Understanding Cognition and Problem Solving Techniques

Executive Function

Higher order processing, good judgement, decision making, problem solving, etc.

Metacognition

Thinking about thinking.

Cognition

All of the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Concepts

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Definitions

Some concepts fit into a group because of their definition. Ex. by definition, a triangle has 3 sides.

Hierarchies

Breaking things down from broad to specific. Superordinate (broad category), basic (most common), or subordinate (specific). Ex. Fruit > apple > Granny Smith.

Prototypes

A mental image of best example of a category. Ex. most people think of a robin, as opposed to a flamingo, when they hear the word 'bird'.

Schemas

An organized mental framework about a particular topic, event, object, idea, setting, or group of people.

Trial and error

Just trying any method to solve an answer. Ex. typing in random numbers to figure out a pin number for an ATM card.

Means-end analysis

Breaking a problem into subgoals in order to reach the ultimate goal. Ex. wanting to run a marathon, but you don't go out the first day and run 20 miles.

Algorithm

A logical, step-by-step procedure that, if followed correctly, will eventually solve a specific problem. Ex. typing in 0000, 0001, 0002, 0003, etc. to figure out a pin number for an ATM card.

Heuristic

A general rule of thumb or shortcut that is used to reduce the number of possible solutions to a problem. Ex. using birthdays for a pin number.

Insight

Just coming up with the answer, the 'aha' moment.

Assimilation

The process of adding new experiences to existing concepts.

Accommodation

The process of modifying an existing concept with new knowledge.

Fixation

Having a preoccupation with something, not being able to stop thinking of it.

Mental set

The tendency to continue using belief systems and problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past, even though it may not be working now.

Functional fixedness

The tendency to think of an object as functioning only in its usual way or customary way.

Availability heuristic

judging the likelihood of an event based on readily available personal experiences or news reports. Ex. not wanting to fly after 9/11.

Representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of an event based on how well it matches a typical example. Ex. Not thinking a tall, skinny man who likes to read would be a truck driver.

Anchoring effect

the tendency to be influenced by a reference point. Ex. only buying a car because it's the color you want even though it has a lot of miles.

Framing

posing a question or wording a phrase in such a way to persuade someone's thoughts. Ex. buying something because it's 95% fat free sounds better than 5% fat.

Bias

having preexisting positions or beliefs about events, people, etc.

Confirmation bias

a preference for information that confirms preexisting positions or beliefs, while ignoring or discounting contradictory evidence. Ex. only looking at good reviews of something you want.

Belief perseverance

holding onto a belief even after its been discredited. Ex. believing that fad diets work.

Hindsight bias

also known as the knew-it-all-along effect, the inclination to see events that have already occurred as being more predictable than they were before they took place.

Overconfidence bias

the tendency to be more confident than correct. Ex. Hitler thinking he could invade Russia when no one else has ever successfully done it.

Sunk-Cost-Fallacy

the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

Gambler's Fallacy

occurs when an individual erroneously believes that a certain random event is less likely or more likely to happen based on the outcome of a previous event or series of events.

Brainstorm

coming up with new ideas.

Creativity

the ability to think about a problem or idea in new and unusual ways, come up with unconventional solutions to problems.

Divergent thinking

a type of thinking in which problem solvers devise a number of possible alternative approaches to problems and multiple solutions, it involves taking risks.

Convergent thinking

using logic and algorithms to solve problems, there is only one answer, doesn't see things from various perspectives.

Inductive reasoning

reasoning from the specific to the general. Ex. evidence collected in crime scenes is used to figure out what happened.

Deductive reasoning

reasoning from the general to the specific. Ex. all birds have wings, a flamingo is a bird, therefore, it has wings.