chapter 9 Flashcards
(41 cards)
cognition
all mental activities assoicated with thinking, knowing, remebering, and communication
metacognition
cognition about our cognition; keeping track of and evaluating and our mental processes
concepts
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
-similar to schema
prototype
mental image or best example of a category
-matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories
-helps make decisions
algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
-very time consuming
-step by step procedure
-ex: walk and look through every shelf to find an octopus
heuristics
a simple thinking strategy-a mental shortcut-that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently
-more speedier, but also more error prone
insight
a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrats with strategy-based solutions
-not strategy-based solution but rather a sudden flash of inspiration that solves a problem
-Aha moment!
confirmation bias
tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
-predisposes us to verify rather than challenge our hypothesis
-ex: someone does something bad and seeing the good in it
mental set
tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
-example of fixation
intuition
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
-use unconscious knowledge
representative heuristic
judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information
-based on streotypes
availability heuristic
judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events as common
overconfidence
tendency to be more confident that correct- to overestimate accuracy of our beliefs and judgements
belief preseverance
clinging to one’s initial beliefs after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
-pay attention to info we agree to and ignore evidence that proves that the belief is wrong
Framing
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments
intuition is what?
-implicit knowledge
-adaptive, enabling quick reactions
-huge (constantly affect our judgements
creativity
the ability to produce new and valuable ideas
-supported by: ability to learn, intelligence, and working memory
convergent thinking
narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
-1 solution
divergent thinking
expands the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions
-multiple solutions
Robert Sternberg proposed
5 ingredients to creativity:
1. Expertise (well developed knowledge; min. of 10 years)
2. imaginative thinking (divergent thinker)
3. Venturesome personality (determined personality; wants new experiences; challenges)
4. Intrinsic motivation (motivated by what you want to do)
5. creative environment (open office format, bean bags, free snacks)
Why do we think animals have cognitive skills?
-animals use concepts, numbers, and tools
-transmit learning from one generation to the next
-show insight, self-awareness, altruism, cooperation, and grief
Language
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
-used to transmit knowledge from one generation to the next
Phonemes
the smallest distinctive sound units in a language
-ex: sounding out words
Morpheme
smallest language units that carry meaning
-combine two or more phonemes
-few morpheme are phonemes
