ch8 vcaob* Flashcards
conceptual hierarchy
A multi level classification system based on common properties among items
Expertise
A well-developed base of knowledge
Algorithms
very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems
Creativity
The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
conjunction fallacy
An error that occurs when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone
Fixation
The inability to see a problem from a new perspective
Concept
A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
confirmation bias
A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
Framing
The way an issue is posed
spacing effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
insight
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
decision making
The process of evaluating and making choices among them
babbling stage
Beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds
Bilingualism
The acquisition of two languages that use different speech sounds, vocabulary, and grammatical rules
Intuition
An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
Overconfidence
The tendency to be more confident than correct-to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments
long-term potentiation (LTP)
an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
problem solving
Active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal that is not readily available
one-word stage
Stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words
two-word stage
Beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements
linguistic relativity hypothesis
Benjamin Whorf theorized that the language we use might control, and in some ways limit, our thinking
nonsense syllables
Consonant-vowel-consonant arrangements that do not correspond to words
trial and error
Trying possible solutions sequentially and discarding those that are in error until one works
telegraphic speech
Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram-“go car”-using mostly nouns and verbs
Grammar
A language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
Overgeneralization
Misapplication of grammar rules
Semantics
The set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
language
Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
mental age
In intelligence testing, a score that indicates that a child displays the mental ability typical of a child of that chronological (actual) age
mental set
A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
Cognition
the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Prototypes
mental image or best example of a category
Heuristic
A strategy, guiding principle, or rule of thumb used in solving problems or making decisions
theory of bounded rationality
The idea that people tend to use simple strategies in decision making that focus on only a few facets of available options and often result in “irrational”decisions that are less than optimal
functional fixedness
The tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use
representativeness heuristic
Basing the estimated probability of an event on how similar is to the typical prototype of that event
availability heuristic
Basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind
belief bias/perseverance
Clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
morphemes
In a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word
Phonemes
In a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
syntax
the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language
convergent thinking
Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
divergent thinking
Trying to expand the range of alternatives by generating many possible solutions
language acquisition device
According to Chomsky, an innate mechanism or process that facilitates the learning of language
selective attention
the capacity for or process of reacting to certain stimuli selectively when several occur simultaneously
