AP Psychology 2.2 - Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgments, & Decision Making

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communication

Metacognition

thinking about our thinking; keeping track and evaluating our mental processes; cognition without cognition

Cognitive Psychologist

study cognition including the logical and illogical ways in which we create concepts, solve problems, make decisions and form judgments

Concepts

mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, and people

• prototype

Prototype

a mental image or best example that incorporates all the features we associate with a category

• the more closely something matches our ___ the more rapidly we recognize it as an example of a concept

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets info

• assimilation

• accomodation

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas (adding)

Accomodation

adapting our current schemas to incorporate new info (changing)

Problem Solving

• Formal reasoning (slow thinking)

• Informal Reasoning (fast thinking)

Formal Reasoning

slow thinking; algorithm, bottom-up processing, syllogism, diagnosis, AI

• algorithm

• bottom-up processing

Algorithm

a rule that guarantees the right solution by using a formula or other foolproof method; sometimes impractical

Bottom-Up Processing

gathering as many bits of info before making a conclusion

Informal Reasoning

fast thinking; heuristics, top-down processing, schema, mental set, mental model

• heuristics

  • availability heuristic

  • representative heuristic

• mental set

• priming

• framing

Heuristics

a rule of thumb; generally true; error-prone; can create cognitive bias; mental shortcuts

• availability ___

• representative ___

  • gambler’s fallacy

  • sunk-cost fallacy

Availability Heuristic

judging a situation based on examples of that situation you’ve experienced before

Representative Heuristic

judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to prototypes; stereotyping

• gambler’s fallacy

• sunk-cost fallacy

Gambler’s Fallacy

when people observe random events happening repeatedly, they may use the representative heuristic when judging the likelihood of future events

• Observing a spinner repeatedly landing on red multiple times in a row and then assuming it will land on black next

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

we stick to our original plan because we have invested our time or resources too much, even if the plan is failing

Mental Set

similar to schema; a way of thinking that has worked before; been successful in helping you make decisions before

Priming

activating associations (unconsciously) predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decision making

Cognitive Bias

(heuristics); the result of an imperfect thinking strategy; leads up to misinterpret info; many different types

• anchoring bias

• confirmation bias

• hindsight bias

• rigidity (mental set)

Anchoring Bias

Relying too heavily on the first info you learn

Confirmation Bias

we tend to look for evidence that confirms our beliefs

Hindsight Bias

after an event happens, we have a tendency to think we knew the outcome previously

Rigidity

Mental Set; our tendency to fall into established thought patterns; difficulty changing mental sets; opposite of cognitive flexibility

Creativity

the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable; divergent thinking

• damage to certain areas in the frontal lobe can destroy imagination

• Divergent Thinking

• Convergent Thinking

Wolfgang Kohler

showed creativity with chimpanzees

Robert Sternberg

created 5 components of creativity

• expertise

• imaginative thinking skills

• venturesome personality

• intrinsic motivation

• creative environment

Divergent Thinking

considering many different ideas or solutions to a problem

Convergent Thinking

using knowledge and logic to narrow down solutions or single answers

• functional fixedness

Functional Fixedness

seeing a singular use for one object or one solution; failing to solve a problem because you are stuck