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algorithm

a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem

Amos Tversky

A key figure in the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

babbling stage

babies spontaneously uttering a variety of words, such as ah-goo

belief perserverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

broca's area

speech production

cognition

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

concept

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

confirmation bias

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

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

divergent thinking

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

Elizabeth Loftus

Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony

fixation

according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

framing

the way an issue is posed

grammar

a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

language

A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.

linguistic determinism

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

one-word stage

the stage in which children speak mainly in single words

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

repression

keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Robert Sternberg

intelligence; devised the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative)

source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

wernicke's area

language comprehension

Wolfgang Kohler

considered to be the founder of Gestalt Psychology