7.02 Problem solving

Question 1

mental activity that occurs in the brain when a person is processing information–organizing it, understanding it, and communicating it

Answer 1

cognition

Question 2

cognition is another word for __

Answer 2

thinking

Question 3

representations that stand in for objects or events and have a picture-like quality

Answer 3

mental images

Question 4

pathway for a real image into the brain

Answer 4

eye –> visual cortex in occipital lobe –> memory

Question 5

pathway for a mental image in the brain

Answer 5

memory –> visual cortex in occipital lobe

Question 6

type of imaging technique that revealed that many of the same brain areas are activated during perceiving and imagining

Answer 6

fMRI

Question 7

ideas that represent a class or category of things

Answer 7

concepts

Question 8

concepts defined by specific rules or features

Answer 8

formal concepts

Question 9

a concept based more on our experiences in the real world, than on strict sets of rules

Answer 9

natural concept

Question 10

a “best example” of a concept

Answer 10

prototype

Question 11

a mental generalization about things, used to organize information

Answer 11

schema

Question 12

a kind of schema that involves a sequence of activities involved in a particular process

Answer 12

script

Question 13

process that involves thinking and behaving in certain ways in order to reach a goal

Answer 13

problem solving

Question 14

process that involves identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives

Answer 14

decision making

Question 15

attempting one solution after another until finding one that works

Answer 15

trial and error / mechanical solution

Question 16

specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems

Answer 16

algorithms

Question 17

a simple rule that can often be applied to many situations; a “mental shortcut”

Answer 17

heuristic

Question 18

a heuristic used to categorize things by assuming that, if they share characteristics with other things in a category, then they, too, belong to that category

Answer 18

representative heuristic

Question 19

a heuristic that relies on immediate examples that come to a given person’s mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method or decision

Answer 19

availability heuristic

Question 20

the aha! moment that occurs when the mind reorganizes a problem

Answer 20

insight

Question 21

three common barriers to problem solving

Answer 21

• functional fixedness
• mental set
• confirmation bias

Question 22

thinking about objects only in terms of their typical uses

Answer 22

functional fixedness

Question 23

a tendency to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked in the past

Answer 23

mental set

Question 24

a tendency to search for evidence that fits one’s beliefs, while ignoring contrary evidence

Answer 24

confirmation bias

Question 25

the ability to solve problems by combining ideas or behaviors in new ways

Answer 25

creativity

Question 26

type of thinking according to which a problem is believed to have only one answer, and all lines of thinking should lead to that answer

Answer 26

convergent thinking

Question 27

type of thinking that starts at one point, then branches out from it; associated with creativity

Answer 27

divergent thinking

Question 28

five characteristics of creative people, according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Answer 28

• broad range of knowledge
• good at using mental imagery
• not afraid to be different
• value independence
• unconventional in how they work