Cognition & Language psych
Module 23- thinking and reasoning
Thinking
formal rule: if p then q
This means that whenever the condition p is satisfied, the outcome q must also occur, establishing a logical relationship between the two elements.
Cognitive Psychology: branch of psychology that studies higher mental processes
thinking: mentally manipulating information— words, images, sounds or other data
Examining the mind’s eye
mental images: representations in the mind of an object or event
Concepts-Categorizing the world
Concepts: the mental grouping of similar objects, events or people
Prototype:typical, highly representative example of a concept
Reasoning
Deductive reasoning: Reasoning from general to specific
Inductive reasoning: Reasoning from specific to general
Algorithm: finding a solution using a formula or set rules that if followed ensures a solution
Heuristic: a broad application of a strategy— it may lead to a solution but sometimes lead to error
heuristics & biases are concepts that explore how cognitive shortcuts can affect decision-making processes, leading individuals to make judgments that deviate from rational thought.
availability heuristics: judges the probability of an event occuring on the basis of how easy it is to think of examples
familiarity heuristic: chooses familiar items to be seen as superior to those that are unfamiliar
present bias: tendency to more heavily weigh options that are closer to the present that ones further away
representative heuristic: categorizes items based on how closely they match a prototype or stereotype, often leading to misjudgments about probability and outcomes.
Module 24- Problem Solving
Problem solving: the different ways that can be used to achieve a goal
the way we go about solving puzzles helps illuminate how we solve complex, real-life problems
involves 3 steps-
preparing to create solutions
producing those solutions
evaluating (judging) solutions that have been generated
Preparation
understanding and diagnosing problems
Well-defined problem: info needed to solve is clear
ill-defined problem: information required to reach a solution is ambiguous or incomplete, leading to multiple potential interpretations and paths toward resolution.
kinds of problems
Arrangement problems- problems that involve the need to organize components in a specific way to achieve a desired outcome, such as puzzles or spatial tasks. ex: anagrams
inducting structure- you must identify existing relationships among elements presented and then construct a new relationship among them. pattern
Transformation problems- consist of an initial state, a goal state and a method for changing the initial state into the goal state
Representing and organizing the problem
how we represent a problem
Production
trial and error: finding a solution through a series of attemps eliminating those that do not work, which allows us to refine our approach until we arrive at the correct answer.
means-end analysis: considering the (end) goal and determine the best strategy (means) for attaining it
another common heuristic: divide a problem into subgoals, the solve each of those steps
insight: sudden awareness of relationships among things previously appearing to be unrelated
Judgement: evaluating solutions
if there isnt a single correct solution , it is essential to weigh the pros and cons of each alternative and consider how well they address the overarching goal.
behavioral economics: the study of how psychological factors affect economic decision-making, highlighting the ways in which people's choices deviate from standard economic theory.
Impediments to solutions
mental set - when facing new problems, we fall back on solution strategies we’ve always used
functional fixedness - familiar objects are only imagined to function in their normal/usual way
decision bias - confirmation, availability, hindsight, representativness, anchoring. these biases can distort our judgment and lead to flawed reasoning when evaluating information.
-conformation bias: tendency to seek info supporting our initial hypothesis and ignore contradictory info supporting alt. hypotheses/ solutions
-availability bias: recency, frequency, familiarity, vividness, priming
Creativity and problem solving
creativity- ability to generate original ideas to solve problems in novel ways
cognitive complexity- preference for elaborate, intricate, complex stimuli and thinking patterns
divergent thinking- generates multiple and novel solutions to a problem, allowing for a wide range of possibilities and fostering innovative approaches.
convergent thinking- problem is viewed as having a single answer