Mod 34 terms

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating (memory, judgement, problem solving, and decision making)

concepts

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people (simplify our thinking) (category:group of similar information)

prototypes

a mental image or best example of a category

• matching new items to a prototype gives a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories

• when something closely matches our prototype of a concept, we more readily recognize it as an example of the concept

moving away from our prototypes will cause

our category boundaries to blur

when behaviors dont fit our discrimination prototypes we

fail to notice prejudice

creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas (supported by aptitude)

aptitude

ability to learn

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution (ex: aptitude test) (making a choice)

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions (creativity tests) (coming up with ideas)

Damage to the frontal lobe hurts

imagination (but leaves reading, writing, and arithmetic skills)

Robert Sternberg’s 5 components to creativity

1. Expertise: well-developed knowledge=more building blocks=more combining changes

2. Imaginative thinking skills: provide the ability to see things in novel ways, to recognize patterns, and make connections

3. A venturesome personality: seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles

4. Intrinsic motivation: the quality of being driven more by interest, satisfaction, and challenge than by external pressures

5. A creative environment: sparks, supports, and refines creative ideas (support innovation, team building, and communication/ minimize anxiety and foster comtemplation)