Thinking Flashcards
Cognitive Psychology
The study of thinking, processing, and reasoning
What are Concepts?
how one represents the relationship between two things. We organize our world through concepts
ex: A bird is an animal that has wings and flies
Hypotheses
Ideas used to test relationships and then to form concepts
ex: Animals with wings are the ones that fly
What is a Mental Set?
aka Set
is the preconceived notion of how to look at a problem and may help future problem solving
Schema
is an organized bunch of knowledge gathered from prior experiences that includes ideas about specific events or objects and the attributes that accompany them. New events and objects are categorized based on how well they match the existing attributes of schemas
ex: A schema about birds might include wings, feathers, flying, and worms, but when someone learns that penguins are birds that swim instead of fly and eat fish instead of worms, that person may have to adjust his or her schema of birds
Scripts
Ideas about the way events typically unfold
Prototypes
are the representative or “usual” type of an event or object.
ex: a scientist is someone who is good at math and does not write poetry
Insight
is having a new perspective on an old problem
Convergent Thinking
- Defined by J.P. Guilford
- The type of thinking used to find a single well established solution to a problem
Divergent Thinking
Used when more than one possibility exists in a situation.
ex: type of thinking used when playing chess
Functional Fixedness
The idea that people developed closed minds about the function of certain objects. From this they cannot think of creative uses or think divergently.
ex: a bird cage is only good for housing birds
Problem Space
The sum total of possible moves that one might make in order to solve a problem
Algorithms
Problem-solving strategies that consider every possible solution and eventually hit on the correct solution.
-this may take a great deal of time
Heuristics
Problem solving strategies that use rule of thumb or short cuts based on what has worked in the past!
-Cannot guarantee a solution but is faster than an algorithm
Metacognition
The process of thinking about your own thinking. It might involve knowing what solving strategies to apply and when to apply them or knowing how to adapt your thinking to new situations
Mediation
The intervening mental process that occurs between stimulus and response
-it reminds us what to do or how to respond based on ideas or past learning
What did Allen Newell and Herbert Simon introduce?
Computer simulation models that are designed to solve problems as human do!
-The first of these was called the Logic Theorist and then was revamped and called the General Problem Solver
Deductive Reasoning
Leads to a specific conclusion that must follow from the information given
-ex: All coats are blue. She wears a coat. Therefore, her coat must be blue.
Inductive Reasoning
Leads to general rules that are inferred from specifics.
ex: Most of the Ph.D. students I know studied hard for their GRE. Therefore, studying hard probably helps one do well on the test and then get into school.
What are the 3 Logical Reasoning Errors
1) Atmosphere Effect: When a conclusion is influenced by the way the information is phrased
2) Semantic Effect: Believing in conclusions because of what you know or think to be correct rather than what logically follows from the info given
3) Confirmation Bias: Remembering and using information that confirms what you already think
Decision Making
Working on solving a problem until an acceptable solution is found. Research indicates that the process of reaching a solution is usually based on some sort of assumption, which could either be rational or irrational, and the solution is usually found by relying on reasoning and/or emotion.
-Common decision making techniques include: making a list of pros and cons, flipping a coin, divination, and consulting an expert
Intelligence
Intelligence has a definition that is frequently debated; however most people tend to agree that intelligence is the capacity to use knowledge to improve achievement in an environment.
-Many different types of intelligence have been proposed including linguistic, logical, spatial, musical, body movement, and emotional.
Reaction Time
- AKA Latency
- Most frequently used to measure cognitive processing, response speed for all types of tasks declines significantly with age
What did Elizabeth Loftus and Allan Collins suggest?
They suggested that people have hierarchical Semantic Networks in their memory that group together related items. The more closely related two items are the more closely they are located in the hierarchy and the more quickly a subject can link them.
