2.2 Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgment and Decision Making

Concepts

are fundamental ideas or principles that form the basis of a theory, belief, or system.

Prototypes

Your ideal idea of something or someone.

Metacognition

Thinking about your own thinking processes. ‘Thats so Meta!’

Schemas

Mental frameworks that help organize and interpret information.

Assimilation

The process of adding new information into a current schema.

Accommodation

The process of updating a schema with new information.

Algorithms

A series of steps to complete or solve a problem.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that ease the cognitive load of making decisions.

Representativeness Heuristic

How likely something is going to occur based on its similarity to a prototype or stereotype.

Availability Heuristic

How likely something is going to happen based on past events.

Mental Set

A tendency to approach problems using a specific mindset based on past experiences, often leading to rigid thinking.

Functional Fixedness

a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, hindering problem-solving.

Priming

A psychologial way to influince the way someone sees something. Demon/Kitty then see faces

Framing

The way you say something to influince someone to answer in a certain way.

Gambler's Fallacy

The belief that past random events can influence future random events, particularly in gambling scenarios. For example, thinking a coin is 'due' to land on heads after several tails.

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

The tendency to continue investing in a decision based on previously invested resources rather than future outcomes. This often leads to irrational decision-making.

Executive Functions

Creativity

A process that makes new things and leads to new solutions to problems

Divergent Thinking

“Thinking outside of the box” with multiple answers to one problem.

Convergent Thinking

There is only one or a finite amount of solutions to a problem

Formal Concepts

Categories that are defined by specific rules or features, used to group items based on shared characteristics.

Natural Concepts

Categories formed from everyday experiences and perceptions, often based on typical examples rather than strict rules.

Anchoring Heuristic

A cognitive bias where individuals rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions.

Means End Analysis

A problem-solving approach that breaks down a larger goal into smaller, manageable steps to effectively achieve the desired outcome.

Trial And Error

Try and try again. Third times the charm.