PSY200 Exam 4

Chapters 12 & 13

problem

an obstacle between a present state and a goal state, and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle

gestalt approach

says problem solving is about how people represent a problem in their mind and how solving a problem involves a reorganization or restructuring of this representation

restructuring

the process of changing a problem’s representation, according to Gestalt psychologists, and is the key mechanism to problem solving

insight

any sudden comprehension, realization, or problem-solution that involves a reorganization of a person’s mental representation to yield an interpretation that was not initially obvious

analytically based problem

problem that is solved by a process of systematic analysis, often using techniques based on past experience

fixation

people’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at the solution

functional fixedness

an effect that occurs when the ideas a person has about an object’s function inhibit the person’s ability to use the object for a different function

mental set

a preconceived notion about how to approach a problem based on a person’s experience or what has worked in the past

means-end analysis

a way of solving a problem in which the goal is to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states (aka information-processing approach)

problem space

all possible states that could occur when solving a problem

subgoals

in the means end analysis to problem solving, intermediate states that move the process of solution closer to the goal

think-aloud protocol

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

analogical problem solving

the use of analogies as an aid to solving problems; a solution to one problem, the source problem, is presented that is analogous to the solution to another problem, the target problem

analogical transfer

transferring experience in solving one problem to the solution of another similar problem

noticing, mapping, applying

the three steps to analogical problem solving

analogical paradox

people find it difficult to apply analogies in laboratory settings, but routinely use them in real-world settings

expert

a person who, by devoting a large amount of time to learning about a field and practicing and applying that learning, has become acknowledged as being extremely skilled or knowledgeable in that field

divergent thinking

thinking that is open-ended, involving a large number of potential solutions

practical creativity

anything made by people that is in some way novel and has potential value or utility

transcranial direct current stimulation

a procedure for stimulating the brain in which two electrodes, which are connected to a battery-powered device that delivers direct current, are placed on a person’s head

compound remote-associate problem

a problem in which three words are presented, and the task is to determine one word when combined with each of these words forms a new word or phrase

volitional daydreaming

the act of consciously choosing to disengage from external tasks in order to pursue an internal stream of thought that might have positive outcomes

solitude

avoiding distractions; giving the mind space and time to make new connections and find meaning

mindfulness

paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment

focused attention meditation

meditation in which the basic procedure is to focus on one thing and when your mind wanders, bring it back to the thing

open monitoring meditation

meditation that involves paying attention to whatever comes into the mind, and to follow this thought until something else comes along

decision

the process of making a choice between alternatives

reasoning

a cognitive process by which people start with information and come to conclusions that go beyond that information

inductive reasoning

reasoning in which a conclusion follows from a consideration of evidence; this conclusion is states as being probably true rather than definitely true

heuristics

shortcuts that help generalize from specific experiences to broader judgements and conclusions “rules of thumb”- potential sources of errors in judgements

availability heuristic

events that are more easily remembered are judged to be more probable than events that are less easily remembered

illusory correlations

a correlation that appears to exist between two events, when in reality there is no correlation or it is weaker than it’s assumed to be

stereotype

oversimplified generalization about a group or class of people that often focus on negative characteristics

representativeness heuristic

the probability that an event A comes from class B can be determined by how well A resembles the properties of class B

base rate

the relative proportions of different classes in a population; failure to consider this can often lead to errors of reasoning

conjunctin rule

the probability of the conjunction of two events cannot be higher than the probability of the single constiutents

law of large numbers

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

myside bias

a type of confirmation bias in which people generate and test hypotheses in a way that is biased towards their own opinions and attitudes

confirmation bias

the tendency to selectively look for information that conforms to our hypothesis and to overlook information that argues against it

backfire effect

occurs when individuals’ support for a particular viewpoint becomes stronger when faced with corrective facts opposing their viewpoint

deductive reasoning

reasoning that involves syllogisms in which a conclusion logically follows from the premises

categorical syllogism

syllogism in which the premises and conclusion describe the relationship between two categories by using statements that begin with “all” “no” or “some”

validity

the quality of a syllogism whose conclusion follows logically from its premises

belief bias

the tendency to think a syllogism is valid if its conclusion is believable or that it is invalid if the conclusion is not believable

conditional syllogism

syllogism with two premises and a conclusion whose first premise is an “if…then” statement

falsification principle

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

expected utility theory

the idea that people are basically rational, so if they have all of the relevant information, they will make a decision that results in the most beneficial result

utility

outcomes that achieve a person’s goal

economist

good decision making = making choices that resulted in the maximum monetary payoff

expected emotions

emotions that a person predicts he or she will feel for a particular outcome of a decision 

incidental emotions

in a decision making simulation, emotions not directly caused by the act of having to make a decision

opt-in procedure

a procedure in which a person must take an active step to choose a course of action

opt-out procedure

a procedure in which a person must take an active step to avoid a course of action

status quo bias

the tendency to do nothing when faced with making a decision

risk aversion strategy

a decision making strategy that is governed by the idea of avoiding risk; often used when a problem is states in terms of gain

risk taking strategy

a decision making strategy that is governed by the idea of taking risks; often used when a problem is stated in terms of losses

framing effect

says that decisions are influenced by how the choices/problem is stated

dual systems approach

the idea that there are two mental systems, one fast and the other slower, that have different capabilities and serve different functions