General Psychology - Chapter 9

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier - but also more error-prone - use of heuristics

Broca's area

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

linguistic determinism

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think

concept

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

prototype

a 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 (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).

Heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

confirmation bias

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

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

babbling stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

belief perseverance

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

Wenicke's area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. In a given language, semantics is the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Framing

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