**6.3 Cognitive map / heuristic map**

The cognitive map, sometimes also referred to as the heuristic map, is a mental model or representation that a human individual makes of the arrangement of steps, methods or conditions which he/she considers necessary to decide what to do. In other words, it is an organised representation of knowledge. It indicates the time required to identify a task (about one minute), in forms that are sometimes rather basic, it transmits, when necessary, the information to the long-term memory which stores it for future reuse.

Like numerous cognitive productions, this map is subject to the heuristic approaches identified by Kahneman, Slovic and Tversky [7]. While numerous occurrences exist, they all have the same objective: introduce simplicity into a situation which, due to its complexity, appears to be disconcerting. We may mention again the initial lack of understanding conveyed by the term "chaos theory", direct reflection of a cognitive failure. As confirmed subsequently by the research studies in cognitive psychology on judgement, as part of the basic need of every human being to understand the present world, individuals will perform heuristic reductions of this complexity which will then be used to produce simplified cognitive

*Cognitive Decision-Making in Dynamic Systems: When the Objectivity (of the Processing)… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98937*

maps. However, although the mental representation is simplified, the reality of the situation nevertheless remains complex. Applying the simplified mental models to the reality of the situation fosters errors of judgement and therefore inappropriate decisions. (A very similar approach in the field of perception underlies the development of conspiracy "theories".)
