Cognition

Question 1

what is thinking?

Answer 1

manipulating mental representations of images or words for a purpose

Question 2

what is problem solving?

Answer 2

process of transforming one situation into another to meet a goal

Question 3

problems may be … (2 things)

Answer 3

well-defined

ill defined

Question 4

problem solving strategies? (3)

Answer 4

1. algorithms - step by step procedures that guarantee a solution, systematically go through all possible solutions until best is apparent, slower
2. heuristics - rules of thumb people use to solve problems, quicker but don’t guarantee a solution
3. insight - sudden and often novel realisation of a solution to a problem

Question 5

obstacles to problem solving? (5)

Answer 5

1. fixation - inability to see new perspective
2. mental set - use of strategy that worked in previous context but not here
3. functional fixedness - tendency to think of things in terms of only their usual function
4. negative transfer - difficulty in learning and memory of new material deue to prior learning
5. focusing on irrelevant information - failure to detect which information is relevant and which is irrelevant

Question 6

aids to problem solving? (3)

Answer 6

1. positive transfer - prior learning helped (ie. violin and flute playing)
2. analogies - use strategy you used in a similar solution (like mental set but it helped)
3. incubation - stop working on problem, then come back to it later and it’s easier (unconsciously working on problem, mental set weakened, negative transfer weakened etc.)

Question 7

representativeness heuristic?

Answer 7

• judging that something belongs to a certain group because of its similarity to some group members
• ignoring base rate of information

Question 8

availability heuristic?

Answer 8

• when we base our judgement/ decisions on the availability of information in our memories

Question 9

confirmation bias?

Answer 9

a tendency to search for information that confirms a personal bias or is consistent with our preconceptions

Question 10

what is the overconfidence bias?

Answer 10

the tendency to be more confident than correct
— to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs
and judgements.

Question 11

framing bias?

Answer 11

the way an issue is posed - how an issue is framed can significantly effect decisions and judgements