Information-processing systems
Mechanisms for receiving info, representing it with symbols, and manipulating it.
Cognitive psychology
The study of the mental processes by which information from the environment is modified, made meaningful, stored, retrieved, used, and communicated to others.
Thinking
The manipulation of mental representations.
Reaction time
The time between the presentation of a stimulus and an overt response to if.
Evoked brain potential
A small, temporary change in EEG voltage that is evoked by some stimulus.
Concepts
Categories of objects, events, or ideas that have common properties.
Natural concepts
Concepts that have no fixed set of defining features but instead share a set of characteristic features.
Prototype
A member of a natural concept that possesses all or most of its characteristic features.
Propositions
Mental representation of the relationship between concepts.
Scripts
Mental representation of familiar sequences of activity.
Mental model
A cluster of propositions representing our understandings of objects and processes that guides our interaction with those things.
Algorithm
Systematic prosecutes that cannot fail to produce a correct solution to a problem, if a solution exists.
Rules of logic
Sets of statements that provide a formula for drawing valid conclusions.
Syllogisms
Arguments made up of two or more propositions(premises) and a conclusion based on those premises.
Formal reasoning
Vs.
Informal reasoning
The process of following a set of rigorous procedures for reaching valid conclusions.
Vs.
The process of evaluating a conclusion, theory, or course of action on the bias on the believability of evidence.
Heuristics
Time-saving mental shortcuts used in reasoning.
Anchoring heuristic
A mental shortcut that involves basing judgements on existing behavior.(
Representative heuristic
A mental shortcut that involves judging whether something belongs in a given class on the basis of its similarity to other members of that class.
Availability heuristic
A mental shortcut through which judgements are based on info that is most easily brought to mind.
Mental set
The tendency for old patterns of problems solving to persist even when they might not always be the most efficient alternative.
Functional fixedness
A tendency to think about familiar objects in familiar ways that may prevent using them in other ways.
Expected value
The total benefit to be expected if a decision were to be repeated several times.
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound that affects the meaning of speech.
Morpheme
The smallest unit of language that has meaning.