Psych 2.2 (Thinking/Problem Solving/Judgements)

Cognition

Every mental activity that is connected to thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes

Concept

Mental grouping of similar objects, people, ideas or events

Prototype

Best example that clearly identifies a category, helps group and identify objects

Assimilation

Connecting new information to existing schemas (Bottom-Up Processing) (Child calling indigo Purple because similar)

Accomodation

Adapting current schemas to include new info (Child learning that indigo is separate than Purple but is still a kind or related to it)

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing current solutions to the best one

Divergent Thinking

Expands the number of solutions that leads to may directions from creative thinking

Expertise

Knowing a lot about a subject enough to find many ways to use it to find many solutions

Venturesome Personality

Willingness to seek new opportunities or take on new risks

Imaginative Thinking

Ability to see things in a new way and make connections

Intrinsic Motivation

The drive to partake in something based on interest, satisfaction, and challenge

Creative Environment

A place that sparks innovation and collaboration

Executive Functions

Thinking processes that help regulate behavior (towards goals) and achieve goals

Algorithm

A procedure that guarantees a solution to a problem through analysis and thinking

Heuristic

Shortcuts that give quick decisions but can have errors in judgement

Representative Heuristic

Judging events based upon a stereotype/representation they get

Availability Heuristic

Judging events based upon how quick an example comes to mind

Insight

Sudden realization of a solution

Confirmation Bias

Finding information that supports existing beliefs

Fixation

Can’t see/approach a problem from a new view

Intuition

Immediate decision on something without conscious thinking (Gut-Feeling)

Belief Perseverance

Keeping the same view on someone based upon initial meetings/knowledge even with counter information

Overconfidence

Tendency to be more confident than correct, overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs

Framing

The way a problem/sentence is posed (What college are you going to? or Are you going o college?)

Nudge

Placing framing choices in a way that persuades people to make certain decisions