1. 1 Thinking Module 23

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3. 3 Thinking Overview Thinking  Concepts  Solving Problems  Making Decisions and Forming Judgments

4. 4 Thinking  Cognition  mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating  Cognitive Psychologists  study these mental activities  concept formation  problem solving  decision making  judgment formation

5. 5 Thinking  Concept  mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

6. 6 In Class Exercise on Prototypes Number your paper 1-10

7. 7 Triangle (definition) Bird (mental image) Daniel J. Cox/ Getty Images J. Messerschmidt/ The Picture Cube Prototype Mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

8. 8 Category Hierarchies We organize concepts into category hierarchies. Courtesy of Christine Brune

9. 9 Categories Once we place an item in a category, our memory shifts toward the category prototype. A computer generated face that was 70 percent Caucasian led people to classify it as Caucasian. Courtesy of Oliver Corneille

10. 10 Problem Solving Problem solving strategies include: 1.Trial and Error 2.Algorithms 3.Heuristics 4.Insight

11. 11 Thinking  Algorithm  methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem  contrasts with the usually speedier–but also more error-prone- -use of heuristics

12. 12 Algorithms Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a solution. Computers use algorithms. S P L O Y O C H Y G If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word using an algorithmic approach, we would face 907,200 possibilities.

13. 13 Heuristics Heuristics are mental shortcuts that allow us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently. Heuristics are less time consuming, but more error-prone than algorithms. Heuristics with the psych files Heuristics with the psych files 15:12 B2M Productions/Digital Version/Getty Images

14. 14 Heuristics Heuristics make it easier for us to use simple principles to arrive at solutions to problems. S P L O Y O C H Y G S P L O Y O C H G YP S L O Y O C H G YP S Y C H O L O G Y Put a Y at the end, and see if the word begins to make sense.

15. 15 Insight Insight involves a sudden novel realization of a solution to a problem. Humans and animals have insight. Chimp Problem solving: LinkLink 1:03 Crow Problem solving LinkLink :48 Rook Prob solving LinkLink 1:40 Grande using boxes to obtain food

16. 16 Try to connect these dots with three lines, without lifting your pencil from the paper or retracing any of the lines you draw. You must also end the drawing where you began it. You can take up to three minutes.

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19. 19 Insight (it can be seen in the brain before you are conscious of it) Brain imaging and EEG studies suggest that when an insight strikes (the “Aha” experience), it activates the right temporal cortex (Jung- Beeman & others, 2004). The time between not knowing the solution and responding is about 0.3 seconds. From Mark Jung-Beekman, Northwestern University and John Kounios, Drexel University

20. 20 Thought Puzzle #1 Predict the next number in this sequence. In your notes, write down your thought process. Include any “dead ends.” Don’t talk about your process or your answer so that everyone can work on the puzzle. Sequence 859172 ____

21. 21 Thought Puzzle #1 Sequence 859172 ____ Now think about the words rather than the numbers Eight Five Nine One Seven Two _____

22. 22 Thought Puzzle #1 What got in the way of solving this problem? Mental Set - Old pattern of problem solving is applied to a new problem. Functional Fixedness – A tendency to think about familiar objects in familiar ways which may prevent more creative use of those objects to solve the problem.

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25. Where should we put the armor… where are the missing bullet holes??? 25 Section of planeBullet holes per square foot Engine1.11 Fuselagel.73 Fuel system1.55 Rest of the plane1.8

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30. 30 Thought Puzzle #2 – Connect the dots with no more than 4 straight lines without lifting your pen. *** *** ***

31. 31 Thought Puzzle #2 – Connect the dots with no more than 4 straight lines without lifting your pen. *** *** ***

32. 32 Thought Puzzle #2 – Connect the dots with no more than 4 straight lines without lifting your pen. Many people suffer from the Mental Set which states that they must stay within the square defined by the dots. Functional Fixedness keeps most people in a “connect the dots” mode.

33. 33 What path will the marble follow when it leaves the curved tube? Figure 8.7: Applying a Mental Model

34. 34 Are these pairs of objects the same or different? Manipulating Images Return

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36. 36 Obstacles in Solving Problems Confirmation Bias: A tendency to search for information that confirms a personal bias. 2 – 4 – 6 Discover the rule

37. 37 Fixation Fixation: An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This impedes problem solving and creativity. An example of fixation is functional fixedness. The Matchstick Problem: How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles? From “Problem Solving” by M. Scheerer. Copyright © 1963 by Scientific American, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

38. 38 Functional Fixedness A tendency to think only of the familiar functions of an object. ? Problem: Tie the two ropes together. Use a screw driver, cotton balls and a matchbox.

