Chapter 7 7.2 Flashcards
Formal Reasoning
A set of rigorous prodedures for reaching valid conclusions.
Algorithms
Systematic procedures that cannot fail to produce a correct solution to a problem.
Logic
A system of formulas for drawing valid conclusions
Deductive
The ability to make inferences about the veracity of a conclusion based on several, often competing hypotheses.
Syllogisms
Deductive arguments that involve draw-ing conclusions from one premises.
Belief bias - confirmation bias
The human tendency to only seek out information that supports one position or idea.
Limits on working memory
Working memory - how much you can hold.
Informal Reasoning
The process of evaluating a conclusion based on the evidence available to support it.
Inductive Reasoning
A method of drawing conclusions by going from the specific to the general.
Heuristics
Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb
Anchoring Heuristics
A shortcut in the thought process that involves adding new information to existing information to reach a judgement.
Representativeness Heuristic
A mental shortcut that involves judging whether something belongs in a given class based on its similarities to other members of that class.
Availability Heuristic
A mental shortcut through which judgements are based on information that is most easily brought to mind.
Strategies for problem solving
A plan of action used to find a solution.
Means-end analysis
Problem-solving strategy in which an end goal is identified and then fulfilled via the generation of subgoals and action plans that help overcome obstacles encountered along the way.
Working backward
A method of problem solving in which an individual imagines they have already solved the problem they are try to solve.
Analogies - locating analogical thinking
Used to help us grasp unfamiliar or abstract ideas by relating them to something we already know and understand.
Obstacles to problem solving
Mental constructs that impede an efficient search for solutions.
Mental hypotheses
An empirically testable proposition about some fact, behavior, or relationship.
Mental sets
The tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist.
Functional Fixedness
The tendency to think about familiar objects in familiar ways.
Ignoring negative evidence - confirmation bias
The tendency to pay more attention to evidence that supports one’s hypothesis about a problem than to evidence that refutes that hypothesis.
Building problem solving skills
The process of finding solutions to problems encountered in life.
Evidence - not confidence & Dogma
Beliefs that are accepted as true.
Symbolic reasoning & computer logic
The cognitive ability to relate one concept to another that represents it in some way.
Neural network models
artificial intelligence that teaches computers to process data in a way that is inspired by the human brain.
Computer - assisted problem solving
Understanding the problem designing an algorithm for it, and implementing the solution.
