Note
Studied by 3 people
2.2 Thinking, Problem-solving, Judgement, and decision-making-100%
Cognition
Definition/Purpose: The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and senses.
Example: Solving a math problem or planning a trip.
Connection: Central to understanding how we think and learn.
2. Nudge
Definition/Purpose: A subtle change in the environment that influences behavior and decision-making without restricting options.
Example: Placing healthy snacks at eye level in a cafeteria to encourage healthier eating.
Connection: Used in behavioral economics to promote beneficial choices.
3. Metacognition
Definition/Purpose: Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes; thinking about thinking.
Example: Recognizing when you don’t understand a concept and deciding to review it.
Connection: Important for self-regulated learning and problem-solving.
4. Gambler's Fallacy
Definition/Purpose: The belief that past events affect the probabilities of future independent events.
Example: Thinking a coin is "due" to land on heads after several tails.
Connection: Illustrates misconceptions about probability and randomness.
5. Concept
Definition/Purpose: A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.
Example: The concept of a "dog" includes various breeds and sizes.
Connection: Essential for organizing and categorizing information.
6. Sunk-Cost Fallacy
Definition/Purpose: The tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made.
Example: Continuing to watch a movie you dislike because you paid for the ticket.
Connection: Influences decision-making in everyday life.
7. Prototype
Definition/Purpose: A mental image or best example of a category that helps in categorization.
Example: A typical bird (like a sparrow) as a prototype of the category "bird."
Connection: Aids in understanding how we form concepts.
8. Functional Fixedness
Definition/Purpose: The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions, which can hinder problem-solving.
Example: Not using a screwdriver as a lever because you only see it as a tool for driving screws.
Connection: A barrier to creative problem-solving.
9. Schema
Definition/Purpose: A cognitive framework that helps organize and interpret information.
Example: A "restaurant" schema includes expectations about menus, ordering, and dining.
Connection: Influences how we process new information.
10. Insight
Definition/Purpose: A sudden realization of a problem's solution, often occurring after a period of contemplation.
Example: Suddenly figuring out how to rearrange furniture to fit better in a room.
Connection: Represents a breakthrough in problem-solving.
11. Assimilation
Definition/Purpose: The process of incorporating new information into existing schemas.
Example: Seeing a zebra for the first time and calling it a "horse."
Connection: Important for understanding how we adapt to new experiences.
12. Confirmation Bias
Definition/Purpose: The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs.
Example: Only reading news articles that support your political views.
Connection: Affects decision-making and critical thinking.
13. Accommodation
Definition/Purpose: The process of altering existing schemas or creating new ones in response to new information.
Example: Learning that a zebra is not a horse and creating a new category for "zebra."
Connection: Essential for cognitive development.
14. Executive Functions
Definition/Purpose: Cognitive processes that enable goal-directed behavior, including working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.
Example: Planning a project and managing time effectively.
Connection: Critical for academic and life success.
15. Fixation
Definition/Purpose: The inability to see a problem from a new perspective, often due to mental set.
Example: Struggling to solve a puzzle because you are stuck on one approach.
Connection: A barrier to effective problem-solving.
16. Algorithm
Definition/Purpose: A step-by-step procedure for solving a problem that guarantees a solution.
Example: A mathematical formula for calculating the area of a rectangle.
Connection: Useful for structured problem-solving.
17. Intuition
Definition/Purpose: The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.
Example: Knowing which candidate to vote for based on a gut feeling.
Connection: Represents a quick, often subconscious decision-making process.
18. Heuristic
Definition/Purpose: A mental shortcut that allows for quick decision-making and problem-solving but does not guarantee the right answer.
Example: Estimating the number of jellybeans in a jar by looking at the size of the jar.
Connection: Useful for making quick judgments but can lead to errors.
19. Overconfidence
Definition/Purpose: A cognitive bias where a person’s subjective confidence in their judgments is greater than the objective accuracy.
Example: A student feeling overly confident about passing an exam without studying.
Connection: Can lead to poor decision-making and risk-taking.
20. Representativeness
Definition/Purpose: A cognitive bias where people judge the probability of an event based on how much it resembles a typical case.
Example: Assuming someone is a librarian because they are shy and wear glasses.
Connection: Influences stereotypes and judgments.
