Thinking
�
Cognition:
mental
activity
associated
with processing,
understanding
, and communicating
info
�
To think
about so
many things,
we group them
into concepts:
mental
grouping of similar objects,
events,
or people
� Prototype:
The best
representation of a concept.
I.e. A dog
maybe a good example
of the concept of four
legged animals
� Algorithm:
A logical
procedure guaranteed to solve
a problem.
This
method
is slow but
less likely
to make
mistakes.
I.e. unscramble
the letters
in SOSIA to find the word.
An Algorithmic
approach would be to try
all
the possible combinations
of
letters.
� Heuristic:
Using
“rule-of-thumb”
strategies to solve
problems and
make
judgements efficiently.
This
method
is faster
but more likely
to make mistakes.
I.e. Unscramble SOSIA. A Heuristic
approach would not
try
combinations
with 2 SS’s together.
� Insight:
A sudden
flash
of inspiration and the solution
to problem
comes to
you. This contrasts
with
strategic
problem
solving
methods.
�
Confirmation Bias :
You tend to look
for answers that confirm
your own expectations/guesses
�
Fixation:
Inability
to look at a problem
from a different
perspective.
� Mental
Set:
A type
of fixation that
works on
previous solutions
that
are successful.
It is
like your
mind is
set on
your
mental set
� Functional Fixedness:
You tend to think
of things
in their usual
functions.
I.e. Inability
to see
that a
paperclip could also be used
as a hook
instead
of
clipping
papers.
�
Representative
Heuristics:
The tendency to judge
things
according
to how well they
match a prototype.
Thinking
in terms on well
something
“represents” another.
I.e.
if
I say
a person is strong,
muscular, and fast,
you
might
think the person
is some
sort of athlete
because those
qualities
best
represent
an athlete.
However, the person could
very
well be a
fit professor.
�
Availability
Heuristics:
The tendency
to base the
likelihood
of events on how
vivid
you remembered them.
How
“available”
the
instance
is in
your
memory.
I.e. If your printer
broke
down once and took
you forever to fix
it so that you remember
the instance
greatly,
the next
time
you advise
someone about a printer,
you’ll most likely
say printers break down easily.
�
Overconfidence:
Overestimating
the accuracy
of your judgements.
Same as being
Overconfident.
� Framing:
The way information
is shown
or
set up.
Just like how something
is “framed” as in
framing
of a picture.
If the picture
is of fruits
and the
frame looks
like
an interwoven
wooden thread, then the picture looks
very
natural.
If the
picture
is placed around a frame
that is
grey and metallic-like,
the effect
is
very
different.
Just
like
if
I “frame”
the statement: there is a 70%
chance of winning
as opposed to 30%
chance
of
losing.
�
Belief
bias:
The tendency
to perceive
what
is conflicting
with
our beliefs to be
illogical.
�
Belief Perseverance:
Tendency
for your beliefs to remain
or “preserve” even
if where
you formulated the belief
is a wrong
source. I.e. if Jim tells
you that
dogs can run
faster than cats
and
you believe
it,
then even If
you find
out that Jim
is a mental patient,
your
belief
that
dogs
are faster than
cats
still remain.
�
Artificial
Intelligence
(AI):
Computerized
systems
that mimic
human thinking abilities.
�
Neural
Networks:
Computer circuitry
that resemble the
real
“neural networks”
of
interconnected neurons in the
brain
Language
�
Language:
The combination
of gestured,
spoken,
and/or
written
words
to communicate
meaning.
�
Phoneme:
The smallest sound
unit.
I.e. In fish there are 3 phonemes: f, i, sh
�
Morpheme:
The smallest
meaningful unit (this includes
pre/suffices).
I.e. I, a, dog, -ed, un-,
me ~ are all morphemes.
�
Grammar:
Rules
in a
language that
allows us to properly understand it.
�
Semantics:
How we get
meaning
from
morphemes,
words, and
sentences.
