AP Psychology: Thinking, Problem Solving, Judgement, and Decision Making

Vocabulary flashcards defining fundamental cognitive psychology concepts including problem-solving strategies, cognitive biases, heuristics, and executive functions.

Concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people that acts as a mental shorthand to economize cognitive effort and organize thought.

Prototype

The best or ideal example that represents a specific concept or category (e.g., a robin as a prototype for a bird).

Schema

A broad mental framework or organized set of knowledge about a concept, person, event, or situation that guides interpretation of and responses to new experiences.

Assimilation

The cognitive process of incorporating new information into an existing schema without altering the schema itself.

Accommodation

The cognitive process of altering or modifying an existing schema to incorporate new information that does not fit.

Algorithm

A methodical, step-by-step logical procedure that tests all possible solutions until the correct one is reached; guarantees a solution but can be slow.

Heuristic

A rule-of-thumb mental shortcut that enables quick problem-solving and decision-making; faster than an algorithm but more susceptible to errors.

Insight

A sudden realization of a problem's solution occurring in an instant, typically built on prior practice and experience rather than deliberate step-by-step effort.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, notice, and interpret information in a way that confirms preexisting expectations or hypotheses while disregarding contrary evidence.

Mental Set

A tendency to approach a problem in a manner that has proven successful in the past, which can prevent solving new problems that require a different approach.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive bias that limits a person to seeing an object only in terms of its traditional, customary use, hindering creative problem-solving.

Availability Heuristic

A cognitive shortcut where the perceived likelihood of an event is evaluated by how easily and vividly instances of it come to mind.

Representativeness Heuristic

A cognitive shortcut where the probability of an event or person is judged based on how closely it matches a stereotype or prototype, often ignoring base rate statistics.

Overconfidence

The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs, judgments, and knowledge, being more confident than objectively correct.

Belief Perseverance

The phenomenon of clinging to an initial idea or belief even after the foundational evidence for it has been fully disproven.

Framing

The way information or an issue is presented or worded, which significantly shapes subsequent evaluations, choices, and judgments.

Priming

An implicit memory phenomenon in which exposure to an initial stimulus alters or activates mental concepts that influence responses to a subsequent stimulus.

Gambler's Fallacy

The mistaken belief that the outcome of a purely random, independent event is influenced by past occurrences (e.g., believing tails is 'due' after a streak of heads).

Sunk Cost Fallacy

The tendency to continue an endeavor based on previously invested resources (such as money, time, or effort) that cannot be recovered, rather than evaluating optimal future outcomes.

Executive Functions

A collection of cognitive processes—including working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and planning—that manage resources to carry out goal-directed behavior.

Prefrontal Cortex

The forwardmost portion of the brain responsible for higher-order executive functions, planning, decision-making, and behavioral self-regulation.

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas by making unique connections and thinking outside conventional boundaries.

Divergent Thinking

A creative, exploratory thought process that expands outward to generate multiple unique ideas or possible solutions to an open-ended problem.

Convergent Thinking

A logical, linear thought process that focuses inward to narrow down information to find a single correct solution to a problem.

Concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people that provides a mental shorthand to economize cognitive effort and organize the world.

Prototype

The ideal or best example that represents a particular category or concept (such as a robin serving as the prototype for a bird).

Schema

A broad mental framework or organized body of knowledge about a concept, person, event, or situation that guides how a person interprets and responds to new experiences.

Assimilation

The cognitive process of incorporating new information into an existing schema without altering the schema itself.

Accommodation

The cognitive process of modifying or creating new schemas when novel information does not fit into existing frameworks.

Algorithm

A methodical, step-by-step logical procedure that addresses a problem by testing all possible solutions until the correct one is found, guaranteeing a solution but often requiring significant time.

Heuristic

A rule-of-thumb mental shortcut strategy that allows for quick judgment and problem-solving, but is more susceptible to errors than an algorithm.

Insight

A sudden and immediate realization of the solution to a problem, occurring without warning and built upon prior practice and experience.

Cognitive Bias

A systematic pattern of deviation from rational judgment or statistical reality caused by taking mental shortcuts based on learned patterns.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and focus on information that confirms preexisting expectations while disregarding or discounting contradictory evidence.

Fixation

The inability to look at a problem from a fresh, alternative perspective, which impedes the problem-solving process.

Mental Set

A cognitive tendency to approach a problem in one particular way that has proven successful in the past, even if it may not resolve the current problem.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive bias that limits a person to viewing an object only in terms of its customary or traditional function, inhibiting creative problem-solving.

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut in which the likelihood of an event is evaluated based on how readily or vividly examples come to mind, often resulting in exaggerated fears.

Representativeness Heuristic

A mental shortcut where the likelihood of an event or person is judged by how closely they resemble a particular prototype or stereotype, often ignoring base-rate probabilities.

Overconfidence

The cognitive tendency to overestimate the accuracy and completeness of one's knowledge and beliefs, causing a person to be more confident than correct.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to cling to one's initial conviction or belief even after the factual basis upon which it was established has been completely discredited.

Framing

The way an issue or piece of information is posed or presented, which significantly influences resulting decisions and judgments (e.g., $75\%$ lean versus $25\%$ fat).

Priming

The process by which exposure to an earlier stimulus unconsciously influences the response to a subsequent stimulus.

Gambler's Fallacy

The erroneous belief that previous random outcomes influence the probability of a subsequent event, despite each event being mathematically independent.

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

The tendency to make future decisions based on a desire not to see previously invested resources (such as money, time, or effort) go to waste, rather than evaluating future prospective utility.

Executive Functions

A collection of cognitive processes—including working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—that allow individuals to manage themselves, formulate plans, and execute goal-directed behaviors.

Prefrontal Cortex

The cerebral region situated at the front of the brain that is primarily responsible for executive functions, complex decision-making, and self-regulatory control.

Creativity

The cognitive capacity to generate original, novel, and valuable ideas and to discover innovative solutions to problems.

Divergent Thinking

A creative mode of thinking that expands outward to generate multiple novel solutions or possibilities for an open-ended problem.

Convergent Thinking

A logical, linear mode of thinking that narrows down multiple options to determine the single correct answer to a problem.