2.2a Thinking, Problem Solving, Judgments, and Decision Making: Concepts and Creativity

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

metacognition

cognition about our cognition; keeping track of and 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 prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a crow).

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.

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

divergent thinking

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

directions.

Imaginative thinking

Cartoonists often display creativity as they see things in new

ways or make unusual connections.

Expertise

well-developed knowledge — furnishes the ideas,

images, and phrases we use as mental building blocks.

Imaginative thinking skills

provide the ability to see things in

novel ways, to recognize patterns, and to make connections.

A venturesome personality

seeks new experiences, tolerates

ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles.

Intrinsic motivation

the quality of being driven more by

interest, satisfaction, and challenge than by external pressures

A creative environment

sparks, supports, and refines creative

ideas.