Algorithm -systemic, mechanical approaches that guarantee an eventual answer to a problem

Heuristic -intuitive rules of thumb -short cuts in problem solving

Insight -sudden appearance of an answer or solution to a problem

Prototype -a model-“best example” of a particular thing

Fixation - Inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective

Mental Set -Tendency to approach a problem with the mindset of what has worked previously

Functional Fixedness

- trapped in seeing one particular prescribed use for some object

ex. Looking for a screwdriver when a dime would turn the screw

Confirmation Bias -the search for information that supports a particular view-hinders problem solving by distorting objectivity

Representative Heuristic

-judge objects and events in terms of how closely they match the prototype of that object of event

-ex: high school athletes are less intelligent

Availability Heuristic

- judged by what events come readily to mind

Overconfidence Bias

-the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

Framing -the way a question is phrasedBelief Perseverance

-a person only sees the evidence that supports a particular position despite evidence presented to the contrary (Stubbornness)

Belief Bias -the tendency for our preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, making illogical conclusions seem valid or logical conclusions to seem invalid

Phoneme -smallest unit of speech sounds in a given language that are still distinct in sound from each other

-ex: “ch”

Morpheme -phonemes combines to create these, the smallest semantically meaningful parts of language

-ex: review consists of 2 morphemes

Grammar -a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Semantics -a set of rules we use to derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences

Syntax -set of rules used for appropriate word orderStages of Language Acquisition

-infants make cooing noises (utterance of phonemes)-babbling (phonemes within infants’ home language)- “holophrases” (one word stage)- two word stage and telegraphic speech

Holophrastic Speech

-single terms that are applied by the infants to broad categories of things

Telegraphic Speech

-two or three word groups -sounds like a telegram

ex. want juice

Critical period -proposes a window of time during which a child is especially ready to learn language and which further suggests that if that opportunity is missed that it might be too late to catch up -intertwined with nature/nurture themes -refers to a time during which a skill or ability must develop

Chomsky vs. Skinner

-Chomsky: Nativist perspective, idea that human brain has an innate capacity for acquiring language (language acquisition device) possibly during a critical period of time after birth; born with universal sense of grammar; “pre wired” for language-Skinner: nurture view, language learned through a shaping process, reinforcement, and imitation

Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

-speakers of diff languages develop diff cognitive systems as a result of differences in language -language guides and determines thinking; language influences thought-language determines and limits experiences

-ex: people of Burma have many words for rice b/c it’s critical to way of life, it involves more categorization and complexity