UNIT 7B
Thinking, Problem Solving, Creativity, and Language
“if you would allow
me any talent, it’s
simply this: I can for
whatever reason,
reach down into my
brain, feel around in
all the mush, find and
extract something
from my persona,
and then graft it into
an idea.”
Gary Larson
“Cognitive Psychologists study
the logical and sometimes
illogical ways in which we
create concepts, solve
problems, make decisions
and form judgments.”
From page 298
A concept is a mental grouping of
similar objects, events, ideas, or
people.
What previously learned term
does this make you think of?
Concepts
Piaget called the basic unit of cognition a
schema, and upon these schemas people
would base their conceptions of the world.
As people will process information they
will either assimilate it or accommodate it.
Assimilation involves putting the new
information into an existing category.
Accommodation requires one to change or
adapt a category to suit the new
information conflicted with or added to
the old category.
Relate the following terms:
Prototype
Category
Concept
Prototype: mental image/best example of a category
Category: classes of objects embodied in concepts
Concept: mental grouping of similar objects, events, or
people.
Let’s discuss
Algorithm
Heuristics
Insight
Problem Solving Strategies
Algorithm: a methodical, logical rule or
procedure that guarantees solving a
particular problem.
Heuristic: a simple thinking strategy that
often allows us to make judgments and
solve problems efficiently; usually
speedier but also more error-prone than
algorithms.
definitions
Insight: a sudden and
often novel
realization of the
solution to a problem;
it contrasts with
strategy-based
solutions.
Creativity: the
ability to produce
novel and
valuable ideas.
Let’s talk about creativity
This is an opinion/discussion question…
How do you
differentiate
creativity from
intelligence?
after picking up a Nobel Prize in
Stockholm, physicist Richard
Feynman stopped in Queens,
NY to look at his high school
record. “My grades were not as
good as I remembered, and my
IQ was 124.”
Great quote from our text
Open your books and let’s discuss the five
components of creativity…
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Expertise
Imaginative Thinking Skills
Venturesome Personality
Intrinsic Motivation
A Creative Environment
Page 301-302
A hunter sees a bear 1 mile due south. He
shoots and misses, and the bear runs off.
The hunter walks 1 mile south to where
the bear had been, then 1 mile due east ,
then 1 mile due north—at which point the
hunter is standing at exactly the same
spot form which the gun had been fired.
What color was the bear?
Question for you
Confirmation Bias: a
tendency to search for
information that supports our
preconceptions and to ignore
or distort contradictory
evidence.
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Fixation: the inability to see a problem
from a new perspective, by employing a
different mental set.
but what is a mental set:
a tendency to approach a problem in one
particular way, often a way that has been
successful in the past.
Functional Fixedness: the tendency to
think of things only in terms of their usual
functions. An impediment to problem
solving.
Representative Heuristic: judging the
likelihood of things in terms of how well
they seem to represent, or match
particular prototypes; may lead us to
ignore other relevant information.
see truck driver vs. professor on page 304
Key Vocabulary:
Representative Heuristic
The Availability Heuristic:
Estimating the likelihood of
events based on their
availability in memory; if
instances come readily to mind
(because of their vividness) we
presume such events are
common.
Annabelle is planning to apply to college
but has not yet decided where she will
apply. Describe how the following
psychological concepts and terms relate
to her choice.
Availability Heuristic
Taken directly from last year’s AP
Exam
Overconfidence: the
tendency to be more
confident than correct—
to overestimate the
accuracy of our beliefs
and judgments.
What percentage of
crimes in the US
would you estimate
are violent crimes
rather than property
crimes?
DEMO in Overconfidence
What
percentage of
accused felons
plead insanity?
What percentage of
convictions for felony
crimes are obtained
through trial instead
of plea bargaining?
Belief Perseverance:
clinging to one’s initial
conceptions after the
basis on which they
were formed has been
discredited
Framing: the way an
issue is posed; how an
issue is framed can
significantly affect
decisions and
judgments.
People can be seduced by the way
products are framed. People may buy
more during a 25% off sale though they
may spending more than if there hadn’t
been a sale. Also people tend to overeat
foods that are labeled “low fat’ believing
that more of that food is the same as
smaller servings of higher fat foods
instead of realizing that the amount of fat
they consume in either case is the same.
Let’s talk about our fears…




Write down 5 things you are afraid of.
Is this fear related to evolutionary
history?
Is the fear something you cannot control?
Is the fear immediate?
Is the fear the result of the availability
heuristic?
Practicum