AP Psych - Unit 2.2 Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Cognition

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

Metacognition

• keeping track of and evaluating our mental processes

Concepts

• groupings of similar items, events, ideas, or people

• referred to as mental categories

• determine what something is based on categories and definitions

Prototypes

• the mental representation of an object/concept that presents its most typical features

• used as a standard for categorization 

• the best example of a concept

Schema

• a mental framework that helps us organize and understand information

• build people’s expectations for certain situations based on past experiences

• influence individuals’ knowledge on how things work

Assimilation

• incorporating new information into existing schemas

• does not change the schema

Accommodation

• changing your thinking and schema to fit new information

Executive Functions

mental skills that help individuals plan, organize, and reach their goals

utilized when individuals encounter problems or new experiences

allow people to:

• make plans

• think critically

• stay focused

• remember important information

• solve problems

Algorithm

• a step-by-step method that tackles a problem in a systematic way

• time-consuming

• usually guarantees accurate results

Heuristics

• mental shortcuts based on past experiences

• allow people to solve problems quickly

• a mental “rule-of-thumb” - general guidelines on how individuals should make judgements based on experience

• aren’t always accurate

Representativeness Heuristics

• involves making judgements by comparing a present situation with a mental porotype that resembles the current issue

• can cause individuals to overlook important details in favor of information that aligns with their expectations or personal biases

Availability Heuristics

• involves making judgements based on the readily available examples that come to mind

• can lead to errors when decisions are heavily influenced by recent or vivid memories rather than a full consideration of all of the facts

Mental Set

• the tendency to approach a problem in a way that has worked in the past, even if it’s not the best solution for the current situation

• allows people to quickly come up with answers

• limits the ability to find better or more efficient solutions

• hinders creative thinking

• specific to problem solving

Priming

• the phenomenon where exposure to a certain stimulus can subtly influence an individual’s subsequent thoughts and actions towards another stimulus

Repetition Priming

• an individual is exposed to a specific stimulus that makes it easier to recognize that same or similar stimulus later on 

• can cause improvement in reaction time and accuracy

Semantic Priming

• involves the influence of one word on the interpretation of another, related word

Framing

refers to how information, questions, or problems are presented and how the structure can influence people’s thoughts, judgements, and decisions 

the wording can influence an individual’s interpretation of information

can cause people to focus on presentation rather than the actual facts

some ways of framing are:

• emphasizing certain details

• emitting other details

• using emotionally charged language

Gambler’s Fallacy

• the incorrect belief that the likelihood of a random event is influenced by previous outcomes

• the irrational assumption that the probability of a result can increase or decrease once patterns or streaks are noticed

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

• the tendency to continue investing in something simply because time, money, or effort has already been put in it

• often leads people to stay in stagnant situations that serve no beneficial purpose

Creative Thinking

• a way of thinking that involves coming up with new and original ideas

Divergent Thinking

• explores many possible solutions

• expands the range of options for solving a problem

Convergent Thinking

• involves narrowing down possibilities to identify the single best solution

• can hinder creativity

5 Components of Creativity

1. Expertise - well developed knowledge furnishes ideas, images, and phrases into mental building blocks

2. Imaginative Thinking Skills - provide the ability to recognize meaningful patterns, see things in novel ways, and make important connections

3. Venturesome Personality - seeks new experiences, tolerate ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles

4. Intrinsic Motivation - being driven by challenge, interest, pleasure, and satisfaction rather than by external pressures

5. Creative Environment - supports innovation, team building, and communication

Functional Fixedness

• specific type of mental set

• limits a person to using an object for its normal or traditional purpose

Insight

• a sudden realization of a problem’s solution

• contrasts with strategy-based solutions

• bursts of brain activity are associated with this phenomenon

Confirmation Bias

• a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Fixation

• the inability to see a problem from a new perspective

Intuition

• an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought

Planning Fallacy

• overestimating our future leisure time and income

Categorical Hierarchy

• a way to organize concepts into a system of broader and narrower categories