Problem Solving/Decision-Making Flashcards
What is a mental set?
pattern of approach for a given problem; inappropriate mental set may negatively impact problem solving
What is functional fixedness?
the inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner; may create barriers to problem solving
What is trial-and-error?
less sophisticated form of problem-solving in which various solutions are tried until one is found that seems to work; only really effective when there are relatively few possible solutions
What is an algorithm?
formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem; mathematical or a set of instructions designed to automatically produce the desired solution
What is deductive (top-down) reasoning?
deriving conclusions from general rules
What is inductive (bottom-up) reasoning?
deriving generalizations from evidence
What are heuristics?
‘shortcuts’; simplified principles used to make decisions (colloquially called rules of thumb)
What is the availability heuristic?
used when we try to decide how likely something is; we make our decisions on how easily similar instances can be imagined
*words that start with K vs. words w/ K as third letter
What the representativeness heuristic?
making decisions based on how much a particular item or situation fits a given prototype or stereotype
*coin flip probability
What is the base rate fallacy?
using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information
What is the disconfirmation principle?
when a potential solution to a problem fails during testing, this solution should be discarded; evidence obtained from testing demonstrated that the solution does not work; confirmation bias may prevent an individual from eliminating this solution
What is confirmation bias?
tendency to focus on information that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them; contributes to overconfidence
What is overconfidence?
tendency to erroneously interpret one’s decisions, knowledge, and beliefs as infallible
What is belief perseverance?
inability to reject a particular belief despite clear evidence to the contrary
What is intuition?
‘gut feeling’; ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence; can often be attributed to experience with similar situations
