psy200 final

problem

occurs when there is an obstace between a present state and a goal and it is not immediately obvious

restructuring

the process of changing a problem’s representation

central idea

success in solving a problem is influenced by how it is represented inteh persons mind

insight

sudden comprehension, realization or problem solution that invovles a reorganization of a person’s metnal representation of a stimulus, situaion, or event to yield an interpretation that was nto initially obvious

analytically based problems (non-insight)

solved by a process of systematic analysis, often usign learned techniques

fixation

tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of hte problem that keeps them from arrivign at a solution

functional fixedness

a type of fixation where one focuses only on famliar functions or uses of an object

mental set

a preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person’s experience of what has worked in the past; created by people’s knowledge

parts of the information processing approach

initial state, goal state, operators, intermediate state, problem space, means-end analysis, sub-goals

initial state

conditions at the beginning of a problem

goal state

the solution of the problem

operators

actions that take the problem from one state to another

intermediate state

a state between teh inital and goal state

problem space

made up of the inital state, goal staet, and all possible intermediate states

means-end analysis

the primary goal is to reduce the difference between initial and goal states

sub goals

intermediate states that are closer to the goal

analogy

a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarifcation

analogical problem solving

using the solution to a similar problem to guide the solution of a new problem

analogical transfer has what two types of problems

target and source problem

analogical transfer

using experience from solving one problem to solving another, similar problem

target problem

the problem the participant is trying to solve

source problem

another problem that shares some similarities with teh target problem and that illustrates a way to solve the target problem

dunckers radiation problem

hit teh tumor with low rates of radiation from different angles

analogical problem solving parts

noticing, mapping, applying

noticing

noticign that there is an anlogous relationship between teh source problem and the target problem

mapping

mapping the correspondence between teh source problem and the target problem

applying

applying the mapping to the target problem

analogical paradox

while it is difficult to apply analogies in lab research, people routinely use analogies in real-world settings

experts

peopel who, by devoting a lrage amoutn of time to learnign about a field and practicgin and applying that learnign, have become acknowledged as being extremely knowledgable or skilled in that particular field (10,000-20,000 hours)

differences between experts and novices

experts possess mroe knowledge about their field

experts knowledge is organized differently than novices’

experts spend mroe time analyzing problems

experts are only experts wtihin their own field

experts are less open to new ways of looking at problems; inflexible thinking

divergent thinking

thinking that is op-ended, invovling a large number of potential “solutions”

does art or novels fit “creativity”

no because they don’t have “use” or “utility”

what is false about brainstorming

group brainstorming does not actually work

characteristics of creativity

imaginative play, passion, daydreaming, solitude, intiution, openness to experience, mindfulness, sensitivity, turnign adversry into advantage, thinking differently,

imaginative play

childrens engagement in imaginative play enables them to experiemtn with differnt types of experinece. carried into adulthood, this playfulness supports innovation

passion

focusing on a particular pursuit that the person lvoes and wants to devotetheir life to

daydreaming

mind wandering that occurs when a persons attnetion shifts from the external environment to internally generated, often involuntary thougths

solitude

solitary reflection that is facilitated by being alnoe in order to avoid disrtaction

intution

intuitive thoughts or insights, arriving form unconscious information processing systems. these often occur unexpectedly, although they are often preceded by unconscious mental acticvity

openness to experience

the drive for cogntivie exploration of ones inner mind and the outer world

mindfulness

paying attnetino to what is happenign in our mind and in treh environemnt. has been associated with some types of meditation

sensitivity

heightened awareness of the environment and processes occurring in teh mind

turning adversity into advantage

creativity arisign out of loss, suffering, or trauma. both good and bad life events are potential sources of inspiration and motivation

thinking differentl

rejeciton of traditional ways of thinking. being open to new paradigms

volitional daydraeming

the act of choosign to disengage from external tasks in order to pursue an internal stream of thought

open monitoring mediation

simply paying attnetion to whatever comes into teh mind, and to follow this thought until somethign else comes along

judgment

an opinion or conclusion

reasoning

the process of drawing conclusions

decision

the process of choosing between alternatives

inductive reasoning

the process of drawing general conclusions based on specific observations and evidence

heuristics

“rules of thumb” that are likely to provide the correct answer to a problem. sometimes wrong

two types of heuristics are

availability and representativeness

availability heuristic

states that events that more easily come to mind are judged as being more probable than events that are less easily recalled

illusory correlation

occurs when a relationship between two evetns appears to exist, but in reality, there is no relationship or the relationship is much weaker than it is assumed to be

stereotypes

oversimplfied generalization about a group or class of people that often focuses on the negative

