Mental models are the internal assumptions users carry with them about how something should work. In user experience (UX) design and usability testing, a mental model shapes the way a person expects to navigate a website, app, or product interface. These models are based on prior experiences, habits, and even patterns they've seen in other tools. When the mental model of a user aligns with your design, everything feels intuitive. When there’s a mismatch, confusion and friction arise.

Imagine a user trying to book a flight on a new travel website. They assume, based on their experience with other platforms, that the booking button will be in the upper-right corner. But your design places it in the footer. Without realizing it, the user’s mental model has failed to align with your intended layout—leading to frustration or even abandonment.

In UX research, understanding these mental models is key to uncovering why users behave the way they do—not just what they click. Tools like UserTesting can be incredibly helpful to surface these insights through moderated tests, think-aloud sessions, and navigation studies. However, without a clear understanding of mental models, it’s easy to overlook the why behind user actions and get stuck reporting surface-level data instead of guiding design improvements.

Why Mental Models Matter in UX Research

Studying mental models helps you design with the user’s perspective in mind. When you understand how users expect an interface to function, you can:

• Spot disconnects between user expectations and your navigation structure
• Reduce friction points that impact conversion or engagement
• Refine usability tests to target common pain points
• Strengthen UX decisions with deeper behavioral insight

For businesses running usability testing in DIY platforms like UserTesting, decoding mental models is essential for meaningful learning. If you only measure task success without understanding expectations, you might misdiagnose what's truly holding users back.

And that’s where expert help from On Demand Talent can prove invaluable. Experienced insights professionals know how to probe for expectations—not just actions—during testing, helping your team go beyond “Did it work?” to understand “Why did it work…or not?”

UserTesting is a powerful tool when used effectively—but DIY usability testing can also present challenges, especially when trying to uncover complex cognitive patterns like mental models. Many research teams, especially those newer to DIY platforms or balancing multiple roles, discover it's easy to get stuck producing feedback without true insights.

1. Asking the Wrong Type of Questions

When you rely too heavily on yes/no answers (“Was that easy to find?”) or lead users (“Did you know you could click there?”), you fail to uncover how users actually thought their task would unfold. Mental models are about expectations, not just outcomes.

Solution: Frame more exploratory prompts like, “What did you expect to see here?” or “Where would you instinctively go next?” These invite users to reveal their thought process, giving you better insight into where the model broke down.

2. Poor Task Design

Tasks that are too specific (“Click the blue button to check out”) shortcut the user’s natural decision-making and navigation, masking potential disconnects. Alternatively, tasks that are too vague can leave participants guessing and give you muddled results.

Solution: Structure realistic, open-ended tasks that simulate how someone would engage with your product unaided. A well-written task uncovers navigation flow and interface expectations without hand-holding or confusion.

3. Misinterpreting Feedback Without Context

DIY user testing often results in surface observations without understanding the deeper 'why.' For example, a participant may struggle to find a feature but report that the site was 'easy to use'—a contradiction due to politeness or unclear measures.

Solution: Pair observed behavior with thoughtful follow-ups and consistently probe for expectations. When needed, bring in experienced researchers who can synthesize behavioral and verbal clues into clear themes.

4. Overlooking Outliers That Reveal Bigger Problems

Some users might behave differently than the rest of your testers—and that can feel dismissible in a tight timeline. But often, those edge cases provide powerful windows into unexpected mental models or accessibility issues.

Solution: Don’t just average your findings—look for patterns in confusion. On Demand Talent professionals are trained to identify these subtle patterns and ensure you don’t overlook valuable signals amid the noise of multiple user sessions.

5. Going It Alone Without UX Research Expertise

While tools like UserTesting make it easier to run studies on your own, they don’t replace research strategy expertise. Trying to extract insights from qualitative video sessions requires time, technique, and interpretive skill.

Solution: When navigating complex topics like mental model mismatches or testing new navigation flows, partnering with experienced On Demand Talent can improve both efficiency and quality. These professionals bring immediate impact—guiding test design, analysis, and insight delivery so your research drives confident decisions.

In short, uncovering mental models in UserTesting requires intent, structure, and interpretation. By avoiding these common pitfalls—and knowing when to bring in expert support—you can increase your confidence in the results and turn user data into effective design choices faster.

If you're using UserTesting to explore how users think and navigate, asking the right questions is half the battle. Mental models are essentially users’ internal maps – their expectations for how something should work. If your prompts are too vague or leading, you may miss the chance to uncover those deep assumptions people bring with them into an interface.

