Chapter 4: Experimental: Thinking (4-6%) Flashcards
Concepts
Are how one represents the relationship b/t two things. (Ex. a bird is an animal that has wings and flies)
Cognitive Psychology
The study of thinking, processing and reasoning.
Hypothese
Are ideas used to test relationships and then to form concepts (Ex. Animals w/ wings are the ones that fly)
Mental Set / Set
Is the preconceived notion of how to look at a problem. Ex. Bird cage is good housing for a bird)
Schema
Is an organized bunch of knowledge gathered from prior experiences that includes ideas about specific events or objects and attributes that accompany them. New events and objects are categorized based on how well they match the existing attributes. Ex. Birds might included feathers, wings, worms and flying, but, Penguins: swim and eat fish)
Scripts
Are ideas about they way events typically unfolds. (Ex. Going to the movies)
Protypes
Are the representative or “usual” type of an event or object. (Ex. Scientist is someone good at math and doesn’t write poetry)
Insight
Is having a new perspective on an old problem: the a-ha! experience
J.P. Guildford: Convergent Thinking
Is the type of thinking used to find the one solution to a problem (Ex. Math)
Divergent Thinking
Is used when more than one possibility exists in a situation (Ex. Playing chess/creative thinking)
Functional Fixedness
Is the idea that people develop closed mind about the functions of certain objects. They cannot think of creative uses or think divergently.
(Ex. A cage is the ONLY good housing for birds)
Problem Spece
Is the sum total of possible moves that one might make in order to solve a problem.
Algorithms
Are problem solving strategies that consider every possible solution and eventually hit on the correct solution. This may take a great deal of time.
Heuristic
are problem-solving strategies that use rules of thumb or short-cuts based on what has worked in the past.
Metacognition
Refers to the process of thinking about your own thinking knowing what solving strategies to apply and when or knowing how to adapt your thinking to new situations
Mediation
Is the intervening mental process that occurs b/t stimulus and response. It reminds us what to do or how to respond based on ideas or past learning
Allen Newell & Herbert Simon: Computer Simulation Model
are designed to solve problems humans do. Newell & Simon introduced the first of these (called the logic theorist) and then revamped it (the general problem solver)
Deductive Reasoning
leads to specific conclusion that must follow from the information given. (Ex. All coats are blue. She wears a coat. Her coat must be blue)
Inductive Reasoning
leads to general rules that are inferred from specifics. (Ex. All P.h.D students studied work for their GRE)
Atmosphere Effects
When a conclusion is influenced by the way information is phrased
Semantic Effects
Believing in conclusion is b/c of what you know/think to be correct rather than what logically follow from the information given
Confirmation Bias
Remembering and using information that confirms what you already know
Decision Making
is working on solving a problem until an acceptable solution is found
Intelligence
is the capacity to use knowledge to improve achievement in an environment.
Reaction Time
Is most frequently used to measure cognitive processing (Latency) Response speed for all types of tasks declines significantly w/ age
Elizabeth Loftus & Allan Collins
suggest that people have hierarchical semantic networks in their memory that group together related items
Allan Collins & Ras Quillan
Assert that people make decisions about the relationship b/t items by searching their cognitive semantic hierarchies
The Long-Term Semantic Memory Network
It takes longer to make associations b/t pictures thanb/t words, probably b/c pictures must mentally be put into words b/f associations can be made
Semantic Priming
in a word-recognition task os the presentation of a related item (test) before the next item (GRE)
Stroop Effect
explains the decreased speed of naming the color of ink used to print words when the color of ink and the work itself are of different colors
Button-Up Processing
is recognizing an item or pattern from date or details (data driven)
Top-Down Processing
suggest that people form their own perceptions starting w/ larger objects, concepts or ideas before working their way towards more detailed information (Ex. working from general to specifics or big picture to tiny details)
Automatic Processing
When a task is effortlessly done b/c the task is subsumed under a higher organization process
Eye Movement & Gaze Duration
are indicators of information processing while reading. Eye movement from one fixation point to another are called saccades.
James Lange Theory of Emotion
claims that bodily reactions to situations cause emotions. First physiological responses are present in situations; than we fed the emotion that comes w/ these bodily reactions. (Ex. feeling scared b/c of trembling)
Cannon Bard Theory of Emotion / Emergency Theory
assets that emotions and bodily reactions occur simultaneously. In emotional situation, our body is cued to react in the brain (emotion) and body (biological response). (Ex. trembling and feeling scared in response to danger)
Stanley Schachter & Jerome Singer: Cognitive Theory of Emotion / Schachter - Singer Theory
asserts that emotions are the product of physiological reactions but, both claim that cognition are the missing link in the chain. The cognition we attach to a situation determines which emotion we feel in response to physiological arousal
