cognition
process of thinking, gaining knowledge, and dealing with knowledge
experiential processing
thought that is passive, effortless, and autormatic
reflective processing
thought that is active, effortf
mental iamges
mental picture or visual depiction used in memory and thinking
concept
mental category for classifying things based on common features or properties
prototype
an ideal model used as a prime example of a particular concept
linguistic relativity hypothesis
the idea that the words we use not only reflect our thoughts but can shape then as well
bilingualism
the ability to speak two languages
algorithmic solution
a problem solution achieved by following a series of step-by-step rules
logical thought
drawing conclusions on the basis of formal principles of reasoning
inductive thought
thinking in which a general rule or principal is gathered from a series of specific examples; for instance, inferring the laws of gravity by observing many falling objects
deductive thought
thought that applies a general set of rules to specific situations; for example, using laws of gravity to predict the behaviour of a single falling object
understanding (in problem solving)
a deeper comprehension of the nature of a problem
general solution
a solution that correctly states the requirements for success, but not in enough detail for further action
functional solution
a detailed, practical, and workable solution
heuristic
shortcut or rule of thumb for finding a solution to a problem
random search strategy
trying possible solutions to a problem in a more or less random order
insight
a sudden mental reorganization of a problem that makes the solution obvious
fixation (in problem solving)
the tendency to repeat wrong solutions or faulty responses, especially as a result of becoming blind to alternatives
functional fixedness
tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use
intuition
quick, impulsive thought that does not use formal logic or clear reasoning
behavioural economics
a branch of economics that applies psychology to the study of economic decision-making
framing
in thought, the terms in which a problem is stated or the way it is structured
availability heuristic
mental shortcut that relies on how quickly examples come to mind when evaluating a topic or making a decision
representativeness heuristic
mental shortcut of judging if something belongs in a given class based on similarity to other
base rate
the basic rate at which an event occurs over time; the basic probability of an event
choice overload
difficulty making decision in the face of many alternatives
convergent thinking
thinking directed toward discovery of a single esablished correct answer; conventional thinking
creativity
ability to combine mental elements in new and useful ways
diveregent thinking
thinking that produces many ideas or alternatives; a major element in original or creative thought
fluency
in tests of creativity, fluency refers to the total number of solutions produced
flexibility
in tests of creativity, flexibility is indicated by how many different types of solutions are produced
originality
in tests of creativity, originality refers to how novel or unusual solutions are
problem finding
the active discovery of problems to be solved
mental set
a predisposition to percived or respond in a particular way
kinesthetic images
special types of mental imagery and are used to represent movement and actions