Judgment, Reasoning, Creativity, and Intelligence

These flashcards cover key concepts and terminology regarding judgment, reasoning, creativity, and intelligence as discussed in the lecture notes.

Availability heuristic

A mental shortcut in which people assess the frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind.

Representativeness heuristic

we think that something that “fits” is more likely

Ex: you might meet a quiet, bookish person who wears glasses, you might assume they’re more likely to be a librarian than a salesperson they “fit” your stereotype more   

System 1

The fast, automatic, and emotional system of reasoning that requires little effort.

System 2

The slow, effortful, and logical system of reasoning that requires attention and reasoning.

Heuristic

A simple rule or guideline that the brain uses to make quick decisions.

Primacy heuristic

The tendency to judge others based on the first information learned about them.

Affect heuristic

we tend to give extra weight on the risk or benefit associated with a more emotional outcome. when the Yankees are losing, I stop watching so I don’t have to watch

Effort heuristic

The assumption that more difficult activities or tasks are inherently better than those that are easier.

Cognitive bias

Patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, leading to illogical conclusions.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, or remember information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs.

Dunning-Kruger effect

A cognitive bias where people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability. ex: A person who just started learning to play chess wins their first couple of games against other beginners. Because of those early wins, they become overconfident, thinking they’re extremely skilled and could easily beat advanced players. In reality, they lack enough knowledge to understand how complex chess strategy really is — so their confidence is much higher than their actual ability.

Sunk cost fallacy

The misconception of continuing to invest in a decision based on what has already been invested rather than future benefits. I’ve come this far, I can’t quit now,” even if quitting would actually be the smarter choice.

Survivorship bias

We focus on the success stories and assume they are representative, we often miss the role of barriers, luck, circumstance, etc. 

Related to the Fundamental Attribution Error – We give ourselves credit for good outcomes but blame bad outcomes on the situation

Functional fixedness

A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used.

Einstellung

Being fixated on a specific solution strategy, preventing the discovery of new solutions.

Creativity

The ability to generate ideas or solutions that are both new and useful.

Big C creativity

Major innovations and breakthroughs that significantly impact a field or society.

Little c creativity

Everyday creative thinking, such as trying new ways to organize or solve a problem.

Problem space

The set of all possible states or configurations that can arise during problem-solving.

Problem representation

how we think about the problem - our mental model of it

Convergent thinking

The ability to find a single, correct solution to a problem by thinking logically.

Divergent thinking

The ability to generate multiple unique solutions to a problem.

Torrance Test for Creative Thinking

A standardized test designed to measure creativity across various dimensions.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to reason and solve new problems independently of previously acquired knowledge.

Crystallized intelligence

The accumulated knowledge and skills that one gains through experience and education. vocabulary, facts, and skills you’ve acquired over your life.

Flynn effect

The observed rise in average IQ scores over generations, often attributed to improvements in education and living conditions.