, mental mapping the explicit part of the same process. In most cases, a cognitive map exists independently of a mental map, an article covering just cognitive maps would remain limited to theoretical considerations. {{cn|date=March 2025}}

Mental mapping is typically associated with landmarks, locations, and geography when demonstrated. Creating mental maps depends on the individual and their perceptions whether they are influenced by media, real-life, or other sources. Because of their factual storage mental maps can be useful when giving directions and navigating.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Society |first=National Geographic |title=National Geography Standard 2 |url=http://nationalgeographic.org/standards/national-geography-standards/2/ |access-date=2020-04-06 |website=nationalgeographic.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=M. A. |first1=Geography |last2=B. A. |first2=Geography |title=Mental Maps: You Don't Need a GPS to Get Where You Want to Go |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/mental-map-definition-1434793 |access-date=2020-04-06 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref> As stated previously this distinction is hard to identify when posed with almost identical definitions, nevertheless there is a distinction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schenk |first=Frithjof Benjamin |title=Mental Maps: The Cognitive Mapping of the Continent as an Object of Research of European History Mental Maps |url=http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/theories-and-methods/mental-maps/frithjof-benjamin-schenk-mental-maps-the-cognitive-mapping-of-the-continent-as-an-object-of-research-of-european-history |access-date=2020-04-06 |website=EGO(http://www.ieg-ego.eu) |language=en}}</ref>

In some uses, mental map refers to a practice done by urban theorists by having city dwellers draw a map, from memory, of their city or the place they live. This allows the theorist to get a sense of which parts of the city or dwelling are more substantial or imaginable. This, in turn, lends itself to a decisive idea of how well urban planning has been conducted.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lloyd |first=Robert |date=March 1989 |title=Cognitive Maps: Encoding and Decoding Information |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=101–124 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.1989.tb00253.x |jstor=2563857}}</ref>