Chapter 10: Solving problems: Reasoning and intelligence Flashcards
availability bias
tendency to rely too strongly on already available information, to ignore less available information
confirmation bias
tendency to seek evidence that confirms rather than disconfirms the hypothesis
predictable-word bias
tendency to believe that events are more predictable than they are
maximizing
to guess the highest probability
matching
to vary the guesses to match the probabilities
analogy
similarity in behaviour, function, or relationship between entities or situations that are in other respects quite different from each other
deductive reasoning (series problem, syllogism)
logical reasoning from the general to specific; the reasoner begins by accepting the truth one or more general premises or axioms and uses them to assert whether a specific conclusion is true/false/indeterminate
incubation theory
to solve insight problems best after time off
Inspection time
Minimal time that subjects need to look at or listen to a pair of stimuli to detect the difference between them
functional fixedness
failure to see an object as having a function other than its usual one
broaden-and-build theory
positive emotions tend to broaden one’s focus, perception of thought and increase creativity (Barbara Friedrickson)
crystallized intelligence
variety of intelligence that derives directly from previous experience (e.g accumulated knowledge, verbal skills)
fluid intelligence
variety of intelligence that enables one to percieve relationships independent of previous specific practice or institution concerning those relationships
Flynn effect
systematic increase in IQ points (about 3 per decade) observed over the 20th century
general intelligence (g)
underlying mental ability that affects performance on a wide variety of mental tests and accounts for the statistical correlation among scores on such tests
heritability
proportion of the variability in a particular characteristic, in a particular group of individuals, that is due to genetic rather than environmental differences among the individuals
inductive reasoning
logical reasoning from specific to general; reasoner begins with a set of specific observations or facts and uses them to infer a more general rule to account for those those observations or facts; also called hypothesis construction
insight problems
problem that is difficult to solve until it is viewed in a new way, involving a different mental set from that originally taken
intelligence
variable mental capacity that underlines individual differences in reasoning, solving problems, and acquiring new knowlegde
IQ
intelligence quotient; defined as a score on a test of intelligence that is standardized in such a way that the average score of the population is 100 and the distribution of scores around the average matches a normal distribution
mental set
habit of perception or thought, stemming from previous experience, that can either help or hinder a person in solving a new problem
