Psych 2.2

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, & communicating

metacognition

cognition about our cognition; keeping track of & evaluating our mental processes

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 it provides a quick & easy method for sorting items into categories

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation 

adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information

creativity

the ability to produce new & valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single bet solution

divergent thinking

expanding the # of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

executive functions

cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, pan, & implement goal-directed behavior

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem; contrasts the usual speedier — but also more error-prone — use of heuristics

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy — a mental shortcut — that often allows us to make judgments & solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than an algorithm 

insights

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions & to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

fixation

in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

mental set

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

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted w/ explicit, conscious reasoning

representative heuristic

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

availability heuristic

judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps b/c of their vividness), we presume such events as common

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident then correct — to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs & judgments

belief perserverance

the persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

framing

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

nudge

framing choices in a way that encourages people to make beneficial decisions