Thinking Do Now: Take a sticky note (Exit ticket) and Quickly, write down how many windows you have in your house. Objective: Student will: Understand the mental images and concepts involved in the process of thinking.

Cognition Domain Cognition is a mental activity in the brain when a person is processing information, organizing it, understanding it, and communicating it. Cognition includes: Memory Perception Thinking Language Intelligence

What is thought? Encoding information from the world around us in some kind of mental representation, two types of mental representations… 1.Mental Images - Picture-like representations that stand in for objects or events. (including mental maps). We can even rotate images in our head. 2.Concepts – ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events or activities. Both mental images and images with our eyes are stored in the Visual cortex. Cognitive maps (Mental maps) – what we use everyday to imagine something that is not present, or to find our way around town, or to find our car.

2.Concepts – ideas that represent classes of objects based on your own experiences (schemas)… usually based on prototypes – an example that closely matches the concept’s characteristics. Our concept of men may include all of the following guys…. But they are based on our own prototype of the ideal male…..

Types of Concepts Superordinate concept- the most general form – animal or fruit Basic level type – one which others are organized, dog/cat or apple/pear Subordinate concept – the most specific tabby cat or granny Smith apple Formal concept – defined by specific rules or features Like a definition of a Square Natural concept – result of someone’s experiences in the real world. (like a prototype). Ex. Of a Vehicle, for some a bobsled or raft would be a vehicle that would come to mind.

Problem Solving What methods do people use to solve-problems and make decisions?

Problem solving occurs when a person must reach a goal by thinking and behaving in certain ways. Ways people can solve problems: – Trial and Error – Mechanical solutions – try one solution after another until one works. – Communicate with and listen to others, or not! – Rote – a learned set of rules. (i before e except after c), A Rote solution is to use an algorithm – Heuristics – Insight

Insight when you have a Aha moment, something just comes into your head is another way we solve problem!

Algorithms A rule that guarantees the right solution to a problem. Usually by using a formula. They work but are sometimes impractical because they may take too long and there are exceptions. Like i before e except after c. which does not work in the case of the word “weird”

Heuristics A rule of thumb that generally, but not always, can be used to make a judgment to solve a problem. It is fast, but is…Prone to errors due to several natural thought phenomenon we have! Two major types of heuristics….

Representativeness Heuristic Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind. Like thinking everyone who wears glasses is smart, but blondes are not smart. This is how stereotypes are formed. If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence. She is an economics major at Harvard University. Who went to Harvard? My friend Dan is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (but he looks like he did).

Availability Heuristic Judging a situation based on examples of similar situations that initially come to mind. Thinking something that just happened will happen again, soon. Vivid examples in the news often cause an availability heuristic. Which place would you be more scared of getting mugged or even murdered? The Bronx, NY Gary, Indiana The crime rate of Gary, Indiana is MUCH higher than the Bronx. But when you think of crime, which town comes to mind? I realize the Bronx picture is misleading.

Heuristics can lead to Overconfidence We think we are right more often than we are, or know more than we think we know. But, this is Not a good indicator of how right we are. Belief Perseverance- maintaining a belief even after it has been proven wrong. Belief Bias- People will tend to accept any conclusions that fits in with their own systems of belief. Cognitive dissonance – when we act in away that is not congruent with what we say we believe or feel.

Belief Perseverance The tendency to stick with our initial idea even if we receive information that discredits it. Why do we do this? Can you think of times you or someone you know has done this?

Some other hurdles to problem solving…

Mental set We get set in a way of thinking that will not allow us to entertain new ideas a.k.a. rigidity, fixation The tendency to fall into established thought patterns. Some examples are….

What does the following spell? J O K E Now say that again, three times, real fast! What do you call the white of an Egg?

Functional Fixedness The inability to see a new use for an object. Think of as many uses as you can for a ……

Confirmation Bias – another hurdle We look for evidence to confirm our beliefs and ignore evidence that contradicts them. For example, if one believes that all Italians are in shape and go tanning, then they turn on MTV. Look…I knew it was true!!! But is it really?

Framing – same thing as Priming 90% of the population will be saved with this medication…..or 10% of the population will die despite this medication. You should not drink more than two drinks per day….or You should not drink more than 730 drinks a year. Anchoring Effect – the tendency to consider all of the information available even when it is irrelevant. The way a problem is presented can drastically effect the way we view it.

Other Key Terms – obstacles to decision making The myth of the “Hot Streak” – we look for patterns even when none exist. The Gambler’s Fallacy – the belief that the chance of something occurring depends on whether it has recently occurred. Loss Aversion – the tendency to be more sensitive to actual or potential losses than to gains. (people prefer to avoid taking a loss, and so losses stand out for us more than gains.

CREATIVITY Or lack of: Almost impossible to define. Little correlation between creativity and intelligence. Convergent Thinking (only one answer) versus Divergent Thinking (many ways to solve a problems) Some people are more resistant to change and/or open-mindedness. We will talk more about Intelligence in another lesson!