Psych 101: Thinking and Problem Solving
Heuristics
-a rule of thumb, shortcut, or a general problem solving strategy that we apply to certain situations -fast but not always accurate -useful for quick thinking
Algorithm
-a systematic, step-by-step problem solving strategy that is guaranteed to produce a solution -slow but typically accurate -useful with math problems
Confirmation bias
-a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence -attention, memory, and interpretation
Belief preserverance
-clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Prototypes
-concepts provide a kind of mental shorthand, economizing cognitive effects -often we form concepts by developing prototypes -prototypes can help us make better and faster decisions in new situations -we can make judgments about a prototypical example more quickly and easily than non-prototypical members of a category
Framing effects
-different ways of presenting the same information evoke different responses
Representativeness heuristic
-is what you're thinking about similar to a category? -"do more truck drivers or professors listen to mpr?"
Trial and error
-just start doing things and learning from mistakes -no active thinking -slow method -common to animals
Concepts
-mental categories in which we place objects, activities, abstractions, and events that have essential features in common -concepts are represented and communicated via image or word
Overconfidence error
-our tendency to be more confident than correct -we overestimate the accuracy of our estimates, predictions, and knowledge
Kasslyn et al
-participants were asked to memorize a map -when asked to mentally scan from location to location, more distant locations on the map took longer to mentally scan
Anderson, Lepper, and Ross (1980)
-participants were lead to believe either: -risk takers make better fire fighters -cautious people make better fire fighers -later, they were told this was fasle -follow-ups showed they still believed what they were told in experiments
Mental images
-picture-like representations of objects or events that are not physically present -we can use mental images in a way that's similar to how we scan visual images
Insight
-problem solving that occurs without conscious awareness -Aha moment -Incubation effect -Silveira (1971) Experimental Conditions
Silveira (1971) Experimental Conditions
-studied the incubation effect by having people work on a chain problem -no break = 55% -30 min break = 64% -4 hour break = 85%
Cognition
-the mental activities associated with with acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge, often directed toward a goal, purpose, or conclusion -cognitive psychologists study how we use mental images, create concepts, solve problems, and make decisions
Problem-solving strategies
-trial and error -insight -algorithms -heuristics
Functional fixedness
a block to problem solving that comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their functions
Schemas
a knowledge structure consisting of any organized body of stored information (how murders act, what cold is like)
Scripts
a schema for events; a mental representation of a familiar sequence of activities
Availability heuristic
information that comes easily to mind will have a stronger influence on our judgments -"is this dangerous?"
Incubation effect
insight often occurs after taking a break from problems
Knowledge structure
large number of related concepts and propositions
Propositions
link conceptions together
Stereotypes
schemas that apply to a social group
Mental set
the tendency for people to persist in using problem solving patterns that have worked for them in the past