Thinking Flashcards
Thinking
the manipulation of mental representations of information
mental images
representations in the mind of an object or event
concept
a mental grouping of similar objects events or people
prototype
typical highly represantative examples of a concept
Syllogistic reasoning
form of reasoning in which people draw a conclusion from a set of assumptions
algorithm
rule that if applied appropriately guarantees a solution to a problem
Heuristic
thinking strategy that may lead us to a solution to a problem or decision but unlike algorithm s may sometimes lead to errors
means ends analysis
involves repeated test for differences between the desired outcome and what currently exist
insight
a sudden awareness of the relationship among various elements that previously appear to be independent of 1 another
functional fixedness
the tendency to think of an object only in terms of the typical use
Mental set
the tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist
Confirmation bias
the tendency to seek out and way more heavily information that supports ones initial hypothesis and to ignore contradictory information that supports alternative hypothesis or solutions
creativity
the ability to generate original ideas or soft problems in novel ways
divergent thinking
the ability to generate unusual get none the less appropriate responses to problems or questions
convergent thinking
your ability to produce responses that are based primarily on knowledge and logic