AP Psychology Unit 2: Cognition, Problem Solving, and Heuristics Vocabulary

Mental set

A tendency to approach situations in a certain way because that method worked in the past.

Intuition

The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.

Representativeness heuristic

A mental shortcut used to judge the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.

Availability heuristic

A mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a person's mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision.

Overconfidence

A cognitive bias characterized by an overestimation of one's own abilities, knowledge, or predictions.

Gambler's fallacy

The belief that past random events can influence the probability of future random events.

Sunk cost fallacy

The tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made, regardless of the current costs.

Framing

The way information is presented can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Cognition

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

Concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Schema

A cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information.

Accommodation

The process of modifying existing cognitive schemas to incorporate new information.

Assimilation

The process of taking in new information and incorporating it into existing cognitive schemas.

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category that helps to categorize new items.

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas or solutions.

Convergent thinking

A type of thinking that focuses on finding a single best solution to a problem.

Divergent thinking

A type of thinking that generates multiple, unique solutions to a problem.

Algorithm

A step-by-step procedure or formula for solving a problem.

Heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently.

Insight

A sudden realization of a problem's solution, often occurring after a period of contemplation.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs.

Fixation

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective, often hindering problem-solving.