Why prompts matter in mental model research

In DIY user testing, poor prompts often lead to surface-level feedback. You might hear "This was confusing" but not understand why. The right prompting can reveal whether confusion came from unclear instructions, unfamiliar layouts, or mismatched expectations – all tied to mental models.

Tips for crafting stronger prompts

To dig into users’ mental models, your goal is to open the door to real thinking – not direct them to the 'right' path.

• Use open-ended tasks: Instead of asking users to “click through and find X,” say “Imagine you want to find X. What would you do first?”
• Ask for predictions: Before clicking, ask “What do you expect will happen when you click here?” to surface assumptions.
• Encourage thinking aloud: Gently prompt “Can you tell me what you're looking for or expecting as you do this?”
• Probe misunderstanding: When participants get stuck, ask “What made you think that would work?” to trace back to their mental models.

Example: A fictional e-commerce test showed that users kept clicking a shopping cart icon to access order history. Prompting with “Before you click, what do you expect this icon will show you?” revealed they assumed the cart was a central hub for everything order-related, not just unpurchased items. That expectation mismatch pointed to a deeper UX issue that may not have surfaced with simple task-based prompts.

Effective prompting helps researchers go beyond what users do and uncover why they do it. That insight is the foundation of successful UX design and navigation improvements.

DIY user testing platforms like UserTesting are valuable for fast feedback, but they can leave gaps when uncovering the true mental models behind user behavior. This isn’t because the tools are flawed – it’s because interpreting complex thinking patterns requires more than just task recordings and raw feedback.

The limits of automated insights

Most platforms focus on usability testing outcomes – whether users completed tasks, how long it took, or where they got stuck. But metrics like task completion rate often miss why users hesitated, clicked the wrong page, or expected something that wasn’t there. That’s the space where mental models live.

Challenges arise when teams rely too heavily on DIY tools without the right skill set to analyze deeper behavioral patterns, such as:

• Misinterpreting surface-level quotes without context
• Overlooking navigation decisions triggered by past experiences
• Missing subtle cues like hesitation, scanning behavior, or language use

For example, if users repeatedly take a “wrong” route through your interface, a tool may simply flag this as a navigation error. But an experienced researcher might note that users are following a mental model built from other apps in the category – a clear signal your design may need to better align with industry norms.

“Fast” doesn’t always mean clear

When teams are on tight turnarounds, it’s tempting to rely solely on built-in tool features like automated highlights, AI summaries, or short clips. These features are helpful – but if not paired with critical analysis, they can lead to misinformed decisions. Simplified summaries can't always reveal the nuance behind user expectations.

In agile environments where speed matters, pairing DIY tools with expert interpretation is the smartest path. It ensures you get the quick wins and the rich insight needed to evolve your product experience based on true user thinking.

When navigating the complexities of mental models in UserTesting, access to experienced UX research experts can make all the difference. That’s where On Demand Talent steps in – providing immediate support from seasoned professionals who know how to analyze user behavior, ask the right questions, and translate findings into action.

Get deeper insights from the same data

While DIY user testing tools give you the raw materials – video feedback, click maps, open responses – On Demand Talent knows how to interpret those signals with nuance. These experts can identify when a user’s behavior is driven by a broken design, a mismatched mental model, or an unclear task.

Whether you're exploring navigation flows, testing new interface features, or diagnosing why users drop off unexpectedly, On Demand Talent helps clarify:

• Which user behaviors point to expectation gaps
• What design changes better align with users’ mental models
• How existing UI patterns reinforce or clash with user assumptions

Fictional example: A fast-growing consumer app team used UserTesting to evaluate a navigation redesign. While they spotted task errors, they struggled to understand the cause. On Demand Talent helped analyze patterns across participants and uncovered a mental model tied to users’ expectations from other apps (like a swiping gesture instead of tapping). The analysis not only improved product design, but gave their internal team a new framework to assess future UX updates.

Build your team’s long-term capability

Hiring On Demand Talent isn’t just about short-term coverage – it’s about building smarter processes. These experts can:

• Coach internal teams on how to prompt participants more effectively
• Set up scalable frameworks to evaluate mental models across studies
• Help translate insights into cross-functional recommendations

Unlike freelancers or agency one-offs, SIVO Insights’ On Demand Talent becomes part of your team – flexing up when needed, without the ramp-up time of permanent hires. With support available in days (not months), your team stays agile and focused without sacrificing insight quality.

In an era where DIY usability testing is the norm, augmenting your toolkit with expert thinking ensures you don’t just gather data – you make it meaningful.