AP Psychology -- 2.2 & 2.8: Thinking & Judgement + Intelligence, Quizlet

Priming

the unconscious activation of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

Prototypes

a mental image or best example of a category

Representativeness

the degree to which a particular studied group is similar to, or represents, any part of the larger society

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

Sunk-cost fallacy

a framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation

Lateral thinking

Thinking differently to try and find new and unexpected ideas.

Biases

opinions or beliefs that affect a person's ability to make fair, unclouded judgments or decisions

Accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Algorithms

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Availability heuristic

making a decision based on the answer that most easily comes to mind

Convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

executive functions

higher order thinking processes that include planning, organizing, inhibition, and decision-making

Framing

the way an issue is posed; this can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

Gambler's fallacy

the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently

Heuristics

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

Intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Anchoring bias

a tendency to fixate on initial information, from which one then fails to adequately adjust for subsequent information

self-serving bias

the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Achievement tests

tests that measure a person's existing knowledge and skills

Aptitude tests

tests designed to predict a person's future performance; the capacity to learn

Chronological age

Age as measured in years from date of birth

Construct validity

the extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure

Fixed mindset

the idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot change

Flynn Effect

the worldwide phenomenon that shows intelligence test performance has been increasing over the years

g (general intelligence)

hypothetical factor that accounts for overall differences in intellect among people

Growth mindset

the idea that our abilities are malleable qualities that we can cultivate and grow

Intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Predictive validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

Reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

Split-half reliability

A measure of reliability in which a test is split into two parts and an individual's scores on both halves are compared.

Standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

Stereotype lift

awareness of positive expectations can actually improve performance on tasks

Stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype

Test-retest reliability

a method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to