AP Psych: Unit 2.2- Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgements, and Decision-Making

Concept

Mental groupings based on shared features that come from experience

Prototype

The ideal example of any given concept

Schemas

The building blocks of intellectual development: mental frameworks that make organization and meaningful action possible

Assimilation

Taking in new information but not changing the existing schema

Accommodation

Taking in new information and changing the existing schema to incorporate the new information, or creating a new schema entirely

Algorithm

Address problems by attempting all possible solutions until the correct one is found

Heuristic

Addresses problems by using mental shortcuts to make judgements

Representativeness Heuristic

Can lead to an error in judgement when decisions are made according to prior expectations or stereotypes, matches a prototype

Availability Heuristic

Can lead to an error in judgement when decisions are made by recalling the first or most vivid example that comes to mind, based on how quickly it comes to mind

Decision Making

Can be influences by prior experiences that were successful or by circumstances surrounding a decision

Mental Set

Prior experiences that were successful

Gambler’s Fallacy

A false belief that you can predict a chance event based on past chance events

Sunk Cost Fallacy

A bad decision based on money, time, or effort that has already been spent

Framing

Circumstances surrounding a decision

Executive functions

Cognitive processes that allow individuals to generate, organize, plan, and carry out goal-directed behaviors and critical thinking

Creativity

A way of thinking that includes generated new and useful original ideas

Divergent

Thinking breaks off in different directions

Convergent thinking

Narrowing down multiple options using logic to find a single best solution

Functional Fixedness

Failing to solve a problem because you are stuck on the object’s common use