Thinking & Intelligence

bounded rationality

considering available info, evaluating alternatives & picking the best possible option

bounded will power

we don’t always do what we know is best

bounded self-interest

we consider outcomes for others, not just ourselves

bounded ethicality

we may not be aware of ways we violate our own ethics

bounded awareness

may fail to notice obvious information that is available

heuristics

mental shortcuts → making decisions without analyzing every detail

system 1 thinking (implicit)

thinking that is fast, intuitive, automatic, effortless, & emotional

system 2 thinking (explicit)

thinking that is slow, deliberate, effortful, & logical

biases

ways our reasoning & decision making tends to be systematically distorted

confirmation bias

seeking evidence that supports us, and denying evidence that does not

overconfidence effect

when people tend to overestimate their abilities

anchoring effect

when making estimates, an initial numerical anchor is likely to influence the size of the estimate

framing bias

how you frame a sentence/question will influence how others will respond

representative heuristic

judging the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype (category based)

availability heuristic

when asked to judge how likely something is, instead you judge how easy it is to recall it

intelligence

has no standard definition!

abstract reasoning

ability to understand hypothetical concepts rather than concepts in the present

learning

acquiring new knowledge

adapting

to new circumstances → benefitting from experience

Spearman’s g

general knowledge, a singular factor that accounts for overall intellect

Sternberg’s 3 intelligences

analytical, practical, creative

Howard Garner’s multiple intelligences

8 different types of intelligences

fluid intelligence

capacity to learn new ways of solving problems → thinking on your feet, harder for older people

crystallized intelligence

ability to use accumulated knowledge of the world to solve problems → fluid may flow into this

standardized tests

administered in the same way

normed

constructed so that results are normally distributed with a mean of 100

Flynn effect

overtime, the average score on intelligence tests has increased

eugenics

selective breeding of human populations to improve desired characteristics

WAIS test

most widely used modern intelligence test

growth mindset

believing abilities are changeable

fixed mindset

believing abilities are not changeable