Thinking Cognition refers to all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Solve this problem quickly… A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? $1.00 for the bat - $0.10 for the ball = $0.90, not $1.00 The correct answer is $1.05 for the bat, $0.05 for the ball OUR HUMAN INTUITION IS LIMITED!

A banana, apple, or orange Red or Blue A car Take out a piece of paper and number 1-5. Respond to the categories listed with the very first example that comes to mind. A fruit A color A motor vehicle A hero A game A banana, apple, or orange Red or Blue A car Superman, Batman, or a fireman Monopoly or other board game

Concepts and Prototypes We often think using concepts, which are rules in how we see everything in the world around us.  Our concept of mom is very different from our concept of dad, which is different from our concept of lobster.  Very often we base our concepts on prototypes, or what we think is the best example of that concept.  For example, when I think of the concept of funny, the prototype Melissa McCarthy may pop up in my head.  If I am watching TV and some character is similar to her (my prototype of funny) than I may think of that character as humorous. Concepts- mental groupings of similar objects, events, people i.e. guy Hierarchies- subdividing categories to use them more efficiently i.e. boy/man Definition- anatomically male Prototypes- mental image or best example- Ian

Problem Solving: the results of thinking

Algorithms vs. Heuristics An algorithm is a rule that guarantees the right solution by using a formula or other foolproof method.  A heuristic is a rule of thumb or shortcut that generally, but not always, solves the problem. 

Representativeness Heuristic Who went to Harvard? Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind. Sometimes we misuse: thinking everyone from East Cobb has money Someone with glasses is nerdy Blondes aren’t smart Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. You might make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence. But she is an economics major at Harvard University.

Availability Heuristic Availability Heuristic: Judging a situation based on examples of similar situations that come to mind initially.  In other words, you take personal experiences and overestimate their significance.  For example, as a student at Pope High School, you may judge Pope students as being smarter than students from other schools because you are more familiar with the smart students at Pope and do not have any information "available" about smart students from other schools. 

Hurdles to problem solving Mental Set While in many cases we can use our past experiences to help solve the issues we face, it can make it difficult to see novel or creative ways of fixing current problems. Functional Fixedness An example of rigidity or mental set Thinking of things only in terms of their usual functions a.k.a. rigidity The tendency to fall into established thought patterns.

Hurdles to problem solving Confirmation Bias- The tendency to search for information that confirms one’s perconceptions Belief Bias- The tendency for our beliefs to distort our logic by accepting conclusions we agree with without deep consideration or by making invalid conclusions seem valid Belief Perseverance- maintaining a belief even after it has been proven wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-sVnmmw6WY