Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

chapter 7: thinking

Terms in this set (24)

cognition
mental activity involved in thinking, knowledge, and communication
thinking
manipulation of mental representations of information for interferences and conclusions
mental image
mental representation of objects or events that are not physically present
concepts
mental category of similar objects or ideas
formal concept
formed by defined rules or features
natural concept
formed by everyday experience
prototypes
`most typical instance or best example of a concept
exemplars
retrieved memory of an individual instance within a concept or category
trial and error
attempting different solutions and eliminating those that don't work
algorithm
following a specific rule, procedure, or method that eventually produces the correct solution
heuristic
using a mental shortcut to reduce the number of solutions, although there is a greater chance of error
insight
involves sudden realization of how a problem can be solved- only rarely occurs through conscious manipulation of concepts or information
intuition
involves reaching conclusion or making a judgment without conscious awareness of the thought processes involved
fixation
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective
functional fixedness
thinking of things in terms of their typical functions- influences approach to using an object
mental set
reliance of your own set of experiences and solutions (what worked in the past)- influences approach to an event
availability heuristic
likelihood of an event is estimated on the basis of how readily available other instances of the event are in memory
representative heuristic
likelihood of an event is estimated by comparing how similar it is to the prototype of the event
belief-bias effect
people accept only the evidence that conforms to their beliefs
confirmation effect
strong tendency to search for information or evidence that confirms a belief
overestimation effect
tendency to overestimate the rarity of events
confirmation bias
searching for information that supports our preconceptions and ignoring or distorting contradictory information
overconfidence
overestimating the accuracy of our own knowledge
framing effects
how an issue is presented, or framed, can significantly affect thought processes, judgments, and decisions
Recommended textbook explanations

Understanding Psychology

2nd EditionMcGraw-Hill Education
903 explanations

Psychology

11th EditionC. Nathan DeWall, David G Myers
359 explanations

Psychology

2nd EditionKatherine Minter, Mary Spilis, William Elmhorst
841 explanations

Understanding Psychology

1st EditionRichard A. Kasschau
820 explanations