thinking, problem solving, judgements, and decision making

concepts

ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities

formal concepts

concept defined by specific rules or features

ex. a square has four sides and four right angles

natural concepts

concepts that people form as the result of experiences with concepts

ex. vehicles: cars, buses, bobsleds

prototype

a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of a concept

people with different experiences have different prototypes

ex. a fruit: apple

schemas

mental generalizations about objects, places, events, and people

ex. movies, popcorn, candy

scripts

schema that involves a familiar sequence of activities

assimilation

individuals incorporate new ideas into existing schemas

accommodation

individuals adjust their existing schemas or create new ones to incorporate new information

mechanical solution

trial and error

algorithm

specific, step by step procedures for solving certain types of problems

ex. math equations

heuristic

“rule of thumb”, guess based on prior experiences

representativeness heuristic

assumes that any object or person that shares characteristics with other things in a category, then it is part of that group

stereotyping

availability heuristic

estimation of frequency based on how easy it is to remember

working backward heuristic

starting at the endpoint and working towards the beginning

this helps create subgoals that are more manageable problems to solve

insight

solution suddenly comes to mind, based on reorganization of information

mental set

the tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past

priming

exposure to one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or attention

ex. when you say salt, people thing pepper

framing

the way questions or problems are presented changes the person’s view or reaction

gambler’s fallacy

mistaken belief that the outcome of a random event is influenced by past events

people think if something hasn’t happened to them recently, its more likely to happen now

sunk cost fallacy

when someone continues to invent time, money, and effort into something, even if it is no longer beneficial because they have already invested significantly in it

executive functions

high level mental skills that enable goal oriented behavior

problem solving, decision making

problem solving

using our thoughts to reach a goal

decision making

identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives

creativity

solving problems by combining behavior or ideas in a new way

divergent thinking

starting from one point and coming up with as many possibilities or ideas as possible

convergent thinking

assumes that one single answer exists for the problem

functional fixedness

thinking about objects only in terms of their typical uses