I'd be interested in a LW or Discussion post by you on this topic.
I've actually had this idea for a while, but I can rarely bring myself to find enough time for a proper article rather than just writing short comments. Thanks for expressing your interest - it has certainly given me additional motivation.
In the meantime, if you haven't seen them already, you can find discussions where I question some established wisdom in economics here and here.
Here's an interesting but very old paper - two theories of Heat Control.
It discusses mental models of home heating systems (thermostats) non-experts use.
These models tend to be extremely wrong from theoretical perspective, but surprisingly useful in practice.
The findings are applicable to a much wider range of subjects than just thermostats, and have certain epistemological significance, especially with regard to compartmentalization.