Module 25: Thinking

Question 1

Cognition

Answer 1

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Question 2

Concept

Answer 2

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Question 3

Prototype

Answer 3

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and
easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical
bird, such as a crow).

Question 4

Algorithm

Answer 4

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the
usually speedier—but also more error-prone—use of heuristics.

Question 5

Heuristic

Answer 5

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually
speedier but also more error-prone than an algorithm.

Question 6

Insight

Answer 6

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.

Question 7

Confirmation Bias

Answer 7

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort
contradictory evidence.

Question 8

Fixation

Answer 8

in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving.

Question 9

Mental Set

Answer 9

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.

Question 10

Intuition

Answer 10

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning.

Question 11

Representativeness Heuristic

Answer 11

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular
prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.

Question 12

Availability heuristic

Answer 12

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind
(perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common.

Question 13

Overconfidence

Answer 13

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and
judgments.

Question 14

Belief Perseverance

Answer 14

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

Question 15

Framing

Answer 15

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Question 16

Nudge

Answer 16

a framing of choices by which governments and companies can, without coercion or altered incentives,
encourage people to make choices that support their health, retirement savings, and well-being.

Question 17

Creativity

Answer 17

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas.

Question 18

Convergent Thinking

Answer 18

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

Question 19

Divergent Thinking

Answer 19

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different
directions.