The brain & the mind PART 2 Flashcards
What is thinking?
mental activities that go on in the brain when processing, organising, understanding, communicating info to others
any mental functions assumed to be involved in:
- acquisition
- storage
- interpretation
- manipulation
- transformation
- use of knowledge
What is problem solving?
Cognitive process of brain at higher cognitive layer that searches a solution for a given problem/finds a path to reach a given goal
What is decision making?
cognitive process of choosing b/w 2 or more alternatives
What are the strategies to understand decision making?
- statistical analysis of multiple decisions involving complex tasks (e.g. projecting rate of success or level of riskiness)
- experimental manipulation of simple decisions
What are the types of problem solving methods?
- trial & error (strategy based)
- algorithm (strategy based)
- heuristic (strategy based)
- insight
- intuition
What is the algorithm problem solving method?
methodical, step-by-step procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
SLOWER but MORE ACCURATE than heuristic
e.g. math formula
What is heuristic problem solving method?
rule of thumb = judgemental shortcuts; based on prior experiences = suggests course of action w/o guaranteeing an optimal solution
List the 4 types of heuristic problem solving method.
- Representativeness
- Availability
- Working backward
- Sub-goals
What is representativeness heuristic?
rule of thumb for judging the probability of membership in a category = based on how well an object/person is representative of that category
basically grouping them into a category (stereotype)
What is there a tendency for in representativeness heuristic?
Tendency to overgeneralise from few characteristics/observations
–> stereotype (e.g. someone wearing suit & tie & carry briefcase = might think they are a lawyer = bc they look like the stereotype of a lawyer)
What are the disadvantages of heuristic problem solving?
Less accurate but faster prob solving method
Often influenced by errors & biases = affect quality of decision
What is availability heuristic?
est. the frequency/likelihood of an event based on immediate examples that come to mind = if smth can be recalled means its impt
the more available & relevant the info there is, the more likely the event is judged to be more likely to happen
basically, e.g. you see a lot of new on plane crashes = you rely on this info = decide/think that plane crashes are more likely than they actlly are
What is working backward heuristics?
attempting to solve a prob by working from the goal backward to the starting goal
What is sub-goals heuristics?
breaking larger prob into smaller, more manageable goals
as each sub-goal is achieved = final solution is closer
What is insight?
“aha!” moment = sudden realisation of prob’s solution
CONTRASTS w strategy based solutions (bc insight has NO precursors leading to sol.)
note: sleep might facilitate insight = bc sleep restructures knowledge & brings out details of novel nature
What is intuition?
“gut feeling”
effortless, immediate, automatic feeling/thought
CONTRASTS w explicit, conscious reasoning
Product of brain processing automatically compared to perceived elements of current experience w past experience & knowledge = delivered to awareness w emotional certainty
What are the problem solving barriers?
- Functional fixedness
- Mental set
- Confirmation bias
What is functional fixedness?
fixated on thinking abt objects only in terms of their typical functions resulting in MENTAL BLOCK
How to overcome functional fixedness?
think of all ways to make use of the same objects
e.g. lockdown; ppl who like to go gym but cannot = creative = turn furnitures/everyday things into weights/to use
What is mental set?
tendency to solve problems using approaches that worked previously for similar problems
BUT not useful when prob requires new approach
What is confirmation bias?
tendency to favour info that confirms one’s existing beliefs/theories, while IGNORING contradicting evidence
What are the types of thinking?
- convergent thinking
- divergent thinking
- creative thinking (similar to divergent)
What is convergent thinking?
all thinking pointed to one solution (prob solving)
uses linear logical steps to analyse already formulated sol. to determine correct one
What is divergent thinking?
generating more than one sol. (creative thinking; aka lateral thinking)
uses strategies that deviate frm commonly used/prev. thought strategies
What is creative thinking?
combi of flexibility in thinking & reorganisation of understanding to prod. innovative ideas & new sol.
How to stim. divergent thinking?
brainstorming
keep a journal
freewriting
mind/subject mapping
What is reasoning?
purposeful mental activity that involves drawing conclusions frm observations, facts/assumptions
What are the types of reasoning (3 points)?
- formal reasoning
- informal reasoning
- reflective judgement
What is formal reasoning?
aka deductive reasoning
- algorithms & formal logic
- prob w one (best) sol.
e.g. mcq exam
What is informal reasoning?
aka dialectical reasoning
- heuristics
- prob often w no single correct sol. that require evaluation of opposing POV
What is reflective judgement?
critical thinking
ability to evaluate & integrate evidence, consider alt. interpretations & reach a defensible conclusion
directed prob-focused thinking
What is inductive reasoning?
- inferences & general principles are drawn frm specific observations & cases
- typical scientific research
What is deductive reasoning?
- conclusion is shown to follow frm a series of premises = if preceding premise is true = conclusion CANNOT be wrong
e.g. All dogs have ears, golden retrievers are dogs, therefore they have ears
What is intelligence?
ability to:
- learn from experience
- acquire knowledge
- act purposefully
- adapt to new situations
What are the 3 influential theories of intelligence?
- Spearman’s General Intelligence Factor (g factor)
- Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
- Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
What is social intelligence?
knowledge in social situations & self management
basically, understand ppl & effectively relate to them
Abstract intelligence & Concrete intelligence
Abstract
- ability to think in terms of abstract concepts
Concrete
- ability to understand & manipulate objects
What is an intelligence test?
assess person’s mental abilities in comparison to others (age-peers)
- solve prob
- acquire. details
- form concepts, etc
Most influential intelligence tests
- Mental Ability Test
- Stanford-Binet Test
- Wechsler Tests (Adult, Children, Preschool & Primary)
How is intelligence measured?
- Chronological age (CA) = age lor
- Mental age (MA) = measure of intelligence test performance; the age that your performance is at (e.g. perform as well as an 8 y/o = mental age of 8
- Intelligence Quotient (QA) = ratio of MA to CA multiplied by 100
IQ = MA/CA x 100