A cognitive map is a mental representation of the layout of an environment. It allows an organism to navigate, take shortcuts, and plan routes even when the destination is not currently visible.

Edward Tolman introduced the concept after observing that rats in a maze seemed to learn the overall spatial structure rather than a fixed sequence of turns. When a familiar path was blocked, the animals often chose an appropriate alternative, suggesting they possessed something like a map. In humans, cognitive maps support wayfinding in buildings, cities, and virtual environments. They are built from multiple sources—direct exploration, landmarks, geometric layout, and symbolic information such as street names or maps.

The hippocampus is critical for cognitive mapping in mammals. Place cells fire when the animal is in particular locations; other cells encode head direction and the boundaries of the space. Damage to this system produces severe disorientation. Individual differences in the quality of cognitive maps are large and correlate with real-world navigation skill.

A cognitive map is not a picture in the head. It is a flexible spatial model that can be consulted, updated, and used to generate novel paths.