Problem Solving and Decision - Making

Question 1

Mental set

Answer 1

framework for thinking about a problem. It can be shaped by habit or by desire.

Question 2

Duncker’s candle problem

Answer 2

Cognitive performance test, measuring the influence of functional fixedness on a participant’s problem solving capabilities

Question 3

Functional fixedness

Answer 3

The inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner

Question 4

Trial - and - error

Answer 4

A less sophisticated type of problem solving in which various solutions are tried until one is found that seems to work.
Only effective when there are a few possible solutions.

Question 5

Algorithms

Answer 5

A formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem. (Mathematical)

Question 6

Deductive (top-down) Reasoning

Answer 6

starts with a set of rules and draws conclusions from the information given.

i.e. logic puzzle

Question 7

Inductive (bottom-up) Reasoning

Answer 7

Seeks to create a theory via generalizations.

Starts with specific instances, and then draws a conclusion from them.

Question 8

Heuristics

Answer 8

short cuts or rules of thumb used to make decisions

Question 9

Biases

Answer 9

exist when an experimenter or decision-maker is unable to objectively evaluate information

Question 10

Intuition

Answer 10

a “gut feeling” regarding a particular decision. However, intuition can often be attributed to experience with similar situations.

Question 11

What kind of mental states plays a role in decision - making?

Answer 11

Emotional state

Question 12

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

Answer 12

proposes 7 areas of intelligence including:

linguistic, logical - mathematical, musical, visual - spatial, bodily - kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal

Question 13

Availability Heuristic

Answer 13

used when we try to decide how likely something is

Question 14

Representativeness Heuristic

Answer 14

Involves categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative imagine of the category.

Question 15

Base rate fallacy

Answer 15

using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information

Question 16

Disconfirmation Principle

Answer 16

the evidence obtained from testing demonstrated that the solution DOES NOT WORK.

Question 17

Confirmation bias

Answer 17

the tendency to focus on information that fits an individuals beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them.

Contributes to overconfidence

Question 18

Overconfidence

Answer 18

a tendency to erroneously interpret ones decisions, knowledge, and believes as infallible.

Question 19

Intuition

Answer 19

the ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence.

Often developed by experience

Question 20

Recognition primed decision model

Answer 20

when the doctors brain is actually sorting through a wide variety of information to match a certain pattern

Question 21

Emotion

Answer 21

the subjective experience of a person in a certain situation

Question 22

IQ Test
(Intelligence Quotient)
(Standford - Binet IQ Test)

Answer 22

A standardized test that measures intelligence.

IQ = (mental age/chronological age) x 100