Modules 29-30 Thinking and Language Flashcards
another term for thinking, knowing and remembering
cognition
objects that stand for something else
symbols
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
concepts
a mental image or best example of a category
prototypes
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
algorithms
a rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently
heuristics
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
insight
a tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions
confirmation bias
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective
fixation
a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially if it has worked in the past
mental set
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions
functional fixedness
a rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they match our prototype
representative heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in our memory
availability heuristic
the tendency to be more confident than correct
overconfidence
the way an issue is posed
framing
our spoken written or gestured words and the way we combine them to communicate meaning
language
in a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
phonemes
the smallest unit that carries meaning
morphemes
a system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate and understand others
grammar
the set of rules by which we derive meaning in a language
semantics
the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
syntax
the idea that language determines the way we think
Whorf’s linguistic relativity
words that disguise the truth
euphemistic language