21. Belief Perseverance
Definition/Purpose: The tendency to cling to one's initial beliefs even in the face of contrary evidence.
Example: Continuing to believe in a debunked theory despite evidence against it.
Connection: Affects critical thinking and open-mindedness.
22. Availability Heuristic
Definition/Purpose: A mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic or decision.
Example: Overestimating the likelihood of plane crashes after seeing news reports of one.
Connection: Influences perceptions of risk and probability.
23. Creativity
Definition/Purpose: The ability to produce new and valuable ideas or solutions.
Example: Inventing a new product or coming up with a unique solution to a problem.
Connection: Essential for innovation and problem-solving.
24. Mental Set
Definition/Purpose: A tendency to approach problems in a particular way, often based on past experiences.
Example: Using the same method to solve a math problem even when it’s not applicable.
Connection: Can limit problem-solving flexibility.
25. Divergent Thinking
Definition/Purpose: A type of thinking that generates multiple solutions to a problem.
Example: Brainstorming various uses for a paperclip.
Connection: Encourages creativity and innovation.
26. Priming
Definition/Purpose: The activation of certain associations in memory, influencing perceptions and responses.
Example: Hearing the word "yellow" may make you think of "banana" more quickly.
Connection: Affects how we process information based on previous exposure.
27. Framing
Definition/Purpose: The way information is presented, which can significantly affect decision-making and judgments.
Example: Describing a surgery as having a "90% success rate" versus a "10% failure rate."
Connection: Influences how choices are perceived and made.
28. Convergent Thinking
Definition/Purpose: A type of thinking that focuses on finding a single best solution to a problem.
Example: Solving a math equation that has a specific answer.
Connection: Important for analytical problem-solving.Cognition: refers to all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
Forming concepts: a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.
Forming Schemas: a concept or framework that organizes and interprets info. Helps us make sense of the world and simplify it. Schemas are organizations or categories.
Forming prototypes: a mental image or best example of a category which provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories and can help organize unfamiliar items by finding an appropriate category.
Cognition Example: Solving a math problem involves cognition. You think about the problem, recall relevant information, and apply the appropriate methods to arrive at an answer.
Forming Concepts Example: The concept of "fruit" includes various items like apples, bananas, and oranges. You group these items together because they share common characteristics (e.g., they are edible and grow on plants).
Forming Schemas Example: A "restaurant schema" includes your knowledge about what to expect when you go to a restaurant, such as being seated, looking at a menu, ordering food, and paying the bill. This helps you navigate the experience smoothly.
Forming Prototypes Example: When you think of a "bird," you might picture a sparrow. This mental image serves as a prototype, helping you categorize other birds like robins or blue jays based on similar features (e.g., wings, beak, ability to fly).
Concepts: mental groupings- we know that different dogs are still all dogs.
Prototype is the ideal example of a dog FOR YOU like a golden retriever.
Category Hierarchy: We know that from social sciences there is psychology and economics and from that is all of the sub subjects.
Assimilation: Taking in new info but not changing the schema ( placing info into schemas)
Accommodation: Taking in new information and changing the schema to incorporate the new information. ( A lake is different from an ocean) creating a new schema.
Algorithms
Meaning: A systematic step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution.
Example: Using the quadratic formula to solve a math problem.
Heuristics
Meaning: Cognitive shortcuts that simplify decision-making but may lead to errors.
Example: The representativeness heuristic, where someone assumes a quiet person who likes to read is a librarian rather than a salesperson.
Types of Heuristics: A representative Heuristic can lead to an error in judgement when diescions are made according to prior expectations or stereotypes- matches a prototype.
An avaliablity heuristic: Can lead to error in judgment when discions are made by recalling the first or most vivid example that comes to mind- based on how quickly it comes to mind.
Intuition: an effortless, automatic feeling or thought with explicit conscious reasoning to make decisions.
Creativity is a way of thinking that includes generating novel ideas. New and original ideas that are useful.
Creativity may be enhanced with expertise, imagination, a venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and a creative environment.
A representativeness heuristic can lead to an error in judgment when decisions are made according to prior expectations or stereotypes .Matches a prototype
An availability heuristic can lead to an error in judgment when decisions are made by recalling the first or most vivid example that comes to mind. Based on how quickly it comes to mind.
