AP Psychology Unit 2 - Thinking, Problem Solving, Judgements, and Decision Making

Cognition

The mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem-solving.

Concepts

Mental categories used to group objects, events, or ideas based on shared features. Concepts help organize knowledge and simplify thinking.

Prototype

A typical example or representation of a category that embodies its most common features, used to enhance understanding and categorization.

Schema

A cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information by allowing individuals to form expectations about the world.

Assimilate

To integrate new information into existing schemas or concepts without altering them.

Accomodate

To modify existing schemas or create new ones to incorporate new information.

Algorithm

A step-by-step procedure or formula for solving a problem, often used in mathematics and computer science.

Commonly involves simple trial and error

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that simplify decision making and problem solving. If it worked in the past, it will be seen as likely to work in the future

Representative Heuristics

A cognitive strategy that involves making judgments about the probability of an event based on how well it matches a prototype or stereotype. This can lead to biased decision making.

Availability Heuristics

A mental shortcut used to make decisions based on how easily examples come to mind, often influenced by recent experiences or media. This can lead to overestimating the likelihood of events that are more memorable or vivid.

Decision Making

The cognitive process of choosing between options or courses of action, often involving evaluation of information and weighing potential outcomes.

Mental Set

The tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, usually in a way that was successful in the past

It can be an obstacle in problem solving

Priming

The process by which exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus, often without conscious guidance or intention. This effect can enhance or hinder the retrieval of information from memory, thereby influencing judgments and decision-making processes.

It is essentially associations between concepts

Framing

The way information is presented can significantly affect decision-making and judgment, influencing perceptions and choices. It highlights how different wordings or contexts can lead to varying interpretations and reactions.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.

Overconfidence

The tendency to overestimate one's own abilities, knowledge, or predictions, leading to excessive confidence in outcomes.

Gambler’s Fallacy

A phenomenon where an individual thinks that the odds of a random event increase or decrease based on previous occurrences when the luck is actually independent of prior outcomes.

“99% of gamblers quit before they make it”

Sunk Cost Fallacy

The cognitive bias that leads individuals to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made, despite new evidence suggesting that the cost of continuing is greater than the potential benefit.

Executive Functions

Cognitive processes that regulate thoughts, actions, and emotions.

Creativity

The ability to generate original ideas or solutions, often involving divergent thinking and the capacity to make novel connections.

Convergent Thinking

A type of thinking that focuses on finding a single best solution to a problem, often through logical reasoning and analysis.

Divergent Thinking

A cognitive process that generates multiple, unique solutions to a problem, fostering creative thinking and innovation.

Functional Fixedness

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