1. Thinking

2. Cognition
Refers to all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, processing, understanding, remembering, and communicating.
Does the way we think really matter?
Maybe by studying the way we think, we can eventually think better.

3. Concepts In order to think about the world, we form……..
A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people.
Concepts are similar to Piaget’s idea of….
Schemas
These animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of “dogs”.

4. Prototypes We base our concepts on ….
A mental image or best example of a category.
If a new object is similar to our prototype, we are better able to recognize it.

5. What is thought? There are basically two types of thought…
Our concept of men may include all of the following guys….
What is thought?
There are basically two types of thought…
Concepts (schemas)…usually based on prototypes.
Images
But they are based on our prototype (ideal) male…..

6. Problem Solving

7. How do we solve problems?

8. Trial and Error

9. Algorithms
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

10. Algorithms
They work but are sometimes impractical or too time consuming.
What are the benefits and detriments of algorithms?

11. Friendship Algorithm

12. Heuristics
A rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently.
Who would you trust to baby-sit your child?
A short cut (that can be prone to errors).
Your answer is based on your heuristic of their appearances.

13. Insight
A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem.
No real strategy involved

14. Do Animals Problem Solve?

15. Obstacles to problem solving

16. Confirmation Bias
A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions.
For example, if you believe that during a full moon there is an increase in admissions to the emergency room where you work, you will take notice of admissions during a full moon, but be inattentive to the moon when admissions occur during other nights of the month.

17. Match Problem
Can you arrange these six matches into four equilateral triangles?

18. Match Problem Fixation
The inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

19. The Jug Problem

20. B – A – 2C = desired amount of water
The Jug Problem
B – A – 2C = desired amount of water

21. Mental Set
A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially if it has worked in the past.
May or may not be a good thing.

22. The Jug Problem
For problems 6 and 7 (20 and 18), there are easier ways than using your formula from your mental set.

23. Functional Fixedness
The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions.
What are some things I can do with this quarter (other than spend it)?

24. Functional Fixedness

25. Types of Heuristics (That often lead to errors)

26. Representativeness Heuristic
Below is Linda. She loves books and hates loud noises. Is Linda a librarian or a beautician?
A rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they match our prototype.
Can cause us to ignore important information.
Chances are, she is a beautician!!!

27. Representativeness Heuristic
Who went to Harvard?
Dan is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (but he looks like he did).
Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind.
Like thinking everyone in a fraternity is preppy, or someone with glasses is nerdy, or a blonde is not smart.
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.

28. Availability Heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in our memory.
Although diseases kill many more people than accidents, it has been shown that people will judge accidents and diseases to be equally fatal. This is because accidents are more dramatic and are often written up in the paper or seen on the news on t.v., and are more available in memory than diseases.
If it comes to mind easily (maybe a vivid event) we presume it is common.

30. Overconfidence The tendency to be more confident than correct.
To overestimate the accuracy of your beliefs and judgments.
Considering “overconfidence” do you want to risk 1 million dollars on an audience poll?

32. Framing
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.
The way a problem is presented can drastically effect the way we view it.

33. Framing the Abortion Debate
Do you support a woman’s right to choose her medical procedures? Her right to privacy?
Do you support the murder of an unborn child?
How the question or debate is framed affects how we think about an issue.

34. Belief Bias
Democrats support free speech
The tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning.
Sometimes making invalid conclusions valid or vice versa.
2. Dictators are not Democrats.
3. Republicans are not Democrats.
Conclusion: Dictators and Republicans do not support free speech.

35. Belief Perseverance
Clinging to your initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

36. CREATIVITY Almost impossible to define.
Little correlation between creativity and intelligence.
Convergent Thinking versus Divergent Thinking

37. Convergent Thinking vs. Divergent Thinking
Divergent & Convergent thinking skills are both important aspects of intelligence, problem solving & critical thinking.

38. Convergent Thinking
Bringing facts & data together from various sources
Applying logic & knowledge to solve problems
Achieve objectives
Make informed decisions
The deductive logic of Sherlock Holmes is a good example of Convergent Thinking!

39. Divergent Thinking
Divergent thinking is thinking outwards instead of inward. It is the ability to develop original & unique ideas and then come up with a problem solution or achieve an objective.
Einstein was a strong divergent thinker!

40. Convergent & Divergent
Deductive reasoning (convergent) looks inward to find a solution—following the facts & data to determine the answer to a problem.
Not significantly different than having a spark of thought (divergent) & coming up with a solution. Some of the same mental processes are used.
Divergent & Convergent thinking skills are two sides to the same coin—of critical thinking.

41. Perils & Powers of Intuition
Intuition may be perilous if unchecked, but may also be extremely efficient and adaptive.
Smart intuition is born of experience
Gut intuitions
Terrific at instantly reading emotions in others’ faces
Not so good at assessing risk
Wisdom comes with knowing the difference.
Preview Question 4: How do smart thinkers use intuition?

42. 1. The belief that the probability of heads is higher after a long string of tails:
Is rational and accurate
Is an example of “gambler’s fallacy”
Reflects the influence of the representatives heuristics
B & C
Ans. D

43. 2. A heuristic is: A flash of insight
Guiding principle or rule of thumb used in problem solving
A methodical procedure for trying all possible solutions to a problem
A way of making a compensatory decision
Ans. B

44. 3. The more confident you are about your predictions of upcoming events in your life:
The more likely it is that your predictions are accurate
The less likely it is that your predictions are overconfident
The more likely it is that your predictions are overconfident
A & B
Ans. C