Understanding Cognition and Perception Concepts

Cognitive bias

A systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment.

Creativity

the ability to think about a problem or idea in new and unusual ways, come up with unconventional solutions to problems.

Convergent thinking

using logic and algorithms to solve problems, there is only one answer, and doesn't see things from various perspectives.

Connectedness

Because they are uniform and linked, we perceive each set of two dots and the line between them as a single unit.

Retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth.

Light and shadow

nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes.

Stroboscopic effect

a visual illusion that occurs when an object appears to move slower than it really does.

Perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.

Perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Metacognition

thinking about thinking

Cognition

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

Concepts

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

Definitions

some concepts fit into a group because of their definition. Ex. by definition, a triangle has 3 sides

Hierarchies

breaking things down from broad to specific. Ex. Fruit > apple > Granny Smith

Prototypes

a mental image of the best example of a category. Ex. Most people think of a robin, as opposed to a flamingo, when they hear the word 'bird'.

Schemas

an organized mental framework about a particular topic, event, object, idea, setting, or group of people.

Trial and error

just trying any method to solve an answer. Ex. typing in random numbers to figure out a pin number for an ATM card.

Algorithm

a logical, step-by-step procedure that, if followed correctly, will eventually solve a specific problem. Ex. typing in 0000, 0001, 0002, 0003, etc. to figure out a pin number for an ATM card.

Heuristic

a general rule of thumb or shortcut that is used to reduce the number of possible solutions to a problem. Ex. using birthdays for a pin number.

Fixation

having a preoccupation with something, not being able to stop thinking of it.

Mental set

the tendency to continue using belief systems and problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past, even though it may not be working now.

Functional fixedness

the tendency to think of an object as functioning only in its usual way or customary way.

Availability heuristic

judging the likelihood of an event based on readily available personal experiences or new reports. Ex. not wanting to fly after 9/11.

Representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of an event based on how well it matches a typical example. Ex. Not thinking a tall, skinny man who likes to read would be a truck driver.

Framing

posing a question or wording a phrase in such a way to persuade someone's thoughts. Ex. Buying something because it's 95% fat free sounds better than 5% fat.

Gambler's fallacy

when someone mistakenly believes that the probability of a random event changes based on a previous event or series of events.

Sunk cost fallacy

the tendency to continue investing time, money, or effort into something.

Brainstorm

coming up with new ideas.

Divergent thinking

a type of thinking in which problem solvers devise a number of possible alternative approaches to problems and multiple solutions, it involves taking risks.

Selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment.

Perception

the process of organization and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Gestalt

an organized whole.

Figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Proximity

We group nearby figures together.

Similarity

We group similar figures together.

Continuity

We perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.

Closure

We fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object.

Depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.

Visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.

Monocular cues

depth cues that depend on the use of one eye.

Relative height

we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away.

Relative size

if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as farther away.

Interposition

if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer.

Linear perspective

parallel lines, such as railroad tracks, appear to converge with distance.

Relative motion

As we move, objects that are actually stable may appear to move.

Phi Phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Autokinetic effect

a visual illusion that occurs when a stationary point of light appears to move in a dark environment.

Color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

Perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

Schema

Organized bodies of information that are stored in memory which can bias the way new information is interpreted, stored, and recalled.

Context effects

describes the influence of environmental factors on one's perception of a stimulus.