Chapter 7:Cognition, Language, and Intelligence: How do we think?

Question 1

Cognition

Answer 1

The way in which we use and store information in memory.

Question 2

Thinking

Answer 2

The use of knowledge to accomplish some sort of goal.

Question 3

Knowledge

Answer 3

Information stored in our long-term memory about the world and how it works.

Question 4

Superordinate Category

Answer 4

The highest, most general level of a concept.

Question 5

Basic Level Category

Answer 5

The intermediate level of categorization that seems to be the level that we use most to think about our world.

Question 6

Subordinate Category

Answer 6

The lowest level of categorization, which contains concepts that are less general and more specific that those at the basic level.

Question 7

Formal Concept

Answer 7

A concept that is based on learned, rigid rules that define certain categories of things.

Question 8

Natural Concept

Answer 8

A concept that develops naturally as we live our lives and experience the world.

Question 9

Prototype

Answer 9

Our concept of the most typical member of the category.

Question 10

Exemplar

Answer 10

A mental representation of an actual instance of a member of a category.

Question 11

Well-Structured Problem

Answer 11

A problem for which there is a clear pathway to the solution.

Question 12

Algorithm

Answer 12

A method of solving a particular problem that always leads to the correct solution.

Question 13

Heuristic

Answer 13

A shortcut or rule of thumb that may or may not lead to a correct solution to the problem.

Question 14

Ill-Structured Problem

Answer 14

A problem for which an algorithm is not known.

Question 15

Intuition

Answer 15

Believing that something is true independent of any reasoning process

Question 16

Insight

Answer 16

A new way of looking at a problem that leads to a sudden understanding of how to solve it.

Question 17

Creativity

Answer 17

The ability to combine mental elements in new and useful ways.

Question 18

Functional Fixedness

Answer 18

Being able to see objects only in their familiar roles.

Question 19

Mental Set

Answer 19

The tendency to habitually use methods of problem solving that have worked for you in the past.

Question 20

Incubation

Answer 20

A period of not thinking about a problem that helps one solve the problem.

Question 21

Reasoning

Answer 21

Drawing conclusions about the world based on certain assumptions.

Question 22

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 22

Reasoning from the general to the specific

Question 23

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 23

Reasoning for the specific to the general.

Question 24

Decision Making

Answer 24

Making a choice from among a series of alternatives.

Question 25

Judgement

Answer 25

The act of estimating the probability of an event

Question 26

Availability Heuristic

Answer 26

A heuristic in which we use the ease with which we can recall instances of an event to help us estimate the frequency of the event.

Question 27

Representativeness Heuristic

Answer 27

A heuristic in which we rely on the degree to which something is representative of a category, rather than the base rate, to help us judge whether or not it belongs in the category.