COGNITIONThinking, Problem Solving, Creativity and Language

THINKINGCognition

All mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering an communicating.

CONCEPTSThe mental categories used to organize events and objects, are often arranged in hierarchical order from general to more specific Example - organism, animal, vertebrate,

quadruped, dog, collie.

Such categories help people to understand new information and to plan Example - by dividing available time into

periods for study, class attendance, recreation, and so forth.

PROTOTYPE A mental image or best example of a category that all members of the category need to be similar

SOLVING PROBLEMS

STRATEGIESAlgorithms

Step by step procedure that guarantee a solution Systematically thinking through every possible solution

Heuristics A simple thinking strategy that allows for judgments “Rule of Thumb” that shortcuts solving complex problems

Insight A sight and often novel realization of the solution to a

problem AHA moment

CREATIVITY The ability to produce ideas that are both

novel and valuable

Great ideas are often the result of hundreds of mistakes that turned out well.

FIVE COMPONENTS OF CREATIVITYExpertise

More knowledge allows for more ideas

Imaginative Thinking Skills Looking at things in new ways

A Venturesome Personality A person that is willing to try something new

Intrinsic Motivation Interest and challenges more important than

outcome

A Creative Environment Being in a space that fosters thought permits

risks

OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING

Confirmation BiasSeeking for information that supports our

preconception and to ignore contradictory evidence

FixationThe inability to see a problem from a fresh

perspectiveMental Set

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, especially when this approach has been successful in the past

Functional FixednessThe tendency to think of only the familiar functions for an objects, without imagining alternative uses

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

REPRESENTATIVENESS HEURISTIC People tend to judge the probability of an

event by finding a ‘comparable known’ event and assuming that the probabilities will be similar.

If something does not fit exactly into a known category, we will approximate with the nearest class available.

This is a type of stereotyping. We tend to judge people according to the likelihood that they fit our representation of groups to which we feel they should belong

AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC We make a judgment based on what we can

remember, rather than complete data.

In particular, we use this for judging frequency or likelihood of events.

OVERCONFIDENCE The tendency to overestimate the accuracy

of our knowledge and judgments.

What percentage of accused felons plead insanity? Less than one percent

What percentage are acquitted? Only of a quarter of those are ultimately

acquitted

BELIEF PERSEVERANCE PHENOMENON

Clinging to one’s own conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

This could be why teacher’s expectations can influence how student’s perform in school. Teachers that do not believe their students are not capable may not change their minds if they see evidence to the contrary.

FRAMING The way an issue is presented.

People can be persuaded by the way products are framed. Sales – 25% off may induce people to spend

more than they intended. “Low-Fat” may cause people to over eat not

realizing the serving size did not increase