Chapter 9 Flashcards
concept
A mental category that groups objects, relations, activities, abstractions, or qualities having common properties.
basic concepts
Concepts that have a moderate number of instances and that are easier to acquire than those having few or many instances.
prototype
An especially representative example of a concept.
proposition
A unit of meaning that is made up of concepts and expresses a single idea.
cognitive schema
An integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning a particular topic or aspect of the world.
mental image
A mental representation that mirrors or resembles the thing it represents; mental images occur in many and perhaps all sensory modalities.
subconscious processes
Mental processes occurring outside of conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary.
nonconscious processes
Mental processes occurring outside of and not available to conscious awareness.
implicit learning
Learning that occurs when you acquire knowledge about something without being aware of how you did so and without being able to state exactly what it is you have learned.
algorithm
A problem-solving strategy guaranteed to produce a solution even if the user does not know how it works.
heuristic
A rule of thumb that suggests a course of action or guides problem solving by does not guarantee an optimal solution.
reasoning
The drawing of conclusions or inferences from observations, facts, or assumptions.
dialectical reasoning
A process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared, with a view to determining the best solution or resolving differences.
affect heuristic
The tendency to consult one’s emotions instead of estimating probabilities objectively.
availability heuristic
The tendency to judge the probability of a type of event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances.
framing effect
The tendency for people’s choices to be affected by how a choice is presented or framed, such as whether it is worded in terms of potential losses or gains.
hindsight bias
The tendency to overestimate one’s ability to have predicted an event after the outcome is known; the “I knew it all along” phenomenon.
confirmation bias
The tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one’s own belief.
mental set
A tendency to solve problems using procedures that worked before on similar problems.
cognitive dissonance
A state of tension that occurs when a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, or when a person’s belief is incongruent with his or her behavior.
postdecision dissonance
In the theory of cognitive dissonance, tension that occurs when you believe that you may have made a bad decision.
justification of effort
The tendency of individuals to increase their liking for something that they have worked hard or suffered to attain; a common form of dissonance reduction.
intelligence
An inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, act purposefully, or adapt to changes in the environment.
psychometrics
The measurement of mental abilities, traits, and processes.
factor analysis
A statistical method for analyzing the intercorrelations among various measures or test scores; clusters of measures or scores that are highly correlated are assumed to measure the same underlying trait, ability, or aptitude (factor).
g factor
A general intellectual ability assumed by many theorists to underlie specific mental abilities and talents.
crystallized intelligence
Cognitive skills and specific knowledge acquired over a lifetime; it is heavily dependent on education and tends to remain stable over time.
fluid intelligence
The capacity to reason and use information to solve problems; it is relatively independent of education.
mental age (MA)
A measure of mental development expressed in terms of the average mental ability at a given age.
intelligence quotient (IQ)
A measure of intelligence originally computed by dividing a person’s mental age by his or her chronological age and multiplying by 100; it is now derived from norms provided for standardized intelligence tests.
stereotype threat
A burden of doubt a person feels about his or her performance, due to negative stereotypes about his or her group’s abilities.
metacognition
The knowledge or awareness of one’s own cognitive processes, and the ability to monitor and control those processes.
triarchic theory of intelligence
A theory of intelligence that emphasizes analytic, creative, and practical abilities.
tacit knowledge
Strategies for success that are not explicitly taught but that instead must be inferred.
multiple intelligences theory
A theory of intelligence that emphasizes many different ways of processing information.
emotional intelligence
The ability to identify your own and other people’s emotions accurately, express your emotions clearly, and regulate emotions in yourself and others.
cognitive ethology
The study of cognitive processes in non-human animals
theory of mind
A system of beliefs about the way one’s own mind and the minds of others work, and of how individuals are affected by their beliefs and feelings.
