Studied by 123 peopleconcept
the mental representation of an object, event, or idea
categories
clusters of interrelated concepts
rule-based categorization
categorizing objects or events according to a certain set of rules or by a specific set of features
graded membership
the observation that some concepts appear to make better category members than others
sentence verification technique
A technique in which the participant is asked to indicate whether a particular sentence is true or false. For example, sentences like "An apple is a fruit" have been used in studies on categorization.
exemplar
a specific example that best represents a category
prototype
mental representation of an average category member
semantic network
interconnected set of concepts and the links that join them to form a category
basic-level categories
moderately specific categories
unique qualities:
used most often in conversation
easiest to pronounce
levels at which prototypes exist
level at which most thinking occurs
superordinate categories
more general, less descriptive
subordinate-level categories
very specific
priming
the activation of individual concepts in long-term memory
lexical decision task
A procedure in which a person is asked to decide as quickly as possible whether a particular stimulus is a word or a nonword.
category specific visual agnosia
Patients with damage to the temporal lobes sometimes have trouble identifying certain categories of objects.
folk biology
the ways people in various communities and cultures think about the natural world in their daily lives.
research on north americans vs japanese people
People raised in North America tend to focus on a single characteristic, whereas Japanese people tend to view objects in relation to their environment.
Whorfian hypothesis
the theory that the language we learn influences how we think
problem solving
accomplishing a goal when the solution or the path to the solution is not clear
algorithm
problem-solving strategies based on a series of rules
heuristics
problem-solving strategies that stem from prior experiences and provide an educated guess as to what is the most likely solution
nine dot problem
The goal of this problem is to connect all nine dots using only four straight lines and without lifting your pen or pencil off the paper.
mental set
is a cognitive obstacle that occurs when an individual attempts to apply a routine solution to what is actually a new type of problem
functional fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving
Benign Violation Theory
Theory about humor dating from 1998, popularized by Peter McGraw, that posits that something is funny when it seems wrong or unsettling but is actually harmless.
eg: friend falling down the stairs. isnt funny if friend is hurt, is funny if its benign, so now you laugh
parts of brain activated during humour
ncongruity detection and resolution activated areas in the temporal lobes and the medial frontal lobes (close to the middle of the brain). Elaboration activated a network involving the left frontal and parietal lobes
conjunction fallacy
when people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event
representativeness heuristic
making judgments of likelihood based on how well an example represents a specific category
availability heuristic
making a decision based on the answer that most easily comes to mind
eg: when asked if "there are more words starting with letter K" or if "there are more words with K as the 3rd letter" we choose that there are more words with K as first letter because more words with first letter K come to mind
anchoring effect
occurs when an individual attempts to solve a problem involving numbers and uses previous knowledge to keep the response within a limited range
belief perseverance
tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions
satisficers vs. maximizers
good enough vs best possible outcome
paradox of choice
the observation that more choices can lead to less satisfaction Barry Schwartz
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