Psych 101 1st Edition Lecture 17 Outline of Last Lecture I No Class Makeup exam Outline of Current Lecture II Thinking and Reasoning Current Lecture 1 What types of mental processes are studied in cognitive psychology 2 What is thinking a The manipulation of mental representations of information 3 What is a mental image a Representations in the mind of an object or event 4 Define a concept prototype a Concept categorizations of objects events or people that share common properties b Prototypes typical highly representative examples of a concept 5 How do algorithms and heuristics influence the way we solve problems a Algorithm rule Ex you know you can find the length of the third side of a right triangle by using the Pythagorean Theorem but you don t know why it works b Heuristic cognitive shortcut Ex when playing tic tac toe you start by putting an X in the center square it does not guarantee a win but it increases the chances of winning 6 Discuss the representativeness and availability heuristics a Availability heuristic judging probability of an event on the basis of how easily a memory can be recalled b Representativeness heuristic a rule we apply when we judge people by the degree to which they represent a certain group category of people c Familiarity heuristic familiar items are seen as superior to those that are unfamiliar 7 Discuss the first step in problem solving a Preparation understanding and diagnosing problems b Framing i Well defined problems a math equation or a jig saw puzzle one answer ii Ill defined problems how to bring peace to the Middle East how to boost morale on an assembly line no one answer c Describe 3 major types of problems These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute i Arrangement problems require problem solver to rearrange recombine elements in a way that will satisfy a certain criterion ii Problems of inducing structure person must identify the existing relationship among elements presented and construct a new relationship among them iii Transformation problems that consist of an initial state a goal state and a method for changing the initial state into the goal state 8 Production describe the heuristic strategies often used to generate solutions a Means end analysis involved repeated tests for differences between the desired outcome and what currently exists b Forming subgoals dividing a problem into intermediate steps c Insight a sudden awareness of the relationships among various elements that have previously appeared to be independent of one another 9 Judgment evaluations of the solution Final stage of problem solving a What makes evaluations of solutions difficult If solution is less concrete no single answer 10 Describe the obstacles to problem solving a Functional fixedness the tendency to think of an object only in terms of it s typical use b Mental set the tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist c Inaccurate evaluation of solutions i Confirmation bias the tendency to seek out and weight more heavily information that supports one s initial hypothesis and ignore contradictory information 11 Define creativity and describe the factors that contribute to creativity a Creativity the ability to generate original ideas or solve problems in novel ways b Divergent thinking thinking that generates unusual yet nonetheless appropriate responses to problems questions c Convergent thinking thinking in which a problem is viewed as having a single answer and which produces responses that are based primarily on knowledge and logic 12 Discuss why creativity is important in problem solving critical thinking a Redefine problems b Use subgoals c Adopt a critical perspective d Consider the opposite e Use analogies f Think divergently g Use heuristics h Experiment with different solutions