Thinking & Language What effects how you think?

Obstacles to problem solving What can make problem solving difficult?

Do you have confirmation bias? Looking for and accepting evidence that supports our preconceived ideas. “Don’t bother me with the facts, I have made up my mind.” Makes it difficult to consider contradictory information.

Do you have fixation? Inability to see a problem from a new viewpoint.

Psychological experiment Odd numbered SS# students close your eyes & put your head down

Please write these down Even numbered students Please write these down

Psychological experiment Even numbered SS# students close your eyes & put your head down

Please write these down Odd numbered students Please write these down

What did you see? Even SS# students? Odd SS# students?

Mental set We see what we expect What worked in the past Makes it difficult to see a problem differently.

Do you have functional fixedness? Seeing things only one way Makes it difficult to see different uses for things.

Do you use heuristics? Mental shortcuts Simple thinking strategies that allow us to solve problems and make judgments efficiently Often helpful, but can cause problems.

Do you remember? What is confirmation bias? What is an example of a mental set? What is functional fixedness? What are heuristics?

Heuristics Representativeness Availability This person is representative of (similar to) this group. Therefore, she has these characteristics Availability An available (memorable) clear powerful memory is more powerful than a statistical reality. We over feel and under think E.g. Deaths from 9/11 VS smoking

Heuristics Overconfidence We tend to overestimate our own abilities and underestimate others. Stock purchases - E.g. E-trade, or Charles Schwab online trades Reality rarely reduces their overconfidence in the next situation.

Heuristics Belief perseverance When given mixed evidence, two opposing parties will actually increase their disagreement. We believe only what supports our preexisting beliefs Prejudice persists because once formed, opposing evidence is rejected. What you can do: Consider the opposite (or argue the other‘s point of view). E.g. Family therapy

Do you remember? How could representativeness relate to race relations? How does “availability” relate to risk assessment? Have you ever overestimated your own ability and underestimated others? What is that? When people argue they become more set in their ways. Why (what heuristic) is that?

Framing We judge things differently based on how the information is presented. 10% die VS. 90% survival rate of an operation “Aid to the needy” vs.”Welfare” “Cloning” vs. “Nuclear cell transfer” Divorce = Sin vs. independence Politics: Economic stimulus VS deficit spending You can change people’s perception of a situation by reframing it.

What do you fear? We fear: 1. What evolution and our ancestral history prepared us to fear. E.g. heights and spiders 2. What we can not control E.g. Tandem jump VS static line 3. What is immediate VS. long term E.g. flying vs. smoking. 4. What is most memorable E.g. 9/11 vs. traffic deaths Result: Check your fears against the facts We fear too little events that claim lives undramatically.

Thought problems you can avoid 1. Hindsight bias “I knew it all along.” - After you know the result. 2. Illusory correlation Thinking 2 things are related when they are not. E.g. adoption and pregnancy 3. Memory Construction Misinformation can create false memories

Thought problems you can avoid 4. Self serving bias Inflated self assessments E.g. If I do well I take the credit If I do poorly, others are to blame 5. Fundamental attribution error Attributing behavior of others to their disposition (personality) and ignoring the environment. E.g. The homeless person is just lazy

Do you remember? How can framing influence you? What determines what we fear? What do we fear too little? What are the 5 thought problems to avoid?