Chapter 10: Thinking and Language Flashcards
Cognition
the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. -
Concept
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. -
Prototype
a mental image or best example of a category. -
Algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier – but also more error-prone – use of heuristics. -
Heuristic
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms. -
Insight
a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
Confirmation Bias
A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions, ignoring anything against it. -
Fixation
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an impediment (obstacle) to problem solving. -
Mental Set
a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past. -
Functional Fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving. -
Representativeness Heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information. -
Availability Heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory. -
Overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct–to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments. -
Framing
the way an issue is posed; how as issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments. -
Belief Bias
the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid or valid conclusions seem invalid. -