Chapter 7 Flashcards
Thinking (cognition)
Mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is organizing and attempting to understand information and communicating information to others
Mental images
Mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a picture-like quality
Concepts
Ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events or activities (bird, fruit)
Prototype
An example of a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the conceptl
Problem solving
Process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways
Decision making
Identifying, evaluating and choosing among several alternatives
Trial and error (mechanical solution)
One possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found
Algorithms
Very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems
Heuristic
An educated guess based on prior experiences that help narrow down the possible solutions for a problem (rule of thumb)
Representativeness heuristic
Assumption that any object (or person) sharing characteristics with the members of a particular category is also a member of that category
Availability heuristic
Estimating the frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to recall relevant information from memory or how easy it is for us to think of related examples
Functional fixedness
A block to problem solving that comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their typical functions (not considering other items as screwdriver)
Mental set
The tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past
Confirmation bias
The tendency to search for evidence that fits one’s beliefs while ignoring any evidence that does not it those beliefs
Creativity
The process of solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways
Convergent thinking
Problem is seen as having only one answer, and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to that single answer, using previous knowledge and logic
Divergent thinking
Person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas or possibilities based on that point
Intelligence
The ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems
G factor
The ability to reason and solve problems, or general intelligence
S factor
The ability to excel in certain areas, or specific intelligence
Triarchic theory of intelligence
Steinbergs theory that there are three kinds of intelligence: analytical, creative and practical
Intelligence quotient
A number representing a measure of intelligence, resulting from the division of one’s mental age by one’s chronological age and then multiplying that quotient by 100
Reliability
The tendency of a test to produce the same scores again and again each time it is given to the same people
Validity
The degree to which a test actually measures what it’s supposed to measure
Deviation IQ score
A type of intelligence measure that assumes that IQ is normally distributed around a mean of 100 with a standard deviation of about 15
Intellectual disability (intellectual development disorder)
Condition in which a person’s behavioral and cognitive skills exist at an earlier developmental stage than the skills of others who are the same age
Emotional intelligence
Awareness of and ability to manage ones own and other’s emotions
Heritability
Degree to which the changes in some trait within the population can be considered to be due to genetic influences; the extent to which individual genetic differences affect individual differences in observed behavior; In IQ, proportion of change In IQ within a population that is caused by hereditary factors
Stereotype threat
Condition in which being made aware of a negative performance stereotype interferes with the performance of someone that considers himself part of that group
Language
A system for combining symbols/words so that an unlimited number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose of communicating with others
Grammar
System of rules governing the structure and use of language
Phonemes
Basic units of sounds in language
Morphemes
Smallest units of meaning within a language
Syntax
System of rules for combining words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences
Semantics
Rules for determining the meaning of words and sentences
Pragmatics
Aspects of language involving the practical ways of communicating with others, or the social “niceties” of language
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
The theory that thought processes and concepts are controlled by language
Cognitive universalism
Theory that concepts are universal and influence the development of language
