Set 8: Thinking & Language Flashcards
Thinking
Thinking, or cognition, refers to a process that involves knowing, understanding, remembering, and communicating
intuition
Thinking is different than intuition, which is effortless immediate and automatic feelings.
Executive Functions
We as humans have Executive Functions. These are cognitive skills that work together. They allow us to generate organize, plan, and implement ideas.
Concept
The mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. There are a variety of chairs but their common features define the concept of a chair.
Development of Concepts (prototypes)
We form some concepts with definitions. For example, a triangle has three sides. Mostly, we form concepts with a mental image of the best thing that would fit a given concept (prototypes.) For example, a robin is a prototype of a bird, but a penguin is not.
Convergent Thinking
Convergent Thinking is the ability to provide a single correct answer.
Divergent Thinking
Divergent Thinking is the ability to consider many different options and think in new ways.
Algorithms
Try every possible combination until you find the correct answer. (Accurate but time consuming.)
Heuristics
Heuristics are mental shortcuts that allow us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently. Heuristics are less time consuming, but can lead to mistakes.
Insight
When you just know the answer to a problem immediately.
Confirmation Bias
A tendency to search for information that confirms a personal bias.
Fixation
An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This impedes problem solving. Two examples of fixation are mental set and functional fixedness.
Mental Set
A tendency to keep solving a problem the same way, even if there is a better solution.
Functional Fixedness
The tendency to only think of the main purpose of an object.
The Gambler’s Fallacy
The Gambler’s Fallacy is the tendency to think what happens previously will affect a future event.
Representative Heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things or objects in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, a particular prototype.
Availability Heuristic
If an event readily comes to mind, we presume it is common.
States that memorables things seem more common.
Overconfidence
Intuitive heuristics, confirmation of beliefs, and the inclination to explain failures increase our overconfidence.
Overconfidence is a tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.
Sunk-Cost Fallacy
The Sunk-Cost Fallacy is our tendency to stick to the original plan because we’ve already invested time or money, when switching would benefit us more.
Exaggerated Fear
The opposite of having overconfidence is having an exaggerated fear about what may happen. Such fears may be unfounded.
A fear of something that poses little to no danger.
Nudge
$10.50 with a credit card
Example: $10 in cash for a haircut
Opposite of nudge?
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Belief Bias
The tendency of one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning by making invalid conclusions.
Belief Perseverance
Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary evidence.