Cognition: Thinking Flashcards
mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is organizing and attempting to understand information and communicating information to others
Thinking (cognition)
mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a picture-like quality
Mental Images
ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities
Concepts
an example of a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept
Prototype
process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways
Problem Solving
process of cognition that involves identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives
Decision Making
problem-solving method in which one possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found
Trial and Error (mechanical solution)
very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems
Algorithms
an educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down the possible solutions for a problem. Also known as a “rule of thumb.”
Heuristic
assumption that any object (or person) sharing characteristics with the members of a particular category is also a member of that category
Representativeness 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
Availability Heuristic
a block to problem solving that comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their typical functions
Functional Fixedness
the tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past
Mental Set
the tendency to search for evidence that fits one’s beliefs while ignoring any evidence that does not fit those beliefs
Confirmation Bias
the process of solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways
Creativity
type of thinking in which a 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
Convergent Thinking
type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas or possibilities based on that point
Divergent Thinking
