Module 26: Thinking

Which person is demonstrating convergent thinking?

Seventeen-year-old Jason is an excellent test-taker and does very well on aptitude tests.

A person who can effectively identify the best possible answers to multiple-choice test questions is using:

convergent thinking

While working on a problem, people often will think about it for a long time until suddenly the solution comes to them. This is an example of _____.

insight

Jamilla systematically tried each successive key on her dad's key ring until she found the one that unlocked her dad's office door. This BEST illustrates problem solving by means of a(n):

algorithm

A few days before flying to San Francisco, Jim watched a documentary about the 1906 earthquake that devastated the city. Even though the chance of getting caught in an earthquake while in San Francisco was relatively minor, Jim decided to cancel his trip. This BEST illustrates the _____.

availability heuristic

Which type of game is MOST likely the prototype of the concept "sport"?

baseball

When one groups similar objects, events, ideas, or people in the mind, one has formed a(n) _____.

concept

When we use the term "Hispanic" to refer to a category of people, we are using the word to denote a(n):

concept

Jahmal cites his cousin Luana's many car accidents as evidence that women are worse drivers than men. He overlooks the fact that his wife and three daughters have had far fewer car accidents than he and his two sons. Jahmal's prejudicial conclusion about women's driving skills BEST illustrates the effects of:

confirmation bias

_____ thinking involves expanding the number of possible solutions to a problem.

divergent

"How many uses can you think of for a brick?" Norman is asked by the examiner. Norman is taking a test of:

divergent thinking

The way an issue is posed or how an issue is presented can significantly affect decisions and judgments; this is known as:

framing

Your friend has a cockatiel that he has trained to discriminate between pictures of dogs and cats. Your friend shows him a picture of a dog and the bird pecks at a dog symbol on the cage. Your friend shows him a picture of a cat and the bird pecks at a cat symbol. The bird is showing:

that it can form concepts

In the last few months of 2001, many Americans believed flying was more dangerous than driving. This led to a major increase in traffic fatalities. This flaw in reasoning is known as:

the availability heuristic

A(n) _____ is MOST likely the prototype for the concept "fruit."

apple

Frank lost a contact lens in his kitchen; he searches for it by examining each linoleum tile in turn to see if the lens is contained within the square. Gemma lost a lens in her kitchen; she looks for it near the base of the fridge and around the stove because these are the two appliances she remembers using when she was last in the kitchen.

Gemma is using a heuristic, Frank is using an algorithm.

Jessica believes she can complete a term paper, start to finish, in two days and begins the paper two days before its due date. Unfortunately, once she begins, she realizes it will more likely take four or five days to complete. Her failure to accurately determine how long the assignment would take BEST illustrates:

overconfidence

Prompt and clear feedback regarding one's performance on a psychology practice test is MOST likely to inhibit:

overconfidence

Sometimes one is prone to judge an individual based on one's notion of the category of people he or she most closely resembles. When this happens, one falls prey to:

the representativeness heuristic