9a. Thinking

Lori and Monica are looking at the cans of coffee on display at a local supermarket. They are trying to decide which of two different-sized cans is a better buy. Lori attempts to divide the price of each can by the number of ounces of coffee each contains. Monica suggests that the larger size is usually a better buy. Lori is using a(n) _____; Monica is using a(n) _____.

algorithm; heuristic

Logical, methodical step-by-step procedures for solving problems are called:

algorithms.

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

apple

When Judy's professor failed to recognize that Judy had her hand raised to answer a question, Judy began to think her professor was unfriendly. Judy later learned that the professor's limited vision kept him from seeing her raised hand, but she continued to think he was unfriendly. Judy's reaction BEST illustrates:

belief perseverance.

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

concept

A(n) _____ refers to an inability to view a problem from a new perspective.

fixation

Most adults are more likely to choose a birth control method that is said to have a 95 percent success rate than one that is said to have a 5 percent failure rate. This best illustrates the impact of _____.

framing

Tiffany is a young sales representative who is just starting out. After her first few months on the job, she notices that potential clients respond better when she tells them that the product is successful 99 percent of the time, instead of saying that the error rate is 1 percent. This is an example of _____.

framing

When attempting to persuade others, it is better to focus on the positive rather than the negative. This is a characteristic of:

framing

Anika resisted changing her answer to a test question after reminding herself that "it's always best to stick with your first answer." Anika's decision BEST illustrates the use of a simple thinking strategy called a(n):

heuristic

Lance is solving the anagram MAHLTGIRO. He tries to create words using common combinations of the anagram's letters, such as TH. Lance is using a(n):

heuristic.

When solving a multiple-choice question, eliminate options that are obviously incorrect, and eliminate options that contain absolute terms such as all or every. These rules of thumb are known as:

heuristics.

A best example of a category of objects, events, ideas, and people is called a(n) _____.

prototype

At the beginning of a race, someone asks a group of runners if they think they will come in first, they all say yes. This BEST illustrates:

overconfidence.

Psychologists refer to the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating as:

cognition.

If Serena goes to a new restaurant she will probably recognize some of the objects she sees as chairs even though she may have never seen that particular style of chair before. This is because she has an existing _____ of chairs.

concept

Mary Ellen is a registered Republican. She believes that her positions on political issues are correct because she often finds similar viewpoints expressed in conservative media. Mary Ellen is demonstrating:

confirmation bias

Myra has such low self-esteem that she is often on the lookout for critical comments about her appearance and personality. Myra's behavior BEST illustrates the dangers of:

confirmation bias.

According to the principle of belief perseverance, when faced with evidence that conflicts with one's point of view on a controversial issue, one tends to:

discount the information.

People more quickly recognize that a blue jay is a bird than that a penguin is a bird because a blue jay more closely resembles their _____ of a bird.

prototype

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

baseball

A potential source of irrationality is _____, one's tendency to cling to one's beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence.

belief perseverance

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

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

Scott is a young engineer who just started work at a company that has several seasoned engineers on staff. During a regular meeting several of these seasoned engineers are discussing how to solve a problem. After about 15 minutes of listening to this, Scott jumps up and yells, "Eureka, I've got it!"

insight.

After gathering extensive information about the colleges she was interested in attending, Krista let the information incubate outside her conscious awareness for several days. This provided time for her decision to be potentially enhanced by:

intuition.

Experienced air traffic controllers can tell a plane's flight pattern at a glance, yet they cannot explain how they do it. Their acquired expertise is such an automatic habit that it feels like:

intuition.

Auriele is a very attractive female who lives in Cleveland and loves American football. When asked to predict if it is more probable that she is a schoolteacher or a cheerleader for the Cleveland Browns, most people selected the latter even though there are thousands of more schoolteachers than cheerleaders for the Browns in Cleveland. This illustrates the fallacy in reasoning known as:

the representativeness heuristic.

"Express as a mixed numeral: 39/8" is a problem found in a fifth grade arithmetic textbook. This problem is BEST solved through:

an algorithm.

One major impediment to problem solving is _____, which is the inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective.

fixation

Students will tend to study the same way for every class they are taking, especially when they have been successful. This is an example of a:

mental set.

The tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past, is known as:

mental set.