HRCC Possible Worlds & Mental Models

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key claims, principles, and theories of reasoning from the Possible Worlds Core-Shift lecture.

Reasoning

A cognitive process of constructing and evaluating possibilities.

Medieval schoolmen

Thinkers who believed all knowledge rested on authority or reason deduced from authority, contrasting with modern cognitive views.

Validity

True in all models; invalid if only true in some

Peirce's view on reasoning

Reasoning is not purely natural, but a learned habit guided by "habits of the mind" that produce inferences.

Habits of the mind

Learned mental patterns that guide reasoning with the goal to fix belief and resolve doubt.

Exhaustion of invention

A term for Kepler's process of trying $22$ irrational hypotheses before finding the correct orbit for Mars.

Lavoisier

The scientist credited with transforming reasoning into a process of "manipulating real things" in a laboratory rather than just using words.

Normative approach

A perspective on reasoning grounded in formal logic and strict rules.

Descriptive approach

A modern psychological perspective that treats human reasoning as fallible, variable, and constrained by cognition.

Mental logic

A perspective where reasoning is defined as the application of formal rules in inferences.

Joint Probability Distribution (JPD)

A set of probabilities for all combinations of affirmations and negations of propositions that the deliberative system attempts to maintain.

Evolutionary perspective

The view that humans possess domain-specific reasoning modules, such as those for social exchange.

Mental Models Theory

The theory that reasoning refers to constructing and manipulating mental models of possibilities

Dual-process theories

The framework distinguishing between intuition (System $1$) and deliberation (System $2$).

Hypothetical Reasoning

Reasoning is the act of simulating possibilities.

Deduction

A type of reasoning where the conclusion holds in all possibilities of the premises and preserves truth (e.g., if $A \rightarrow B$ and $A$, then $B$).

Induction

Reasoning where the conclusion holds in some possibilities and extends beyond premises, resulting in uncertainty (e.g., if $A \rightarrow B$ and $B$, then $A$ is possible).

Abduction

The process of inference to the best explanation; central to explaining inconsistencies.

Extensional reasoning

Probabilistic reasoning based on possible outcomes; more deductive.

Intensional reasoning

Probabilistic reasoning based on evidence or knowledge; more inductive.

Simulation-based reasoning

Mentally "trying out" different scenarios to predict or solve problems.

Suppositional Reasoning

The act of temporarily assuming a premise to test its consequences.

Propositional Attitudes

Symbolic labels used to track the status of mental models, indicating if a proposition is known truth, false, or an assumption.

System 1

A fast, automatic system that processes one mental model at a time without using working memory.

System 2

A slow, effortful system that uses working memory to search for alternative mental models.

Gestures

Physical movements that help reasoners track their place in a simulation and reflect the structure of their mental models.

Cognitive Principle

The principle stating that human cognition aims to maximize relevance.

Communicative Principle

The principle that communication carries an inherent presumption of its own optimal relevance.

Singularity Principle

The tendency for humans to process only one mental model at a time.

Relevance Principle

A focus on multiple plausible possibilities rather than all possibilities.

Satisficing Principle

The cognitive strategy of accepting a "good enough" or sufficient solution rather than an exhaustive one.

Counterexamples

Models used specifically to test the validity of a reasoning outcome; falsification

Principle of Truth

The tendency of models to represent only what is true, not what is false, in order to reduce cognitive load.

Iconicity

The characteristic where mental models mirror the actual structure of the real world.

Conjunction (AND)

A logical connector resulting in only $1$ possibility ($A \text{ and } B$), making it easier to reason.

Disjunction (OR)

A logical connector representing multiple possibilities, which increases cognitive load and makes reasoning harder.

Disjoint possibilities

Scenarios that cannot both be true simultaneously, such as "$A \text{ or } B \text{ but not both}$".

Conjoint possibilities

Scenarios that can co-occur, such as "$A \text{ and } B$".

Piece's view on Belief

Beliefs guide actions and habits, and reasoning is triggered by doubt to resolve it and fixate belief.

Modulation

The modification of everyday language interpretations by clause meanings, referred entities, and general knowledge.

Insight

A sudden cognitive shift that happens when irrelevant models are reduced via redescriptions or hints that block unhelpful assumptions.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to stick to a single hypothesis until it is proven invalid or falsified.

Belief bias

Accepting believable conclusions and rejecting valid but unbelievable ones.

Relevance bias

A bias where a reasoner focuses on the plausibility of a scenario over its logical structure.

Minimalism

In cognitive change, modifying beliefs just enough to accommodate new facts.

Explanation-based Revision

Seeking a causal explanation for an inconsistency to determine which beliefs to discard, rather than making the smallest change.

Pierce's view on Cultural Belief

The claim that human beliefs are shaped by authority, culture, and communication.

Heuristic-Analytic Theory

The theory that errors occur because preconscious heuristic processes (implicit system) represent the wrong information as relevant.

THOG Problem Rule

A design is a THOG if it has either the color written down OR the shape written down BUT NOT BOTH (exclusive OR).

Why do errors happen? (Dual-Process Theory)

System 2 fails to override system 1

What is the core cognitive limitation?

Limited working memory, we can only process one model at a time