Cognitive Biases, Heuristics, and Problem-Solving Strategies in Psychology

Confirmation bias

Looking for information that supports what we already 'know'

Mental set

Using a similar approach to similar problems

Belief perseverance

Clinging to an initial concept after its discredited

Insight

Sudden realization of solution

Intuition

Effortless, automatic feeling or thought

Heuristics

Short-cuts allowing us to solve problems quickly, more prone to error

Convergent thinking

Narrowing available solutions to determine the best solution

Divergent thinking

Expanding the number of possible solutions

Functional fixedness

The inability to use an object not for its intended purpose

Algorithm

Methodical, logical, rule/procedure, that guarantees a solution

Sunk cost fallacy

Investing heavily in something... which ultimately makes it harder to let go of

Gambler's fallacy

Overestimating the likelihood of events happening (or not happening) based on past experience

Availability heuristic

Assuming that we're all cold because she's cold

Representative heuristic

If you think that bigger sized dogs are mean, you're going to assume they're all mean

Framing

Phrasing, posing or presentation that can impact judgement

Priming

Presentation that can prompt a response