cognitive psychology

What is cognition?

Mental activities and processes associated with thinking, knowing, and memory.

What is a concept?

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, and people.

What is a prototype?

A mental image or best example of a category.

What is creativity?

The ability to produce new and valuable ideas.

What is convergent thinking?

Narrowing the available solutions to find one best solution.

What is divergent thinking?

Expanding the number of possible solutions, creating thinking that expands into different directions.

Who is Robert Sternberg?

Psychologist who identified five components of creativity.

What are the five components of creativity identified by Robert Sternberg?

Expertise, intrinsic motivation, creative environment, imaginative thinking skills, and venturesome personality.

What is expertise in the context of creativity?

Strong knowledge base in a subject.

What is intrinsic motivation?

Personal passion or interest in a task.

What characterizes a creative environment?

An atmosphere that encourages creativity and innovation.

What are imaginative thinking skills?

The ability to think in new ways and make unique connections.

What is a venturesome personality?

A personality that seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, and overcomes obstacles.

What is trial and error?

A problem-solving method where various possible solutions are tried until one works.

What is an algorithm?

A methodical approach to problem-solving that leads to specific solutions.

What is a heuristic?

A shortcut thinking process that allows for quicker judgment and problem-solving.

What is insight?

A sudden realization that leads to a solution.

What are the main obstacles to problem-solving?

Confirmation bias, fixation, and mental set.

What is confirmation bias?

The tendency to search for information that supports preconceptions and ignore contradictory evidence.

What is a mental set?

An approach to problem-solving using methods that have previously worked.

What is fixation?

Getting stuck in one way of thinking, unable to see a problem from a new perspective.

What is intuition?

Making judgments and decisions quickly and automatically, rather than through careful reasoning.

What are mental habits?

Tendencies that simplify and expedite decision-making, which can lead to errors such as availability heuristic, overconfidence, belief perseverance, and framing.