module 29-cognition
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- concepts
- mental groupings of similar objects, events, and people (The concept of chair includes a high chair and a rocking chair)
- prototype
- a mental image or best example of a category (People more quickly agree that a robin is a bird than that a goose is a bird, because a goose better resembles the prototype)
- algorithm
- a step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution.
- Heuristics
- a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error prone than algorithms.
- confirmation bias
- a tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions (Resulting seldom right, but never in doubt)
- Fixation
- the inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective
- mental set
- a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
- functional fixedness
- the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving (looking for a screwdriver when a dime would turn the screw)
- representative heuristic
- judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes
- availability heuristic
- estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory (not flying recently after 9/11)
- framing
- the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments
- belief bias
- the tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid
- belief preseverance
- clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited