Psychology: Key Heuristics, Intelligence, and Problem-Solving Concepts

Representativeness Heuristics

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.

Availability Heuristics

judging 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.

Psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Intelligence Test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

General Intelligence (g)

according to Spearman and others, underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Growth Mindset

people's belief that intelligence is malleable due to experience.

Flynn Effect

the rise in intelligence test performance over time and across cultures.

Fixed Mindset

people's belief that intelligence is fixed from birth.

Chronological Age

the amount of time elapsed since an individual's birth, typically expressed in terms of months and years.

Mental Age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance.

Split-Half Reliability

measure of the internal consistency of surveys, psychological tests, questionnaires, etc.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100, with scores assigned to relative performance above or below average.

Achievement Tests

a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

Aptitude Tests

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

Standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

Concept

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

Prototype

a mental image or best example of a category.

Matching new items to a prototype

A quick and easy method for sorting items into categories.

Assimilation

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

Accommodation

The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus images of near or far objects on the retina.

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Predictive Validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict.

Construct Validity

How much a test measures a concept or trait.

Crystallized Intelligence

Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

Fluid Intelligence

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.

Intellectual Disability

A condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life.

Heritability

The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes.

Stereotype Lift

A performance boost that occurs when downward comparisons are made with a criticized group.

Stereotype Threat

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

A phenomenon where a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it.

Gambler's Fallacy

A failure to recognize the independence of chance, leading to the mistaken belief that one can predict the outcome of a chance event.

Executive Functions

Cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior.

Mental Set

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

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to perceive an object only in terms of its most common use.

Convergent Thinking

Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

Divergent Thinking

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