Thinking and language Flashcards
Concept
Mental grouping of similar objects, events, or people
(over-arching topics)
ex:birds
Prototype
Best example for a concept/category that you think of
ex: someone told you think of a bird and you think pigeon, pigeon is a prototype
Schema
Uses context to select a specific example of a concept
ex: bird in a tree (more specific than bird)
Algorithm
Step by step procedure for trying all possible alternatives in searching for a solution to a problem
-GUARANTEES a solution but can be time consuming
ex: trying all the keys on a door till you find the right one
Heuristics
Using a rule of thumb strategy to problem solve and make decisions
-Often comes from past experiences to make decisions
-quicker way of solving a problem
-MENTAL SHORTCUTS
Representativeness Heuristic
When we make a decision based on how much a new situation or object resemble our old prototype
-ex: thinking guy who is wearing a hawaiian shirt walking in chicago is a tourist and not from chicago because you are STEREOTYPING them
Availability Heuristic
When we base a decision on what we have most available in our memory. Things that come to mind are assumed to be more common.
-what you hear about more/think about more quickly to help make decisions
ex: people are more afraid of airplane crashes than car crashes because they hear about them more
Anchoring Heuristic
A mental shortcut that involves basing judgements on existing behavior. If you have an initial estimate or fixed starting point it biases your future answer.
-ex: when hearing a number in question affects your answer like is Lake Erie longer than 50 miles and how long is it?
Insights
When an answer comes to us out of nowhere and we are not focusing hard on it (AHA)
A sudden realization of a problem’s solution
Inductive Reasoning
Taking a specific observation and applying it to other cases. Not always accurate
ex: 90% of graduates from York High school go to college
so you assume that Bob will go to college
Deductive Reasoning
Making an inference based on widely accepted facts
-Usually correct
ex: If a drink is defined as ‘drinkable through a straw’ then soup would be a drink
Functional Fixedness
a tendency to only think of an object’s most common use when presented with a problem
-like using an hammer for nails but nothing else
Mental Set
Approaching a problem in a particular way, usually whatever has worked in the past.
Confirmation Bias
A tendency to seek out information that confirms our previously held beliefs
(confirming beliefs)
ex: I found an article that says my team is going to win this year
Belief Bias
a tendency to draw conclusions based on what one already believes rather than sound logic
-ex: I believe my team is the best in the country, I don’t have evidence for it but I believe it is true
Belief Perseverance
Tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them
-ex: My friend in Cali sent me stats for why their team is better, but I do not believe them
