cognition

Algorithm

A methodical, logical approach that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Heuristics

Simple thinking strategy allowing judgments and educated guesses for efficient problem-solving.

Wolfgang Koehler

Pioneered insight research with experiments on chimpanzees.

Mental set

The tendency to approach a problem the same way.

Functional fixedness

Cognitive bias limiting the use of an object to its traditional way.

Intuition

Effortless, immediate feeling or thought contrasting explicit reasoning.

Jonathon Haidt

Discovered decisions are based on intuitive predispositions and rationalized later.

Confirmation bias

Leads to using information confirming beliefs and dismissing contradictory data.

Belief perseverance

Clinging to initial conceptions despite discredited basis.

Representative heuristics

Judging likelihood based on stereotypes, potentially missing relevant information.

Availability heuristics

Estimating event likelihood based on memory availability.

Overconfidence

Tendency to be more confident than correct, leading to misjudgments.

Framing

The wording or way an issue or question is posed.

Creativity

Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

Convergent thinking

Narrows problem solutions to find the best one.

Divergent thinking

Occurs mainly in the right hemisphere's frontal lobes.

Expertise

Well-developed knowledge base for creating novel ideas.

Imaginative thinking

Redefining or exploring problems in new ways for different perspectives.

Venturesome personality

Seeks new experiences, tolerates risks, and overcomes obstacles.

Intrinsic motivation

Driven to constantly think, analyze, and solve problems.

Creative environment

Supports innovation, team-building, and communication.

Noam Chomsky

Discovered human predisposition to grammatical structures.

Broca’s area

Controls language expression in the left hemisphere, discovered by Paul Broca.

Aphasia

Inability to understand or formulate language.

Wernicke’s area

Controls language reception and plays a key role in language development, discovered by Carl Wernicke.

Babbling stage

Series of indiscernible sounds and noises from 4-10 months.

Phonemes

Perceptually distinct sound units distinguishing words.

Morphemes

Meaningful morphological units that cannot be further divided.

Syntax

Arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.