The document discusses cognition, focusing on concepts, problem-solving methods, and creativity. It outlines various strategies for problem-solving, including trial and error, algorithms, and heuristics, while also identifying obstacles such as confirmation bias and fixation. Creativity is defined as the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas, emphasizing the importance of expertise, imaginative thinking, personality traits, intrinsic motivation, and a supportive environment.

1. Unit 7: Problem Solving,
Creativity, & Thinking

2. Thinking
• Remember, cognition
refers to all the mental
activities associated with
thinking, knowing,
remembering, and
communicating
• Very often in our
cognition, or thinking,
we create concepts
• A concept is a mental
grouping of similar
objects, events, ideas,
etc.

3. • Concepts keep things
simple, without them,
chaos would ensue
• For every concept, we
create a prototype, or an
example of the concept
• If we see an item, we
place it in a category in
our mind, but over time
that item will “shift”
towards our prototype.
• Concepts are very useful
to speed up our thinking,
but they can lead us
astray at times

4. Problem Solving
• There are different
ways to solve problems
o Trial and error:
‘guessing’ different
possibilities until we
stumble on the correct
answer

5. o Algorithms: step-by-step
procedures that
guarantee a solution

6. o Heuristics: simple
thinking strategy that
often allows us to make
judgments and solve
problems efficiently,
speedier but error-prone
• Availability heuristic: we
base our judgments on
how available mental
information is
• Representative
heuristic: judging the
likelihood of things in
terms of how well they
represent particular
prototypes
“SPLOYOCHYG”
“RTEWA” “KEJOR

7. o Insight: sudden and
often novel
realization of the
solution to a
problem

8. Obstacles to Problem
Solving
• There is often one of a
few things that affect our
cognition process when
we are trying to solve
problems: confirmation
bias and fixation
o Confirmation bias:
where we seek only the
evidence that verifies our
ideas, and deny
information that may
refute them

9. o Fixation: the inability to see
a problem from a ‘fresh’
perspective
o Mental set: approaching a
problem in a similar way that
has been successful in the
past
o Functional fixedness:
tendency to think of things
only in terms of their usual
functions
• Problem solving ability can
be boosted with more
divergent thinking, in lieu
of convergent thinking,
which leads us to be more
creative

10. Creativity
• Creativity is the ability to
produce ideas that are
both novel and valuable
• On most intelligence
tests, people who are
more creative do not
score any higher than
others

11. • According to Robert
Sternberg there are 5
components of
creativity:
o 1. Expertise: the more we
know about a
subject/area, the more
likely we are to create
something novel
o 2. Imaginative thinking
skills: allows us to see
things in a new and
unique way, recognize
patterns, and make
connections

12. o 3. Venturesome
personality: seeking new
experience, tolerates
ambiguity and risk, and
perseveres in
overcoming obstacles
o 4. Intrinsic motivation:
is being driven more by
interest and having a
passion for the subject,
internally motivated
o 5. Creative environment:
sparks, supports, and
refines creative ideas.