SLS20 Chapter 9, Parts 2-5: Concepts, Decision Making, Problem Solving

Question 1

concept

Answer 1

A mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli

Question 2

family resemblance theory

Answer 2

Members of a category have features that appear to be characteristic of category members but may not be possessed by every member

Question 3

prototype

Answer 3

The “best” or “most typical” member of a category

Question 4

exemplar theory

Answer 4

A theory of categorization that argues that we make category judgments by comparing a new instance with stored memories for other instances

Question 5

category-specific deficit

Answer 5

A neurological syndrome that is characterized by an inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category though the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed.

Question 6

rational choice theory

Answer 6

The classical view that we make decisions by determining how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, and then multiplying the two.

Question 7

availability bias

Answer 7

Items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occurred more frequently

Question 8

heurisitic

Answer 8

A fast and efficient strategy that may facilitate decision making but does not guarantee that a solution will be reached

Question 9

algorithm

Answer 9

A well-defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem

Question 10

Conjunction fallacy

Answer 10

When people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event

Question 11

representativeness heuristic

Answer 11

A mental shortcut that involves making a probability judgement by comparing an object or event to a prototype of the object or event

Question 12

framing effects

Answer 12

When people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased (or framed)

Question 13

sunk-cost fallacy

Answer 13

A framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation

Question 14

prospect theory

Answer 14

The proposal that people choose to take on risk when evaluating potential losses and avoid risks when evaluating potential gains

Question 15

frequency format hypothesis

Answer 15

The proposal that our minds evolved to notice how frequently things occur, now how likely they are to occur

Question 16

means-ends analysis

Answer 16

A process of searching for the means or steps to reduce differences between the current situation and the desired goal

Question 17

analogical problem solving

Answer 17

Solving a problem by finding a similar problem with a known solution and applying that solution to the current problem

Question 18

functional fixedness

Answer 18

The tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed

Question 19

reasoning

Answer 19

A mental activity that consists of organizing information or beliefs into a series of steps to reach conclusions

Question 20

practical reasoning

Answer 20

Figuring out what to do, or reasoning directed toward action

Question 21

theoretical reasoning

Answer 21

Reasoning directed toward arriving at a belief

Question 22

belief bias

Answer 22

People’s judgments about whether to accept conclusions depend more on how believable the conclusions are than on whether the arguments are logically valid

Question 23

syllogistic reasoning

Answer 23

Determining whether a conclusion follows from two statements that are assumed to be true