認知地圖的概念最初由一位早期認知心理學家爱德华·托尔曼(Edward C. Tolman),在做老鼠和迷宮的實驗時引入。托爾曼將一隻老鼠放入十字形的迷宮並讓它探索,經過初次探索之後,老鼠先被放在十字架的某臂,然後將食物放在下一條右轉的臂上。接著老鼠適應了這種佈局,並學會在十字路口右轉以便找到食物。當老鼠被放置在十字迷宮的不同手臂上時,由於最初已建好了迷宮的認知地圖,所以仍然會朝著正確的方向去獲取食物。無論食物放在何處,老鼠不會只是決定在十字路口右轉,而是能夠準確地確定食物的路徑[19]。
^Eden, Colin. Cognitive mapping. European Journal of Operational Research. July 1988, 36 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1016/0377-2217(88)90002-1. In the practical setting of work in with a team of busy managers cognitive mapping is a tool for building interest from all team members in the problem solving activity. [...] The cycle of problem construction, making sense, defining the problem, and declaring a portfolio of solutions, which I have discussed elsewhere (Eden, 1982) is the framework that guides the process of working with teams. Thus building and working with the cognitive maps of each individual is primarily aimed at helping each team member reflectively 'construct' and 'make sense' of the situation they believe the team is facing. (pp. 7–8)
^Fiol, C. Marlene; Huff, Anne Sigismund. Maps for managers: Where are we? Where do we go from here?(PDF). Journal of Management Studies. May 1992, 29 (3): 267–285 [2019-08-11]. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.1992.tb00665.x. (原始内容存档(PDF)于2016-12-23). For geographers, a map is a means of depicting the world so that people understand where they are and where they can go. For cognitive researchers, who often use the idea of a 'map' as an analogy, the basic idea is the same. Cognitive maps are graphic representations that locate people in relation to their information environments. Maps provide a frame of reference for what is known and believed. They highlight some information and fail to include other information, either because it is deemed less important, or because it is not known. (p. 267)
^Ambrosini, Véronique; Bowman, Cliff. Huff, Anne Sigismund; Jenkins, Mark , 编. Mapping strategic knowledge. London; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 2002: 19–45. ISBN 0761969497. OCLC 47900801. We shall not explain here what cognitive maps are about as this has been done extensively elsewhere (Huff, 1990). Let us just say that cognitive maps are the representation of an individual's personal knowledge, of an individual's own experience (Weick and Bougon, 1986), and they are ways of representing individuals' views of reality (Eden et al., 1981). There are various types of cognitive maps (Huff, 1990). (pp. 21–22)