Chapter 10 Thinking and Language:
Cognition, Problem Solving, and Causes
of Irrationality
Chapter 10’s Focus: The Cognitive
Perspective
Cognition refers to mental
activities associated with
processing, interpreting,
understanding, and
communicating information.
Cognitive Psychology studies:
Concept Formation
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Judgment Formation
How We Think
For Classification /Efficiency
Purposes Humans Create:
Concepts: mental grouping of
similar objects , events, ideas,
or people.
Concepts are often organized
into hierarchies.
Types of Concepts
How We Think
Humans usually form concepts by
creating a:
Prototype: mental image or best
example of a category. Allows us to
incorporate items easily.
To most people,
a robin is
“birdier” than a
Penguin
An Item’s Failure To Match Prototype Leads to
Trouble Classifying It.
Methods of Problem Solving
Trial and Error: guess and
check
 1.
Methods of Problem Solving
2. Algorithm:
methodical, logical
pattern or procedure
that guarantees solving
of a particular problem.
Looks at all possible
combinations or has
specific formula to
solve the problem.
Methods of Problem Solving
Heuristics: “common sense” or rule
of thumb strategies which allow us to
solve problems efficiently and usually
quickly.
Short-cuts that involve our
preconceptions.
 3.
Who would you
rather have baby
sit your child?
Answer is based
on your heuristic
for appearance.
Algorithms vs. Heuristics
Unscramble
SPLOYOCHYG
-Algorithms
go through all 907,208 combinations
-Heuristics would take out YY, etc.
Methods of Problem Solving
Insight: sudden
realization of how
to solve a
problem without
a real strategy
involved.
The Light-Bulb
going off when
you get an idea.
Kohler’s Chimpanzee Study Illustrates Insight
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Confirmation Bias: human tendency
to search for information that confirms
your preconceptions
Study: What is the pattern?
2
4
6
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Fixation: refers to the inability to see
a problem from a new perspective.
How would
you arrange
six matches to
form 4 equal
lateral
triangles?
Solution to Matchstick Problem
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Mental Set: tendency to approach
a particular problem in a particular
way.
You usually use strategies that have
been successful in the past at
solving problems even though it
may not be most efficient strategy
for the new problem.
The Three Jugs Problem
Solution to the Jugs Problem
B-A-2C=desired
amount of water.
Problem 6 & 7
had easier
solutions though
which were
probably
blocked by
mental set.
6 & 7 Solution
Candle Mounting Problem
Using these
materials,
how would
you mount
the candle
on a bulletin
board?
Candle Mounting Solution
Inability to solve
this problem may
result from
functional
fixedness. Have
to recognize that
a box need not
always serve as a
container
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Functional Fixedness: tendency to
think of objects only in terms of
their usual functions.
CAN
EQUAL
Possible Obstacles to Problem Solving
Representative Heuristic: “common
sense” way of judging likelihood of
things in terms of how well they seem
to match our prototypes.
May lead us to make incorrect
assumptions.
Example of Representative Heuristic Errors
Below is Linda, she loves books and hates loud
noises. Is she more likely to be a librarian or a
beautician?
Possible Obstacles to Problem Solving
Availability Heuristic: judging the
likelihood of an event based on how
readily the event comes to mind.
Availability Heuristic Can Lead Us to
Irrationally Fear Things Which Are Unlikely.
EX: People tend to be more fearful of the
dangers of airplane travel than of traveling in
an automobile.
EX: People tend to be more fearful of being
raped by a stranger even though it is more
likely they will be raped by someone they
know.
Overconfidence
Decision Making:
Overconfidence
When making decisions,
humans tend to be
overconfident in their
decisions and abilities.
On questions where 60%
of respondents answer
correctly, respondents
usually feel 75%
confident.
Influences on Decision Making
Framing: refers to
the way an issue is
posed; can
drastically effect
decision making.
Best way to market
ground beef:
25% fat OR 75%
lean?
Influences on Decision Making
 Belief Bias: the way preexisting beliefs can distort
logical reasoning; can
make invalid conclusions
seem valid, or valid
conclusions seem invalid.
 Decisions influenced by
subject matter.
Is the following a
valid
Conclusion:
1. Democrats support
free speech.
2. Dictators are not
democrats.
Conclusion: Dictators
do Not support free
speech.
Influences on Decision Making
Belief Perseverance:
Once we have
decided that we
believe something,
we will tend to keep
on believing it, even
in the face of
disconfirming
evidence.
Riddles1.
What is the next number in the series: 10,4,3,11,15….?
A.
14
B. 1
C. 17
D.12
2. What is so unusual about the sentence below
Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz
3. How can you physically stand behind your father while
he is standing behind you?
4. What occurs once in every minute, twice in every
moment, yet never in a thousand?
5. Can you translate the following into a sentence?
100204180