39. 39 Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board? Candle-Mounting Problem From “Problem Solving” by M. Scheerer. Copyright © 1963 by Scientific American, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

40. 40 The Three-Jugs Problem  Using jugs A, B, and C, with the capacities shown, how would you measure out the volumes indicated?

41. 41 Fig. 8-6, p. 311

42. 42 Fig. 8-7, p. 312

43. 43 The Matchstick Problem: Solution From “Problem Solving” by M. Scheerer. Copyright © 1963 by Scientific American, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

44. 44 Candle-Mounting Problem: Solution

45. 45 The Three-Jugs Problem  Solution: a) All seven problems can be solved by the equation shown in (a): B - A - 2C = desired volume.  b) But simpler solutions exist for problems 6 and 7, such as A - C for problem 6.

46. 46 Making Decision & Forming Judgments Each day we make hundreds of judgments and decisions based on our intuition, seldom using systematic reasoning. LinkLink How to make better decisions

47. 47 Heuristics There are two kinds of heuristics, representative heuristics and availability heuristics. Amos Tversky Daniel Kahneman Courtesy of Greymeyer Award, University of Louisville and the Tversky family Courtesy of Greymeyer Award, University of Louisville and Daniel Kahneman

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49. 49 Probability that that person is a truck driver is far greater than an ivy league professor just because there are more truck drivers than such professors. Representativeness Heuristic Judging the likelihood of things or objects in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, a particular prototype. If you meet a slim, short, man who wears glasses and likes poetry, what do you think his profession would be? More likely an ivy league classics professor or a truck driver?

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52. 52 Heuristics  Availability Heuristic  estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory  if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common  Example: airplane crash

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55. 55 Overconfidence Overconfidence: tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments. In the stock market, both the seller and the buyer may be confident about their decisions on a stock. Mind over Money at NOVA Mind over Money at NOVA 52:52

56. 56 …overconfidence increases with action. As we actively engage, we become more confident in what we are doing.

57. 57 You might steal more when asked NOT to… Sign posted that condemned the fact that many visitors steal the wood from Petrified Forest National Park. In the absence of the sign 3% stole wood In the presence of the sign 8% stole wood Messages that condemn yet highlight undesired social norms are common, and that they invite counterproductive results

58. 58 Exaggerated Fear Exaggerated fear: about what may happen. Such fears may be unfounded. This is opposite of having overconfidence. The 9/11 attacks led to a decline in air travel due to fear. AP/ Wide World Photos

59. 59 We often fear the wrong things… What is most likely to kill someone your age…15-24. –Murder? –Criminal violence? –Accidents, mostly car wrecks… As a group you are more likely to kill yourself than to be murdered! Are you more likely to be burglarized or steal from your work?

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61. California State University Professor Mike Orkin points out that if a person drives ten miles to buy a lotto ticket, he or she is about sixteen times more likely to get killed in a car crash than to win the lotto. The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution by Sean B. Carroll 61

62. 62 Thinking  Framing  the way an issue is posed  how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments  Example: What is the best way to market ground beef--as 25% fat or 75% lean?

63. 63 Thinking and Belief  Belief Bias  the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning  sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid or valid conclusions seem invalid  Belief Perseverance  clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited Magic and the Brain at PBS

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66. 66 Belief Bias example God is love. Love is blind Ray Charles is blind. Ray Charles is God. Anonymous graffiti

67. 67 Fluency Effect If the form of information is difficult to assimilate, that affects our judgments about the substance of that information. Subjects rated the exercise as harder and said they were less likely to try it when the instructions were printed in a font that was hard to read.

68. 68 Perils & Powers of Intuition Intuition may be perilous if unchecked, but may also be extremely efficient and adaptive…it allows quick decisions. Irrational behavior link Myers on Intuition

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70. 70 Predictably Irrational The power of FREE! Truffle at 15 cents Kiss at 1 cent, 73% chose truffle 27% chose kiss Truffle at 14 cents Kiss at free 31% chose truffle 69% chose kiss The price difference in both cases is the same… 14 cents So…free can make you miss something…

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