representativeness heuristic

the likelihood that an instance is a member of a larger category depends on how well that instance resemebles properties we typically associate with that category

base rate

teh relative proportion of different classes in teh popultion

conjunction rule

the probablity of a conjunction of two events (A and B) cannot be higher than teh probablity of a single constituents (A alone or B alone)

law of large numbers

the larger the number of individuals that are randomly drawn from a population, the more representative the resultign group will be of the entire population

myside bias

our tendency to favor informatino that confirms what we ALREADY believe

confirmation bias

people look for informatino that conforms to their hypothesis and ignore information that REFUTES it

deductive reasoning

determing whether a conlcusion logically follows from statements

syllogism

consists of two broad staemetns or premises followed by a third statement called the conclusion

categorical syllogism

premises and conclusion are statements that begin with All, No, or Some

when is a syllogism valid

when the form of the syllogism indicates that its conclusion foolows logically from its two premises

belief bias

the tendency to think a syllogism is valid if its conclusion is believable

mental model

a specific situation representeted in a persons midn that can be used to help determine the validity of syllogisms in deductive reasoning

mental model appraoch

people create a model for a reasoning problem. they generate a tentatvie conclusion based on this model and then look for exceptions that mihgt falsify the model. if they do find an exception, they modify the model

modus ponens

the way that affirms by affirming

if p, then q. p. therefore q.

if i study, i’ll get a good grade. i studied. therefore, i’ll get a good grade.

VALID

modus tollens

the way that denies by denying

if p, then q. not q. therefore, not p.

if i study, i’ll get a good grade. i didn’t get a good grade. therefore, i didn’t study.

VALID

syllogism 3

if p, then q. q. therefore, p.

if i study, i’ll get a good grade. i got a good grade. therefore, i studied.

if i live in philly, the i live in pennsylvania. i live in pennsylvania. therefore, i live in philly.

INVALID

syllogism 4

if p, then q. not p. therefore, not q.

if i study, i’ll get a good grade. i didn’t study. therefore, i didn’t get a good grade.

if i live in philly, then i live in pennsylvania. i don’t live in philly. therefore, i don’t live in pensylvania.

INVALID

wason four card problem

if there is a vowel on one side of the card, then there is an even number on the other side

(should check the odd number card to see if there is a vowel)

falsifcation principle

to test a rule, it is necessary to look for situations that would falsify the rule

expected utility theory

assumes taht people are basically rational and that if people have all the relevant informaitno, they will make a decision that results in the maximum expected utility

utility

outcomes that achieve a persons goals

deal or no deal

if people have taken out most of the small funds, they will take what they can get from teh bank

1/10 vs 7/100 of red beans

people are more likely to chose in the 100 bean pile because having 7 more beans feels safer than 1 red bean (even though we know its statiscally better for the 1 bean)

are anxious people risk avoidant or risk taking

risk avoidant

expected emotions

emotions we predict that we’ll feel for particular outcome

risk aversion

the tendency to rpedict that a particular loss will have a greater impact than a gain of the same size

incidental emotions

emotions that are not caused by having to make a decision

opt-in procedure

requires a person to take a step to agree

opt-out procedure

requires a perosn to take a step to disagree

status quo bias

our tendency to do nothign when faced with making a decision

framing effect

decisions are influenced by how the choices are stated, or framed

when a choice is framed in terms of gains…

people use a risk-aversion strategy

when a choice is framed in terms of loses…

people use a risk-taking strategy

neuroeconmics

combines research from psych, neuroscience, and economics to study how brain activation si related to decisions taht invovle ptoetnial gains or losses

restructuring

process of changing a problem’s representtion

metcalfe and wiebe (1987)

more warmth for analytical questions than insight questions

duncker (45) candle problem

person is given a number of objects and is given tghe task of mounting a cnadle on a wall so it can burn without dirpping wax on teh floor

maier (31) two string problem

person is given task of attaching two strigns together that are too far apart to be reached at teh same time

luchins. water jug problem

shows that once we have a habit we will stick with it

tower of hanoi problem

moving discs from one set of pegs to anoter in the least amount of moves

newell and simon (72)

created tower of hanoi and means-end analysis

mutilated checkerboard problem

same as russian dating situation. can’t make up for the missing two squares or whatever.

kaplan and simon (90)

think-aloud protocol

procedure in which subjects are asked to say out loud what they are thinking while doing a problem. this procedure is used to help determien people’s thought processes as they are solving a problem

trade-off strategy

i’ll give you a, if you’ll give me b

contingency strategy

which a person s gets what he or she wants fi somethign else happens