intro to psychology: chapter 8

cognition

the mental activity that includes thinking and the understandings that result from thinking

thinking

the mental manipulation of representations of knowledge about the world

analogical representations

Mental representations that have some of the physical characteristics of what they represent

symbolic representation

Abstract mental representations that do not correspond to the physical features of objects or ideas

categorization

a cognitive process used to organize information by placing it into larger groupings of information

concept

A category, or class, of related items consisting of mental representations of those items

prototype model

A way of thinking about concepts: Within each category, there is a best example—a prototype—for that category

exemplar model

a way of thinking about concepts: all members of a category are examples (exemplars); together they form the concept and determine category membership

schemas

concepts or mental frameworks that organize and interpret information

gender roles

sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one's status as male or female

script

a schema that directs behavior over time within a situation

stereotypes

cognitive schemas that allow for easy, fast processing of information about people based on their membership in certain groups

loss aversion

the tendency to care more about avoiding losses than about achieving equal-size gains

base rate

how common a characteristic or behavior is in the general population

decision making

a cognitive process that results in the selection of a course of action or belief from several options

problem solving

finding a way around an obstacle to reach a goal

heuristics

shortcuts (rules of thumb or informal guidelines) used to reduce the amount of thinking that is needed to make decisions

anchoring

the tendency, in making judgments, to rely on the first piece of information encountered or information that comes most quickly to mind

framing

in decision making, an emphasis on the potential losses or potential gains from at least one alternative

availability heuristic

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

representitive heuristic

placing a person or an object in a category if that person or object is similar to one's prototype for that category

affective forecasting

the tendency for people to overestimate how events will make them feel in the future

restructuring

a new way of thinking about a problem that aids its solution

mental sets

problem solving strategies that have worked in the past

functional fixedness

in problem solving, having fixed ideas about the typical functions of objects

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution

intelligence

the ability to use knowledge to reason, make decisions, make sense of events, solve problems, understand complex ideas, learn quickly, and adapt to
environmental challenges

mental age

an assessment of a child's intellectual standing compared with that of same-age peers; determined by comparing the child's test score with the average score for children of each chronological age

intelligence quotient (IQ)

an index of intelligence computed by dividing a child's estimated mental age by the child's chronological age, then multiplying this number by 100

general intelligence

the idea that one general factor underlies intelligence

fluid intelligence

intelligence that reflects the ability to process information, particularly in novel or complex circumstances

crystallized intelligence

intelligence that reflects both the knowledge acquired through experience and the ability to use that knowledge

emotional intelligence

a form of social intelligence that emphasizes the abilities to manage, recognize, and understand emotions and use emotions to guide appropriate thought and action

language

a system of communication using sounds and symbols according to grammatical rules

morpheme

the smallsest language units that have meaning, including suffixes and prefixes

phoneme

the basic sounds of speech, the building block of language

aphasia

a language disorder that results in deficits in language comprehension and production

wernicke's area

an area of the left hemisphere where the temporal and parietal lobes meet, involved in speech comprehension

linguistic relativity theory

the claim that language determines thought

telegraphic speech

the way toddlers speak, using rudimentary sentences that are missing words and grammatical markings but follow a logical syntax and convey a wealth of meaning

surface structure

in language, the sound and order of words

deep structure

in language, the implicit meanings of sentences

phonics

a method of teaching reading in English that focuses on the association between letters and their phonemes

endowment effect

the tendency of people to be unwilling to sell a good they already own even if they are offered a price that is greater than the price they would be willing to pay to buy the good if they didn't already own it

appraisal tendency framework

a framework that describes how and why emotions affect judgement and decisions. The ATF is based on emotion connecting to an immediate cognitive response or appraisal, leading to an effect on judgement

algorithm

a guideline that if followed correctly will always yield the correct answer

working backwards

a useful heuristic in which you begin solving the problem by focusing on the end result

maximizers

individuals who attempt to evaluate every option for every choice until they find the perfect fit

satisfyers

individuals who aim to make the choice that is always good enough

psychometric approach

a way of studying intelligence that emphasizes analysis of the products of intelligence, especially scores on intelligence tests

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

factor analysis

a statistical technique that explains a large number of correlations in terms of a small number of underlying factors

specific skills

highly specialised abilities that are required for some jobs within science, technology and engineering sectors

analytical intelligence

the ability to break problems down into component parts, or analysis, for problem solving

creative intelligence

the ability to deal with new and different concepts and to come up with new ways of solving problems

practical intelligence

the ability to use information to get along in life and become successful

simple reaction time

a measurement of how quickly someone can respond to a stimulus

choice reaction time

a measure of the speed of mental processing that takes place when someone must choose between several responses, depending on which stimulus is presented

inspection time tests

a test that measures how long a person need to awnser a question about a stumulus after it has been shown and than covered up

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

social multiplier

an environmental factor or an entire environment that increases what might have started as a small advantage

flynn effect

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