Topic 2.2: Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgments, and Decision-Making

Cognition

The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Metacognition

Thinking about our own thinking; the awareness and understanding of our own cognitive processes.

Concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people used to simplify world knowledge.

Prototype

A mental image or best example that incorporates all the features we associate with a category.

Schema

A conceptual framework or mental structure that organizes and interprets information based on past experiences.

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences and information in terms of our existing schemas without changing the schema itself.

Accommodation

Adapting or expanding our current schemas to incorporate new information that doesn't fit existing frameworks.

Executive Functions

Higher-level cognitive processes managed by the prefrontal cortex, including goal-setting, planning, impulse control, and working memory management.

Algorithm

A step-by-step, methodical procedure or formula that guarantees solving a particular problem if followed correctly.

Heuristic

A simple, efficient thinking strategy or mental shortcut that allows us to make judgments and solve problems quickly, though it is more error-prone than an algorithm.

Representativeness Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of an event or person belonging to a category by comparing how well they match our prototype of that category, often ignoring relevant statistical odds.

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of an event based on how easily instances or memories of it come to mind.

Mental Set

The tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has worked successfully in the past, which can block new solutions.

Functional Fixedness

A specific type of mental set where an individual views objects as functioning only in their customary or intended ways.

Insight

A sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem without explicit step-by-step trial and error.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information that confirms our preexisting beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence.

Fixation

The inability to see a problem from a fresh or alternative perspective, stalling problem-solving progress.

Intuition

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought without conscious reasoning.

Overconfidence

The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs, knowledge, and judgments.

Belief Perseverance

Clinging to one's initial beliefs even after the evidence or reasoning that supported them has been completely disproven.

Framing

The way an issue or question is presented; subtle changes in wording or context can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Gambler's Fallacy

The mistaken belief that past random events influence the probability of future random outcomes (e.g., believing a coin flip is "due" to land on heads after multiple tails).

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

Continuing an endeavor or investment simply because time, money, or effort has already been spent, rather than evaluating future costs and benefits.

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory that predetermines how one thinks, perceives, or acts.

Creativity

The ability to produce novel, original, and valuable ideas or solutions to problems.

Divergent Thinking

A creative thinking process that expands outward in multiple directions to generate various unique solutions to a problem.

Convergent Thinking

A logical thinking process that narrows down multiple available options to determine the single best or correct solution.