Module 9 Flashcards
Rationalism
A priori truths; deductive reasoning; there are truths that exist in the world
Empericism
A posteriori truths; inductive reasoning
Deduction
Logical process to unearth truths; general principles that are applicable to any situation; born knowing all truths but we have forgotten them
Induction
Making lots of observations and creating theory you think is the truth; creating general principles based on individual situations
Categorical syllogism
Drawing conclusions from 2 quantifiable statements; solved using mental models (all x are y); logical outcome does not have to match reality
Mental models
Representation of all given info and all possible outcomes. Limited by working memory capacity, prior knowledge, and imagery ability
Indeterminate
Just don’t know a conclusion or cannot draw logical conclusion
Conditional reasoning
Drawing conclusions from “if…then” statements; logical conclusions don’t have to match reality; only move in one direction
Antecedent
“If…”; first condition of the statement
Consequent
“then…”; second condition of the statement
Valid arguments
Affirming the antecedent and denying the consequent
Wason selection task
Four cards given. Asked the minimum number of cards to flip to prove a conditional statement. Found that people will flip cards that affirm the antecedent and affirm the consequent (confirmation bias);
Pragmatic reasoning skills
Can be used to solve selection task; if you have a schema, you don’t need to reason you can just retrieve a memory
Belief-bias effect
Ignoring logic and relying on knowledge but ending up with an invalid conclusion
Expected utility theory
Explains how two people can come to different conclusions about the same issue using logic. People utilize subjective utility and probability. Assumes people are rational and strive to make the most optimal choice. Normative model (assumes given response is based off of logic)
Subjective utility
How important something is to us
Subjective probability
Guessing likelihood of something
Cognitive approach
Assumes limited cognitive resources; incorporates heuristic and biases to aid decision making in light of limited resources
Framing effect
Decisions influenced by wording and background content. Can affect what we perceive as a gain or a loss. People are risk averse when framed as a gain, but risk taking when framed as a loss
Representativeness Heuristic
Judge outcome likelihood based on similarity to a population/process. More similarity is spurs more likelihood
Small-sample fallacy
Believing that small samples are representative of the population
Conjunction fallacy
Believing that the probability of two things being true is higher than the probability of one thing
Base-rate fallacy
Failure to acknowledge the base rate of a population (relying almost exclusively on representativeness)
Availability Heuristic
Judge likelihood based on how easily we can imagine the outcome
Dual Process theory of decision making
2 decision making systems that everyone has. We automatically default to system 1, but we can apply system 2 at will.
Dual theory system 1
Automatic and implicit; same across people, not linked to intelligence/cognitive ability
Dual theory system 2
Controlled and conscious; specific differences between individuals are in debate
