Cognition Flashcards
Concept
A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
important when IDing objects
W/out concepts we would need a unique name for everything
Prototype
A mental image or the best example of something
quick easy method of sorting
Algorithm
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
searching for sauce throughout the entire store
Heuristic processing
A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently
fast but can be unreliable & not a guarantee
Insight
A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
- not strategy based*
- epiphany
Creativity
Ability to produce novel ideas
Confirmation bias
Our tendency to search for information that supports what we already think about something instead of listening to contradictory information
Fixation
Inability to see a problem from different perspectives
stuck in one mental set
Functional fixedness
Only thinking of something in the terms of its original function
can impede problem solving
Representativeness heuristic
Judging somethings likelihood by its similarities to the prototype
- making judgements about people
- if he’s tall an athletic player he must play basketball*
Availability heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of events based on availability in memory
if something is common we assume that thing is occurring
Overconfidence
Overestimating the accuracy of our beliefs
Belief perseverance
Clinging to ones initial conceptions after they have been discredited.
often controversial topics
Intuition
Effortless and automatic feeling contrasted with explicit reasoning
gut feeling; mothers intuition
Framing
The way an issue is posed
this can highly influence decisions and judgements
(How it’s phrased)
Language
Spoken, written, signed words and how we combine them to communicate
Phoneme
Smallest unit of distinctive sound
Morpheme
Smallest unit of language that carries a meaning
(Prefix)
*a word or part of a word
Grammar
Rules in language that help us understand each other
Semantics
Rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes; study of meaning
Syntax
Rules for combining words into sensible sentences
Babbling stage
Beg. At age 4 months
Infant begins to mutter sounds
Not words, no coherence
One-word stage
Yr. 1-2
Child speaks mostly in single words
Two-word stage
Yr. 2
Child speaks in statements
Telegraphic speech
When a child speaks like a telegram
“Go car”
Using mostly nouns and verbs
Linguistic determinism
Whorf’s theory that language determines the way we think
Cognition
Mental activities like thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating
who we are depends on our ability to remember
