You really can't bucket your users on a single mental model. It depends entirely on application and usage patterns. Daily users will become experts pretty quickly and look for fast, simple design. Doubly so if it's a line of business application with a captive audience (like a POS interface). Something like my homeowner insurance is a site I log in to like once a year. I'm not ever going to even remember my password let alone how to do anything without giant, colorful buttons leading me along. This is why UX is a profession.

The seminal work on interaction design isn't Don't Make Me Think, it's About Face. About Face makes thee general rule that you should not design for beginners or experts but for the perpetual intermediate.