Thinking

Mental image of event, person, object, etc.

• should be similar to real life representations (sometimes not)

= brainstorming

= vomiting out many ideas

= choosing the best choice after brainstorming

breaking down

ex. breaking an assignment down into small pieces (doing it step-by-step) or assigning a piece to each group member

putting all the pieces together

ex. in the final days before deadline, all group members put work together

= mentally grouping ideas

concepts = mental representations of categories

= template = best example of an object in a category

ex. a dog for a house pet

bad ex. a hedgehog for a house pet

= the biggest category

• highest in the hierarchy

ex. vehicles

= the mid-level category

ex.

(Vehicles > ) car, bus, truck

= most specific category

ex.

(Vehicles > Truck > ) Dump Truck or Pickup Truck

Problem Solving Step #1

__I__DEAL

Cognitive Appraisal → “Is this actually a problem or am I overreacting?”

Problem Solving Step #2

I__D__EAL

What specific kind of problem is it?

Problem Solving Step #3

ID__E__AL

(Divergent thinking)

Problem Solving Step #4

IDE__A__L

(Convergent Thinking)

Problem Solving Step #5

IDEA__L__

(metacognition → thinking about your thinking)

= aren’t necessarily easy to solve, but the way to solve it is clear (AKA you don’t have to be creative in finding a solution)

ex. complicated math problems

= logical, methodical procedure

• guarantees a solution

• BUT it’s slow

ex. going up and down each and every aisle in grocery store looking for ketchup

= shortcut to help solve problems faster

• more error-prone than an algorithm

• BUT faster

ex. going straight to the sauce aisle for ketchup

= a type of problem where the solution path and even goal is not clear

(you don’t even know what problem you’re trying to solve)

• usually employs insight learning

ex. brain teasers

= an example of an ill-defined problem

= a cognitive performance test, measuring the influence of functional fixedness on a participant's problem-solving capabilities

• solve the problem of a candle dripping wax onto a table using only what was in front of them; a box of thumb tacks and a book of matches

• Most people didn't see the creative way to solve the problem, which was to tack the box (from the tacks) to the wall and put the lit candle in the box.

• He then rearranged the task so that the tacks were originally outside of the box

  • Duncker found that people generally solved this much easier, as they viewed the box as and object of use, instead of just a container to hold the tacks \n

= an example of an ill-defined problem

= a mathematical puzzle whose task is to connect nine squarely arranged points by four straight lines without lifting the pen

→ You should try to avoid getting locked into a certain perspective (AKA viewing it as being constrained by the edges of the points)

= an example of an ill-defined problem

= a simple mathematical puzzle often employed for the assessment of problem-solving and in the evaluation of frontal lobe deficit

• planning and working memory

= an example of an ill-defined problem

• brain teaser

a strategy in problem solving

= using what was learned in past to solve similar problems

“Is there something similar I’ve solved in the past?”

• becomes easier as you get older and gain experience/wisdom

a strategy in problem solving

= letting problem sit in the back of mind for awhile

a strategy in problem solving

= stop and evaluate how you’re doing

• correct if there is a better way

bad ex. dads not use GPS, failing to use metacognition (being stubborn, brute forcing a problem)

a strategy(?) in problem solving

= doing research, learning more then come back to problem

ex. getting stuck on a math problem, but after a lot of studying/classwork/asking questions and getting a better understanding of the unit, can come back to problem and it seems easy!

• helps make sense of a lot of info

• experts can solve harder problems and remember much more about their field

a strategy in problem solving

= looking at a problem from a different perspective

• avoiding a mental set

an obstacle in problem solving

= tendency to stick with the most familiar solution to a problem (algorithm/heuristic) and stubbornly ignore alternatives

an obstacle in problem solving

= failing to think outside the box

• basically a synonym for “mental set,” just more general term

an obstacle in problem solving

= understandings or expectations that are reasonably implied by the context

• assumptions that haven't been articulated

• made based on our own experiencewithout even realizing that that's what we're doing

an obstacle in problem solving

= only seeing a tool as its sole function

ex. needing a hammer, but failing to see a brick, log, textbook, etc. as functional alternatives

ex. In the Dunker’s candle problem: failing to see the box as a viable tool instead of just a container

one cause of faulty-decision making

= making PROBABILITY judgements of how likely an event is to occur in some category based on the extent of how similar it is to the prototypical example of that category

• (AKA assuming that the prototype represents the entire category)

• associated with prototype theory

ex. meeting someone that looks like a stereotypical med student → you judge that their probably studying medicine (w/o hard evidence to support that assumption)

= the pinnacle example of something

one cause of faulty-decision making

= tendency to use info that comes to mind quickly and easily when making decisions

→ AKA singular, memorable moments have an outsized influence on decisions

• often occurs when trying to make judgements about the FREQUENCY with which a certain event occurs

ex. when you win at slots, lots of flashing lights and music (memorable)

when you lose at slots, nothing happens (not memorable)

→ thus, you think you are more likely to win than not (which is false)

a cause of faulty-decision making

= delay in reaction time between congruent and incongruent stimuli

ex. having a faster response at identifying the color of a word when the word is in that color than when it is not

a cause of faulty-decision making

= tendency to be more confident in one’s own abilities than is objectively reasonable

a cause of faulty-decision making

= when a person’s lack of knowledge/skills in an area causes them to overestimate their own abilities

• AKA one’s own lack of knowledge prevents one from understanding one’s own incompetence

• the effect also causes professionals to think the task is simple for everyone, and underestimate their relative abilities, too

a cause of faulty-decision making

= tendency to look for and favor evidence that confirms ideas while avoiding contradictory evidence

a cause of faulty-decision making

= tendency to cling to INITIAL conceptions despite contrary evidence

a cause of faulty-decision making

= tendency for people to give themselves credit for success, but blame failures on outside causes

ex.

good grade → “I must’ve studied well”

bad grade → “Must’ve been bad luck/circumstances”

a cause of faulty-decision making

= tendency to be overly influenced by the first piece of information that we hear

• and using it as a frame of reference for future info as comparison

a cause of faulty-decision making

= how info is presented (context around info)

• can significantly affect judgement

• related to loss aversion and endowment effect

a cause of faulty-decision making

= tendency to prefer avoiding losses than acquiring equivalent gains

• describes why pain of losing is psychologically twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining

ex. losing $20 hurts more than gaining $20

• explains the Endowment Effect

a cause of faulty-decision making

= an emotional bias where individuals value an OWNED object more than its market value

• often is irrational

• is explained by Loss Aversion