Mental set: tendency to persist in using the same problem-solving strategy that have worked in the past
Ex. when completing math problems, trying to use the same formula over and over againPriming: the phenomenon where exposure to a stimulus (often unconsciously)
influences how someone perceives or responds to a subsequent stimulus
• Framing the aye issue is poresented of yered cal houd st he meople respond
• Gambler's fallacy: the mistaken belief that, if a particular outcome has occurred several times in a row in a random event, the probability of that outcome happening again in the next trial ison loeve
Ex. Believing jackpot is around the corner if a slot machine hasn't paid out recently
• Sunk-cost fallacy: the tendency for people to continue investing time, money, or effort into something even when it is no longer beneficial, simply because they have already invested significantly in it, essentially feeling obligated to see it through despite negative outcomes
Ex. staying in a toxic relationship, not changing majors.
Confirmation Bias: a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
Think of your rival, whether it be from sports or romance or whatever. Because you dislike them you will only notice their worst qualities, and ignore anything redeeming about them.
Overconfidence: the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements. Thinking you don't need to study
Fixation: the inability to see a problem from a new perspective
Functional fixedness: the inability to recognize novel uses for an item and only see it for its most common purpose → I need to ship a fragile item but can only use items in this room. What could keep the item from breaking in the box?
Belief perseverance: clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. example: Cult followers
Executive functioning is a set of cognitive processes that enable goal-directed behavior, including skills like working memory, inhibitory control (self-control), and cognitive flexibility (shifting between tasks), essentially allowing individuals to plan, organize, and manage complex tasks effectively.
Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. Though we can understand what creativity is, it is difficult to teach or measure.
Expertise: This refers to a deep knowledge base in a specific domain. It provides the foundational skills and understanding necessary for creative thinking. Without expertise, individuals may lack the tools needed to innovate effectively.
Imagination: Imagination involves the ability to think beyond conventional boundaries and envision new possibilities. It allows individuals to generate novel ideas and concepts, which is essential for creative expression.
A Venturesome Personality: This trait encompasses the willingness to take risks and embrace uncertainty. Individuals with a venturesome personality are more likely to explore unusual ideas and pursue creative endeavors despite potential failures.
Intrinsic Motivation: Intrinsic motivation refers to engaging in an activity for its own sake, driven by personal satisfaction and interest rather than external rewards. This inner drive fosters resilience and passion, which are crucial for sustained creative efforts.
A Creative Environment: A supportive environment encourages creativity by providing resources, collaboration, and freedom to explore ideas. Such an environment fosters innovation and helps individuals feel safe to express their creativity.
Executive functions are cognitive processes that allow individuals to generate, organize, plan, and carry out goal-directed behaviors and critical thinking.
The prefrontal cortex, in the frontal lobes, generally controls executive functions.
Creativity involves engaging in divergent (versus convergent) thinking.
Divergent Thinking
Definition: Generates multiple ideas or solutions.
Characteristics: Emphasizes creativity, brainstorming, and originality.
Example: Finding various uses for a paperclip, like a bookmark or a mini tool.
Convergent Thinking
Definition: Combines ideas to find the best solution.
Characteristics: Focuses on logic, analysis, and correctness.
Example: Solving a math problem by applying specific formulas.
Relationship to Creativity
Divergent thinking fosters creativity, while convergent thinking helps evaluate and select the best solutions. Both are essential for effective problem-solving.
Intuition - an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought with explicit conscious reasoning to make decisions
Each day, we have to make hundreds of decisions, and we could never devote equal time and attention to all of them and get everything accomplished.
Representative Heuristic: estimating the likelihood of events in reference to how closely they resemble a particular prototype
Imagine someone who is short, slim, and likes poetry. Are they more likely to be an Ivy League professor or a truck driver? Statistically speaking, there are far more truck drivers than Ivy League professors, yet those characteristics don't fit our prototype for truck driver.
Availability Heuristic: estimating the likelihood of events on how readily they come to mind
Which causes more American deaths - terrorists or toddlers? While the news will paint the picture America is constantly threatened by terrorists, armed toddlers kill more Americans each year.Algorithms address problems by attempting all possible solutions until the correct one is found.
Heuristics address problems by using mental shortcuts to make judgments.
Heuristics do not guarantee a solution and are more error-prone than algorithms.