  Many networks in natural and human-made systems exhibit scale-free properties
and are small worlds. Now we show that people's understanding of complex
systems in their cognitive maps also follow a scale-free topology. People focus
on a few attributes, relating these with many other things in the system. Many
more attributes have very few connections. People use relatively short
explanations to describe events; their cognitive map is a small world with less
than six degrees of separation. These findings may help us to better understand
people's perceptions, especially when it comes to decision-making, conflict
resolution, politics and management.
