Test 2: Reasoning and Intelligence Flashcards
Reasoning
drawing conclusions or inferences from observations, facts, and assumptions
Formal reasoning
Single correct answer
-algorithm
Informal reasoning
Often no clearly correct solution
- Heuristic
- dialectical reasoning
Heuristic
a rule of thumb that guides problem solving but does NOT guarantee optimal solution
-Doctor deciding on best treatment course
Dialectical Reasoning
a process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared to determine the best possible solution or resolve to differences
-list pros and cons of argument
Barriers to rational thinking
- Exaggerating the Improbable
- The Conjunction Fallacy
- Framing Effects
- Sunkcost Fallacy
- Hindsight Bias
- Confirmation Bias
- The need for Cognitive Consistency
Availability Hueristic
The tendency to judge the probability of a type of event by how easily it is to think of examples or instances
-scared of tornadoes, but not of heart disease, even though the latter is much more likely
Conjunction fallacy
The tendency for people to think two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event
-Better chances of one condition being met than two conditions being met.
Framing Effects
The tendency for people to give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased or framed (assigning different value to something)
-Chance of survival vs chance of death
Sunkcost Fallacy
The tendency of people to make decisions about current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation.
-keeping that sweater you’ve never worn because you spent money on it
Hindsight Bias
The tendency to overestimate one’s ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known
-I knew it all along.
Problem with hindsight bias?
you are less likely to learn how to make accurate decision in future
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to pay attention to only the information that confirms one’s beliefs.
- politicians bragging only about success record
- Jury members ignoring evidence that doesn’t fit their idea of what happened
Cognitive Dissonance
The state of tension that occurs when a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent or when a person’s belief is incongruent with his behavior.
You’re more likely to reduce dissonance when…
1) you need to justify a choice or decision you freely made.
2) you need to justify a behavior that conflicts with our view of ourselves.
3) you need to justify the effort you put into a decision or choice
Intelligence
a mental ability that enables people to direct their thinking, adapt to their circumstances, and learn from their experiences
Alfred Binet
developed first objective test aiming to give unbiased assessment of child’s ability
-Determined “Mental Age”
Lewis Terman
modified Binet’s test for American children
-Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (1916)
David Wechsler
developed test for adults in the 1930s, then kids
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
Intelligence is a _______ that enables people to perform a wide variety of consequential behaviors
hypothetical property (g)
Consequential Behaviors
job performance, academic success, leadership roles.
Genetic’s role in intelligence
Genetics: identical twins raised apart are more similar that fraternal twins raised together
Environment’s role in intelligence
Environment: unrelated siblings raised together are more similar than related siblings raised apart
____ predicts IQ better than ethnicity
Socio-economic statis (SES)
Differences between groups is ____ compared the the differences within groups.
small
