COGNITION
Area of psychology that refers
broadly to mental processes or
thinking
Problem Solving
Refers to the active efforts to discover
what must be done to achieve a goal
that is not readily attainable
Must go beyond given information to
overcome obstacles to reach
goal/solution
Types of Problems
Problems of Inducing Structure
– Must discover relations among parts of
problem
• Analogy
Merchant:Sell::Customer: ___
• Series Completion
+-XX++-X++--X++-??X
Problems of Arrangement
– Arrange parts in a way that satisfies some
criterion
– Often solved w/burst of insight
• Anagrams:
elsnsmea = salesmen
• String Problem p.
Problems of Transformation
– Must carry out a sequence of
transformations in order to reach a goal
• Hobbits & Orcs
• Water Jar Problem
Barriers to Problem Solving
Irrelevant Information: trying to use all info. to
solve a problem/numerical
Functional Fixedness: a tendency to perceive
only a limited number of uses for an object,
thus interfering with the process of problem
solving
Mental Set: the tendency to perceive and to
approach problems in certain ways--especially ones that worked in the past
Try to figure this out…
What is the pattern of the following
numbers:
•8
5
4
1
7
6
3
2
0
More barriers…
Unnecessary Constraints: perceiving
barriers that don’t exist
– People usually make assumptions that
impose unnecessary constraints on
problem-solving
• Nine-dot problem
Producing Strategies &
Evaluating Progress
Trial & Error: works best with limited choices
Algorithm: step-by-step problem-solving
method that guarantees a solution
Heuristics: short cuts to problem solving;
called “rule of thumb” used to simplify
problem
– Forming subgoals
– Analogy
– Changing representation of problem-good to use
when your initial attempts were unsuccessful
Unscramble the following
letters…
G S P L O Y O C H Y
– Algorithm
• All 90, 208 combinations
– Heuristic
• Throw out all YY combinations
Decision Making
Involves evaluating alternatives and
making choices among them
Simon’s theory of bounded rationality:
asserts people frequently make
irrational decisions that are less than
optimal
– We tend to use simple strategies that only
give us a few options where more are
available
Making Choices
Additive Strategy: list/weigh options (p. 231)
Elimination by Aspects: alternatives are
eliminated by evaluating attributes
We tend to use additive more often, however,
as more options/factors are added we switch
to elimination by aspects.
Decision Making Heuristics
Availability: easily retrieved information from LTM sways decision
• KLNRV: Do these letters appear more often in the 1st or 3rd
letter position?
• Is flying more dangerous than driving?
» People tend to overestimate the likelihood of
improbable events
Representativeness: resemblance to a stereotypic model used to
judge a new situation
• Steven is articulate, outgoing, artistic, and politically liberal. Is
it more likely that he:
– A) is an engineering major, or
– B) started out as an engineering major and switched to
journalism?
» Illustrates conjunction fallacy
Confirmation Bias: seeking evidence in
support of our beliefs; ignoring evidence that
is not
Overconfidence Effect: people put too much
faith in their estimates, beliefs, and decisions
– We tend to be more confident than accurate!
– The more confident we are about our predictions,
the more likely we are overconfident. (p. 237)