PSY 200, Exam 4 - Swisher, Purdue

Problem Solving

cognitive activity that involves moving from the recognition that there is a problem through a series of steps to the solution

Decision Making

selecting one out of a number of options with the decision having consequences

Judgment

a component of decision making that involves calculating the likelihood of various possible events; emphasis on accuracy

Deductive Reasoning

deciding what conclusions follow necessarily, provided that various statements are assumed to be true; reasoning based on logic

Inductive Reasoning

deciding whether certain statements are true based on available information

Informal Reasoning

evaluating the strength of arguments by taking account of one’s knowledge and experience

Well-Defined Problems

problems in which the initial state, the goal, and the methods available for solving them are clearly laid out

Ill-Defined Problems

problems in which the problem is imprecisely specified; for example, the initial state, the goal state, and/or the methods available to solve the problem may be unclear

Knowledge-Rich Problems

problems that can only be solved by those having considerable relevant background knowledge

Knowledge-Lean Problems

problems that can be solved by individuals in the absence of specific relevant prior knowledge

Monty Hall Problem

probability problem based on a game show; 3 doors, pick 1, Monty reveals a door you didn’t pick and you can either switch or stick with your first choice; switching has a statistically higher chance of getting the prize

Insight

the experience of suddenly realizing how to solve a problem; sometimes referred to as the “Aha!” experience

Remote Associates Test

this involves finding a word that is related to three given words

Representational Change Theory

we encounter a block when solving a problem because we represented the problem incorrectly, so we must change or restructure the problem representation for insight to occur

Incubation

a stage of problem solving in which the problem is put to one side for some time; it is claimed to facilitate problem solving

Mental Set

the tendency to use a familiar problem-solving strategy that has proved successful in the past even when it is no longer appropriate

Functional Fixedness

the inflexible focus on the usual function(s) of an object in problem solving

Constraint Relaxation

studies showed people with brain injury found some problems easier to solve because they have fewer constraints about what was possible — less activation in left lateral prefrontal cortex

Hill Climbing Heuristic

used by problem solvers in which they focus on making moves that will put them closer to the goal; used when there is no clear understanding of the problem structure

Means-End Analysis Heuristic

a method for solving problems based on creating a subgoal to reduce the difference between the current state and the goal state

Progress Monitoring Heuristic

used when slow progress toward a problem solution triggers a change of strategy

Planning Heuristic

for complex problems, imagining taking some steps before trying out steps

Cognitive Miser

someone who is economical with their time and effort when performing a thinking task

Algorithm

a computational procedure providing a specified set of steps to problem solution

Heuristic

rule of thumb that is cognitively undemanding and often produces approximately accurate answers

Problem Space

an abstract description of all the possible states that can occur within a given problem

Analogy

a comparison between two objects (or between a current and previous problem) that emphasizes similarities between them

Expertise

the high level of knowledge and performance in a given domain that an expert has achieved through years of systematic practice

Superficial Similarity

similar events that aren’t relevant to the solution of the two problems

Structural Similarity

shared causal relations among some of the main components of the problem

Procedural Similarity

common procedures for carrying out the solution

Associative Analogy

part: whole; can be experienced directly

ex: leg —> desk

Categorical Analogy

category: item; abstract, not experienced directly

ex: tree —> maple

Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices

a measure of fluid intelligence — how well you do with inferences

Template

as applied to chess, an abstract schematic structure consisting of a mixture of fixed and variable information about chess pieces and positions

Plasticity

changes within the brain occurring as a result of brain damage or experience

Medical Expertise

the ability of medical experts to make rapid and accurate diagnoses from information like X-rays

Deliberate Practice

practice that includes informative feedback and allows attempts to correct errors

Long-Term Working Memory

used by experts to store relevant information rapidly in long-term memory and to access it through retrieval cues in working memory

Judgment

an assessment of the probability of a given event occurred based on incomplete information

Decision-Making

making a selection from various options; if full information is available, judgment is required

Bayes’ Theorem

we use prior odds to determine how likely an event is; new information can change these probabilities

Prior Odds

an assessment of the probabilities before we collect data

Base-Rate Information

the relative frequency of an event within a given population

Representativeness Heuristic

the assumption that an object or person belongs to a category because it is representative or typical of that category

