UNIT 7B Thinking, Problem Solving, Creativity, and Language

Gary Larson “if you would allow me any talent, it’s simply this: I can for whatever reason, reach down into my brain, feel around in all the mush, find and extract something from my persona, and then graft it into an idea.”

From page 298 “Cognitive Psychologists study the logical and sometimes illogical ways in which we create concepts, solve problems, make decisions and form judgments.”

Concepts A concept is a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. What previously learned term does this make you think of?

Piaget called the basic unit of cognition a schema, and upon these schemas people would base their conceptions of the world. As people will process information they will either assimilate it or accommodate it. Assimilation involves putting the new information into an existing category. Accommodation requires one to change or adapt a category to suit the new information conflicted with or added to the old category.

Relate the following terms: Prototype Category Concept Relate the following terms: Prototype Category Concept

Prototype: mental image/best example of a category Category: classes of objects embodied in concepts Concept: mental grouping of similar objects, events, or people.

Problem Solving Strategies Let’s discuss Algorithm Heuristics Insight

definitions Algorithm: a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Heuristic: a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms. Algorithm: a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Heuristic: a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.

Insight: a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions.

Let’s talk about creativity Creativity: the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

This is an opinion/discussion question… How do you differentiate creativity from intelligence?

Great quote from our text after picking up a Nobel Prize in Stockholm, physicist Richard Feynman stopped in Queens, NY to look at his high school record. “My grades were not as good as I remembered, and my IQ was 124.”

Page Open your books and let’s discuss the five components of creativity… 1) Expertise 2) Imaginative Thinking Skills 3) Venturesome Personality 4) Intrinsic Motivation 5) A Creative Environment

Question for you A hunter sees a bear 1 mile due south. He shoots and misses, and the bear runs off. The hunter walks 1 mile south to where the bear had been, then 1 mile due east, then 1 mile due north—at which point the hunter is standing at exactly the same spot form which the gun had been fired. What color was the bear?

Obstacles to Problem Solving Confirmation Bias: a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.

Fixation: the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set. but what is a mental set: a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.

Functional Fixedness: the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions. An impediment to problem solving.

Key Vocabulary: Representative Heuristic Representative Heuristic: judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information. see truck driver vs. professor on page 304

The Availability Heuristic: Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (because of their vividness) we presume such events are common.

Taken directly from last year’s AP Exam Annabelle is planning to apply to college but has not yet decided where she will apply. Describe how the following psychological concepts and terms relate to her choice. Availability Heuristic Annabelle is planning to apply to college but has not yet decided where she will apply. Describe how the following psychological concepts and terms relate to her choice. Availability Heuristic

Overconfidence: the tendency to be more confident than correct— to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

DEMO in Overconfidence What percentage of crimes in the US would you estimate are violent crimes rather than property crimes?

What percentage of accused felons plead insanity?

What percentage of convictions for felony crimes are obtained through trial instead of plea bargaining?

Belief Perseverance: clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Framing: the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

People can be seduced by the way products are framed. People may buy more during a 25% off sale though they may spending more than if there hadn’t been a sale. Also people tend to overeat foods that are labeled “low fat’ believing that more of that food is the same as smaller servings of higher fat foods instead of realizing that the amount of fat they consume in either case is the same.

Practicum Let’s talk about our fears… Write down 5 things you are afraid of. Is this fear related to evolutionary history? Is the fear something you cannot control? Is the fear immediate? Is the fear the result of the availability heuristic? Let’s talk about our fears… Write down 5 things you are afraid of. Is this fear related to evolutionary history? Is the fear something you cannot control? Is the fear immediate? Is the fear the result of the availability heuristic?