When the topic of mind mapping comes up, most people who know anything at all about mind mapping ask how it works to increase and enhance memory.

The memory enhancing possibilities of the method are an obvious one for further study. Is the method memory enhancing? How much? Why? In what circumstances?

But there also many other things that might be asked about the method. Here are a few selected samples.

Is mind mapping useful because it uses the same psychological methods for focusing one’s attention as guided daydreaming and doodling?

Does mind mapping work because it uses the same psychological mechanisms as are employed in art therapy?

How much efficiency of efforts does mind mapping introduce into cognitive information processing? Behavioral information processing? Social information processing?

How is mind mapping related to one’s prior behaviors and the goals to capture them (autobiographical memory)? Current behaviors? Changing one’s behaviors for the better?

Are mind maps especially useful in describing and understanding positive emotions (joy, creativity)? Negative emotions (depression, anger)?

How might mind maps help us remember to perform activities of daily living (dressing, cleaning, personal hygiene)? Do they help us develop more efficient ways of performing these tasks?

The list of questions one can ask about how useful mind maps are, why, and through what mechanisms is very long.

Anyone out there working on a Master’s thesis? A doctoral dissertation? Research for an academic promotion? I would love to know what you are finding out.

Personally I suspect that mind mapping is best when done in concert with some form of structured daydreaming like doodling, employs many of the same psychological mechanisms as are activated in art therapy, greatly enhance information processing speed and accuracy, is extremely useful for documenting behavior and planning to change it, is useful in dealing with both negative and positive emotions and understanding one’s emotional state and reactions, and can greatly enhance the ability of those with dementia and other impairments to more effectively perform the activities of daily living.

What do you think?

Now go get some data and prove it.

Here is the same map in some alternate formats.