Conjunction Fallacy

the mistaken assumption that the probability of a conjunction of 2 events is greater than the probability of one of them

Availability Heuristic

the rule of thumb that the frequencies of events can be estimated accurately by the subjective ease with which they can be retrieved

Affect Heuristic

using one’s emotional responses to influence rapid judgments or decisions

Support Theory

an event appears more or less likely depending on how it is described

Take-the-Best Heuristic

take the best, ignore the rest

Recognition Heuristic

using the knowledge that only one out of two objects is recognized as the basis for making a judgment

Hiatus Heuristic

only customers who have purchased goods recently remain active customers (83%)

Natural Frequency Hypothesis

used to determine what are natural or objective frequencies of certain events

Dual-Process Theory

we sometimes use less effortful and rapid heuristics processing to make judgments based on probabilities: system 1 generates intuitive answers to judgment problems and system 2 monitors system 1 and corrects it with base-rate information

Utility Theory

people try to maximize utility (the subjective value of an outcome) when making decisions under risk

Prospect Theory

people are more sensitive to loss aversion than their potential gains

Framing Effect

the finding that decisions can be influenced by situational aspects irrelevant to optimal decision-making

Sunk-Cost Effect

investing additional resources to justify a previous commitment that has so far proved unsuccessful

Impact Bias

overestimation of the intensity and duration of negative emotional reactions to losses and positive emotional reaction to gains

Omission Bias

a biased preference for risking harm through inaction compared to risking harm through action

Status Quo Bias

a preference for maintaining the status quo (present state) rather than acting to change their decision

Inductive Reasoning

forming generalizations (that may be probable but are not certain) from examples or sample phenomena; specific data —> general theory

Deductive Reasoning

reasoning to a conclusion from a set of premises or statements where that conclusion follows necessarily from the assumption the premises are true; general theory —> specific data

Informal Reasoning

a form of reasoning based on one’s relevant knowledge and experience rather than logic

Falsification

proposing hypotheses and then trying to falsify them by experimental tests; the logically correct means by which science should work

Confirmation Bias

in hypothesis testing, seeking evidence that supports one’s beliefs

Unusualness Heuristic

unexpected findings are the basis for new hypotheses and experiments

Conditional Reasoning

a form of deductive reasoning based on “if, then” propositions

Matching Bias

the tendency on the Wason Selection Task to select cards matching the items explicitly mentioned in the rule

Syllogism/Syllogistic Reasoning

a type of problem used in deductive reasoning; has two statements or premises in which you must determine whether the conclusion logically follows from the premises

Belief Bias

a tendency to accept invalid but believable conclusions and reject valid but unbelievable ones in syllogistic reasoning

Johnson-Laird’s Theory of Deductive Reasoning

mental models: reasoning requires that we build a mental model of the situation based on the premises and come to a conclusion

Evans’ Theory of Reasoning

heuristic-analytic theory: the dual-system approach to deductive reasoning; type 1 system = based on faster, automatic intuition or heuristics; type 2 system = based on working memory and slower, effortful analytic processes

Meta-Reasoning

monitoring processes that influence the time, effort, and strategies used during reasoning and problem solving; monitors system 1 and engages system 2 when necessary in the dual-system theory of reasoning

Singularity Principle - Evans’ Theory

one mental model is considered at a time

Relevance Principle - Evans’ Theory

the most probable mental model is considered

Satisficing Principle - Evans’ Theory

a mental model is evaluated by system 2 and accepted if the model is okay

Relational Arguments

arguments based on spatial location

Categorical Arguments

arguments based on shared characteristics

Propositional Arguments

arguments based on combining statements to form more complicated statements

Strawman Fallacy

refuting an opponent’s views by misrepresenting them in some way

Irrelevance

seeking to support a claim with an irrelevant reason

Slippery Slope

claiming that an innocent-looking first step will lead to negative consequences without having a reason

Myside Bias

the tendency to evaluate statements in terms of our own beliefs to generate reasons or arguments supporting those beliefs

Factors Affecting Strength of an Argument

degree of previous belief, positive arguments are more impactful, strength of evidence

Ad Hominem Fallacy

discrediting an argument by attacking the person making the argument; disregarding a proposition based on characteristics they don’t like about the individual presenting the argument

Dunning-Kruger Effect

less-skilled individuals overestimate their abilities more than individuals who are more skilled