“I think, therefore I am resistant to change.”

I just read and re-read this interesting paper by Francis M. Duffy.  Rather than ruin it by describing it I suggest that you take a look.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Mental models resist change. People don’t like to change what they think they know. Given new information to consider, individuals will search their existing mental models to ensure that the new information is consistent with what they know. If the new information fits an existing mental model, the person accepts the information. Perhaps the information even expands or improves the person’s existing mental model. If the individual cannot link the new information to an existing mental model, he or she may construct a mental model to understand the new information or discard the information as irrelevant, unimportant, or wrong.”

And there are ideas at the end for addressing the implications of persistent mental models.