Intro to Psych: Exam 3 - Chapter 8: Thinking & Intelligence

Subgoals

Intermediate goals or intermediate problems devised to put the individual in a better position for reaching the final goal or solution

Effective Use of Subgoals in Planning

Characteristics of Cognitive Flexibility

Types of Cognitive Biases

Reasoning

The mental activity of transforming information to reach conclusions

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning form specific observations to make generalizations

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning from a general case that is known to be true to a specific instance

Decision-Making

The mental activity of evaluating alternatives and choosing among them

Convergent Thinking

Thinking that produces the single best solution to a problem

Divergent Thinking

Thinking that produces many solutions to the same problem

Mindfulness

The state of being alert and mentally present for one’s everyday activities

Role of Mindfulness in Critical Thinking

Open-mindedness

The state of being receptive to other ways of looking at things

Role of Open-mindedness in Critical Thinking

IQ Scoring

Intelligence

An all-purpose ability to do well on cognitive tasks, to solve problems, and to learn from experience

Role of Cultural Biases in Intelligence Tests

Gardener’s Types of Intelligence

Flynn Effect

Cognition

The way in which information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing

AI

A scientific field that focuses on creating machines capable of performing activities that require intelligence when they are done by people

Thinking

The process of manipulation information mentally by forming concepts, solving problems, making decisions, and reflecting critically or creatively

Concepts

Mental categories that are used to group objects, events, and characteristics

Prototype model

A model emphasizing that when people evaluate whether a given item reflects a certain concept, they compare the item with the most typical item(s) in that category and look for a “family resemblance” with that item’s properties

Problem Solving

The mental process of finding an appropriate way to attain a goal when the goal is not readily available

Algorithms

Strategies–including formulas, instructions, and the testing of all possible solutions–that guarantee a solution to a problem

Heuristics

Shortcut strategies or guidelines that suggest a solution to a problem but do not guarantee an answer

Fixation

Using a prior strategy and failing to look at a problem from a new perspective

Functional Fixedness

Failing to solve a problem as a result of fixation on a thing’s usual functions

Loss Aversion

The tendency to strongly prefer to avoid losses compared to acquiring gains

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for and use information that supports one’s ideas rather than refutes them

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to report falsely, after the fact, that one has accurately predicted an outcome

Availability Heuristic

A prediction about the probability of an event based on the ease of recalling or imagining similar events

Base Rate Neglect

The tendency to ignore information about general principles in favor of very specific and vivid information

Representativeness Heuristic

The tendency to make judgments about group membership based on physical appearance or the match between a person and one’s stereotype of a group rather than on available base rate information

Creativity

The ability to think about something in novel and unusual ways and to devise unconventional solutions to problems