Module 27: Thinking

Cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Metacognition

Monitoring and evaluating our mental processes

Concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category

Algorithm

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

Heuristic

Simple thinking strategy/mental shortcut (speedier but more error-prone than an algorithm)

Insight

A sudden realization of a problem’s solution

Confirmation bias

A tendency to search for information that supports our perspective and to ignore contradictory evidence

Fixation

In cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective

Mental Set

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way

Intuition

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought (not explicit or conscious thinking)

Representative Heuristic

Judging the likeliness of events in terms of how well they seem to represent or match particular prototypes (may lead us to ignore other relevant information)

Availability Heuristic

Judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory (come to mind a lot=common event)

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct

Belief perseverance

The tendency to stick to our beliefs, even when faced with evidence that disproves them

Framing

The way an issue is presented, can significantly affect decisions and judgements

Nudge

Framing choices in a way that encourages people to make beneficial decisions

Creativity

The ability to produce new and valuable ideas, supported by a certain level of aptitude (ability to learn)

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Divergent Thinking

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions