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Part 10 (Thinking)
- 1. PART 10 THINKING SECTIONS Ѱ 10 Psychology, TwelfthEdition (Myers, D. G.) © T.G. Lane 2018
- 2. PART9 • Differentiate betweenconcepts and prototypes. • Discuss how algorithms and heuristics can be used to solve problems. • Explain what effect insight has on the brain. • Discuss how intuition, availability heuristic, overconfidence, belief perseverance, and framing can effect one’s decisions and judgments. • Discuss how confirmation bias and mental sets interfere with solving a problem correctly. • Explain how convergent and divergent thinking differ and how humans develop creativity. © T.G. Lane 2018 MEMORY
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- 4. 1 What is cognition,and what are the functions of concepts? • Psychologists who study cognition focus on the mental act- ivities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating information; one of these activities is forming concepts which simplify one’s thinking (e.g. different chairs). © T.G. Lane 2018 PART10:THINKINGCONCEPTS • concept: a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people (i.e. into categories) • We often form our concepts by developing prototypes (e.g. a tomato– fruit or vegetable). • prototype: a mental image or best example of a category; a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories
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- 6. 2 © T.G. Lane2018 What cognitive strategies assist our problem solving, and what obsta- cles hinder it? • One tribute to one’s rationality is one’s problem-solving skills. PROBLEM SOLVING: STRATEGIES AND OBSTACLESPART9:THINKING • Some problems are solved using trial and error, while other problems may be solved using algorithms and heuristics. • algorithms: a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem • heuristics: a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error- prone
- 7. 2 © T.G. Lane2018 • Sometimes individuals puzzle over a problem and the pieces suddenly fall together in a flash of insight—an abrupt, true- seeming, and often satisfying solution. PROBLEM SOLVING: STRATEGIES AND OBSTACLESPART9:THINKING • insight: a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions • Teams of researchers have identified brain activity associated with sudden flashes of insight; insight strikes suddenly, with no prior sense of “getting warmer” or feeling close to a solution; when the answer pops into mind, one feels a happy sense of satisfaction.
- 8. 2 © T.G. Lane2018 • Inventive as humans are, other cognitive tendencies may lead one astray as a result of confirmation bias. PROBLEM SOLVING: STRATEGIES AND OBSTACLESPART9:THINKING • confirmation bias: a tendency to search for information that supports one’s preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence • Ordinary people, evade facts, become inconsistent, or systematically defend themselves against the threat of new information relevant to the issue (e.g. weapons of mass destruction). • Once one incorrectly represent a problem, it’s hard to restructure how one approach it.
- 9. 2 © T.G. Lane2018 • Humans often struggle with fixation—an inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective; a prime example of fixation is mental set. PROBLEM SOLVING: STRATEGIES AND OBSTACLESPART9:THINKING • mental set: a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past • A mental set predisposes how one thinks; sometimes this can be an obstacle to problem solving. Example: • O-T-T-F-?-?-? • J-F-M-A-?-?-?
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- 11. 3 • When makingeach day’s hundreds of judgments and decisions, one seldom takes the time and effort to reason systematically but rather relies on intuition. © T.G. Lane 2018 FORMING GOOD AND BAD DECISIONS… • intuition: an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning PART10:THINKING What is intuition, and how can the availability heuristic, overconfidence, belief prevalence, and framing influence our decisions and judgment?
- 12. 3 • When weneed to act quickly, the mental shortcuts we call heuristics enable snap judgments; thanks to the mind’s automatic information processing, intuitive judgments are instantaneous. © T.G. Lane 2018 FORMING GOOD AND BAD DECISIONS… • availability heuristic: estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), one presumes such events are common PART10:THINKING THE AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC • These generally helpful shortcuts can lead even the smartest people into dumb decision– an availability heuristic is at play (e.g. fear of flying vs. driving).
- 13. 3 • Sometimes one’sjudgments and decisions go off track simply because individuals are more confident (or overconfident) than correct (e.g. students underestimating the time needed to complete assignments). © T.G. Lane 2018 FORMING GOOD AND BAD DECISIONS… • overconfidence: the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments PART10:THINKING OVERCONFIDENCE • Given prompt and clear feedback, as weather forecasters receive after each day’s predictions, one can learn to be more realistic about the accuracy of one’s judgments.
- 14. 3 • Human’s overconfidenceis startling; equally so is one’s belief perseverance (e.g. views on capital punishment). © T.G. Lane 2018 FORMING GOOD AND BAD DECISIONS… • belief perseverance: clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited PART10:THINKING BELIEF PERSEVERANCE • Given prompt and clear feedback, as weather forecasters receive after each day’s predictions, one can learn to be more realistic about the accuracy of one’s judgments. • To rein in belief perseverance, a simple remedy exists: Consider the opposite (review evidence for the opposing side).
- 15. 3 • Along withbelief perseverance, framing can also effect one’s decisions and judgements on a particular matter. © T.G. Lane 2018 FORMING GOOD AND BAD DECISIONS… • framing: the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments PART10:THINKING THE EFFECTS OF FRAMING • Framing can be a powerful persuasion tool (e.g. condoms effectiveness; 95% success rate vs. 5% failure rate)
- 16. 4 • Intuition isanalysis “frozen into habit”. THE PERILS AND POWERS OF INTUITION © T.G. Lane 2018 THINKING CREATIVELYPART10:THINKING How do smart thinkers use intuition? • Intuition is usually adaptive, enabling quick reactions. • Intuition is huge. • It is implicit knowledge—what one has learned and recorded in one’s brains but can’t fully explain (e.g. skilled athletes react without thinking). • People’s automatic, unconscious/learned associations surface as gut feelings and help to protect one’s self (e.g. fear of a stranger that appears similar to a previous attacker). • By taking time to sleep on it, individuals let their unconscious mental machinery work.
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- 18. 4 © T.G. Lane2018 THINKING CREATIVELYPART10:THINKING • Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel (unique) and valuable • Intelligence tests, which are intended to assess aptitude and typically demand a single correct answer, require convergent thinking. • Creative tests require divergent thinking. • convergent thinking: narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution. • divergent thinking: expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions (e.g. uses for a brick)
- 19. 4 © T.G. Lane2018 THINKING CREATIVELYPART10:THINKING What is creativity, and what fosters it? • Some researchers believe that creativity has five components: 1. Expertise 2. Imaginative thinking skills 3. A venturesome personality 4. Intrinsic motivation 5. A creative environment • For those seeking to boost the creative process, research offers some ideas: 1. Develop one’s expertise 2. Allow time for incubation 3. Set aside time for the mind to roam freely 4. Experience other cultures and ways of thinking