Vocab

Question 1

concept

Answer 1

mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Question 2

prototype

Answer 2

mental image or best example of a category. matching new items to the Prototype provides a quick and easy method 4 including items into a category

Question 3

algorithm

Answer 3

methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantees solving a particular problem; step by step problem solving method that will always result in the right answer unless you mess up.

Question 4

heuristic

Answer 4

simple thinking strategies that allow us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; less time consuming but more error-prone then algorithms

Question 5

representative heuristic

Answer 5

based on how well something fits your prototype. judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match particular prototypes.

Question 6

availability heuristic

Answer 6

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

Question 7

insight

Answer 7

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; congrats w strategy based solutions

Question 8

confirmation bias

Answer 8

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Question 9

fixation

Answer 9

inability to see a problem from A New Perspective

Question 10

mental set

Answer 10

tendency to solve problems the same or similar ways

Question 11

functional fixedness

Answer 11

inability to see something as having a new function

Question 12

overconfidence

Answer 12

the tendency to be more confident then correct. To overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Question 13

framing effect

Answer 13

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Question 14

belief bias

Answer 14

the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning sometimes make invalid conclusions seem valid or vice versa

Question 15

belief preservation

Answer 15

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

Question 16

phoneme

Answer 16

in a spoken language the smallest distinctive sound unit

Question 17

morpheme

Answer 17

in language the smallest unit that carries meaning maybe a word or part of a word

Question 18

semantics

Answer 18

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; the study of meaning

Question 19

linguistic determinism

Answer 19

Benjamin whorf hypothesis that language determines the way we think

Question 20

aptitude tests

Answer 20

a test designed to predict a person’s future performance.

Question 21

achievement test

Answer 21

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

Question 22

normal curve

Answer 22

symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data

Question 23

reliability

Answer 23

the extent to which a test yields consistent results as assessed by the consistency of scores on 2 halves of the test or the retesting

Question 24

validity

Answer 24

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Question 25

content validity

Answer 25

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of Interest

Question 26

predictive validity

Answer 26

the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict. it is assessed by computing scores and the criterion behavior

Question 27

stereotype threat

Answer 27

a self confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype