Psych 101 1st Edition Lecture 17 Outline of Last Lecture I. No Class/Makeup examOutline of Current Lecture II. Thinking and ReasoningCurrent Lecture1. What types of mental processes are studied in cognitive psychology?2. What is thinking?a. The manipulation of mental representations of information3. What is a mental image?a. Representations in the mind of an object or event4. Define a concept & prototypea. Concept- categorizations of objects, events, or people that share common propertiesb. Prototypes- typical, highly representative examples of a concept5. 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 worksb. 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 ofwinning6. Discuss the representativeness and availability heuristicsa. Availability heuristic- judging probability of an event on the basis of how easily a memory can be recalledb. Representativeness heuristic- a rule we apply when we judge people by the degree to which they represent a certain group/category of peoplec. Familiarity heuristic- familiar items are seen as superior to those that are unfamiliar7. Discuss the first step in problem solvinga. Preparation- understanding and diagnosing problemsb. Framingi. Well-defined problems- a math equation or a jig saw puzzle, one answerii. Ill-defined problems- how to bring peace to the Middle East, how to boostmorale on an assembly line, no one answerc. Describe 3 major types of problemsThese 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 criterionii. Problems of inducing structure- person must identify the existing relationship among elements presented and construct a new relationship among themiii. Transformation problems- that consist of an initial state, a goal state, and a method for changing the initial state into the goal state8. Production: describe the heuristic strategies often used to generate solutionsa. Means-end analysis- involved repeated tests for differences between the desired outcome and what currently existsb. Forming subgoals- dividing a problem into intermediate stepsc. Insight- a sudden awareness of the relationships among various elements that have previously appeared to be independent of one another9. Judgment: evaluations of the solution. Final stage of problem solving. a. What makes evaluations of solutions difficult? – If solution is less concrete/no single answer10. Describe the obstacles to problem solvinga. Functional fixedness- the tendency to think of an object only in terms of it’s typical useb. Mental set- the tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persistc. Inaccurate evaluation of solutionsi. Confirmation bias- the tendency to seek out and weight more heavily information that supports one’s initial hypothesis and ignore contradictory information11. Define creativity and describe the factors that contribute to creativitya. Creativity- the ability to generate original ideas or solve problems in novel waysb. Divergent thinking- thinking that generates unusual, yet nonetheless appropriate,responses to problems/questionsc. 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 logic12. Discuss why creativity is important in problem solving/critical thinkinga. Redefine problemsb. Use subgoalsc. Adopt a critical perspectived. Consider the oppositee. Use analogiesf. Think divergentlyg. Use heuristicsh. Experiment with different