what is cognition?
mental activities and processes associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating information
- can include reasoning, judgement, and assembling new information into knowledge
how do we form concepts?
generalization = look for similarities
discrimination = look for differences
abstraction
they conclude what rules fit into the concepts and what doesn’t
what is a concept?
- rules shared by class and distinct from other classes
- a mental grouping of similar objects, events, states, ideas, and/or people
- can be represented and communicated by an image, or a word such as “chair”
-can be concrete (objects) - can be an action/ function (eating at a restaurant)
- can be abstract (love)
how does a person better from concepts?
greater, wider, and richer an individual’s experience with different objects and stimuli
what is a prototype?
a mental representation that serves as a cognitive reference point for the category or concept
what are problems with prototypes?
- the farther something is from our prototypical concept, the less likely we are associate it with that concept
- ex. things that don’t seem to fit the concept rules unless you think about it deeply, discrimination prototype, love prototype, concept of God
- ex. when examples stretch our definitions, when the boundary between concepts is fuzzy, when examples contradict our prototypes
what are 4 types of problem-solving?
- algorithms: step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution
- trial & error: randomly trying different combinations in no particular order
- heuristics: short cut using rules of thumb
- insights: an abrupt, true-seeming, and often satisfying solution
what does the brain do when using insight?
- very active in right temporal lobe during moment of insight but right before the frontal lobe was active
- prior ro insight, right visual cortex activity slows (maybe suppressing visual input to aid creativity, equivalent to closing your eyes to enhance mental state
what is confirmation bias?
the tendency to look for evidence that confirms or upholds our beliefs
The ultimate test of our mastery of confirmation bias in psychology might be our ability to avoid confirmation bias in research.
what is fixation?
- getting stuck in one way of thinking
- becomes difficult to view from a different angle
how can heuristics be detrimental?
help solve problems quickly but can lead to mistaken conclusions
what is intuition?
- fast, automatic, unreasoned, feelings and thoughts
- do not use any problem-solving approach
- maybe quick heuristics, without thought
what are obstacles to effective problem solving?
confirmation bias, fixation, heuristics
how do smart thinkers use intuition?
- Based on experience, we can make snap judgments more accurately. Experts very efficient in fields. Learning (Associations)
- # 1 leads to it allowing for better decisions (staying away from things that have given a bad experience, etc. gravitating toward good.
- Intuition leads to deep complex processing that is unconscious after reading complex info. Learn info then don’t think…pray about it! Get God’s input. He’ll help your brain process the info well to make the best decision.
problem with unconcious vs deliberate thought
God encourages us to study and reason. Remember, in order to make quick, accurate judgement, much of the time, you need hours of experience. Otherwise, “gut” choices can lead to error.
what are other problematic shortcuts to problem solving?
representative heuristics
availability heurstic
overconfidence
what are representative heuristics?
judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind
- blonde is not smart, nerdy when you wear glasses, everyone at gilmore is preppy
- may lead us to disregard probaility info that is relevant to our judgements
what is the availability heuristic?
what comes to mind quickly is deemed significant- sometimes incorrectly
- jaws= all sharks will attack and kill
what is overconfidence?
the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgements
- benefits = make us happier, more competent and make tough decisions easier
- problems = can lead to error in judgement; tend to overestimate abilities
what is the planning falllacy?
underestimate the length of time it will take them to complete a task, often ignoring past experience
what is belief perseverance?
the tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary evidence
- easier to form beliefs than to change them
- using conclusions to assess evidence
what is framing?
when choices are influenced by the context in which they are presented
- can nudge our attitudes and decisions
what are things that can influence decision-making?
- intuition
- representative heuristic
- availability heuristic
- overconfidence
- belief perseverance
- framing
what is creativity?
the ability to produce ideas that are novel and valuable
