Thinking Flashcards
What is cognitive psychology?
The study of thinking, processing, and reasoning.
What are concepts?
How one represents the relationship between two things. “A bird is an animal that has wings and flies.”
What are hypotheses?
Ideas used to test relationships and then to form concepts.
What is a mental set or set?
Preconceived notice of how to look at a problem. This may help future problem solving. “A bird cage is good for housing birds.”
What is a schema?
An organized bunch of knowledge gathered from prior experiences that includes ideas about specific events or objects and the attributes that accompany them.
What are scripts?
Ideas about the way events typically unfold. “When people go to the movies, they sit in their seats and are quiet.”
What are prototypes?
The representative or “usual” type of an event or object. “A scientist is someone who is good at math and does not write poetry.”
What is insight?
Having a new perspective on an old problem: the a-ha! experience.
What is convergent thinking?
The type of thinking used to find the one solution to the problem. Math is an example.
What is divergent thinking?
Used when one more possibility exists in a situation. Playing chess or creative thinking. In a group, the appearance of a dissenter leads to divergent thinking.
Who defined convergent and divergent thinking?
J.P. Guilford.
What is functional fixedness?
The idea that people develop closed minds about the functions of certain objects.
What is problem space?
The sum total of possible moves that one might make in order to solve a problem.
What are algorithms?
Problem-solving strategies that consider every possible solution and eventually hit on the correct solution. This takes time.
What are heuristics?
Problem-solving strategies that use rules of thumb or shortcuts based on what has worked in the past. Does not guarantee a solution but is faster.
What is metacognition?
The process of thinking about your own thinking. Knowing what solving strategies to apply and when to apply them or knowing how to adapt your thinking to new situations.
What is mediation?
Intervening mental process that occurs between stimulus and response. Reminds us what to do or how to respond based on ideas or past learning.
Who came up with computer simulation models?
Allen Newell and Herbert Simon.
What is deductive reasoning?
Leads to a specific conclusion that must follow from the information given. “All coats are blue. She wears a coat. Therefore her coat must be blue.”
What is inductive reasoning?
Leads to general rules that are inferred from specifics. “Most of the Ph.D. students I know studied hard for the GRE. Therefore, studying hard probably helps one do well on the test and then get into school.”
What is the atmosphere effect?
When a conclusion is influenced by the way information is phrased.
What is the semantic effect?
Believing in conclusions because of what you know or think to be correct rather that what logically follows from the information given.
What is the conformation bias?
Remembering and using information that confirms what you already think.
What is decision making?
Working on solving a problem until an acceptable solution is found, The process is usually based on an assumption and the solution is found by relying or reasoning and/or emotion.
