Mielikartat

Mielikartat is a Finnish term used to describe internal representations of spatial environments formed by perception, memory and imagination. Literally from mieli (mind) and kartat (maps), the term parallels the concept of cognitive maps in psychology and geography. In Finnish scholarship, mielikartat refer to the mind’s schematic models of places, routes and spatial relationships that people use to navigate, plan movements, or imagine layouts they have not physically visited.

These internal maps include elements such as landmarks, routes, distances and the spatial order of objects. Mielikartat can be egocentric, centered on the observer’s current position, or allocentric, oriented to a broader reference frame. They are shaped by experience, culture, attention and task goals, and are known to be susceptible to distortions such as misjudged distances, landmark dominance or simplified layouts. The accuracy and detail of a person’s mielikartat depend on factors like familiarity with the area, navigation strategies and the quality of spatial cues available during learning.

Applications of the concept appear in education, urban planning, and human–computer interaction, where understanding how people internally represent space helps design better maps, wayfinding systems and virtual environments. Researchers study mielikartat through tasks such as sketch maps, verbal descriptions, and navigation experiments, which reveal how people encode, store and retrieve spatial information. Related concepts include cognitive maps, spatial memory and mental imagery. Limitations of the concept include its subjective nature and variability across individuals and contexts.