Thinking and Cognition
The Cognitive Revolution
1950s: Psychology focuses again on the mind and mental processes
Cognition – the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Thinking involves manipulating information mentally as when we form concepts, solve problems, make
decisions and reflect in a creative or critical manner.
The Computer Analogy
Computers: An analogy for the mind /brain
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Expert Systems
The science of creating machines capable of performing activities that require intelligence when they
are done by people.
Do humans really work like computers?
Cognitive Psychologists
Cognitive psychologists study:
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Concepts
Problem solving
Decision making and reasoning
Judgment formation
Language
Creativity
Intelligence
Problem Solving
Problem solving is the active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal that is not readily
attainable.
Well-structured problems – a problem with a clear path to the solution (also called well-defined
problems) (e.g., programming a new DVR, balancing your checkbook)
Ill-structured problems – problems without a clear solution path (Ill-defined problems like world peace)
Steps in Problem Solving (Hayes, 1989)
1. Identify the problem
2. Defining the problem
3. Plan a solution
4. Execute the plan
5. Evaluate the plan
6. Evaluate the solution
Some Possible Strategies
 Insight
 Trial and error
 Algorithms
 Heuristics
 Subgoaling
 Analogies
Insight “AHA”
Insight occurs when people suddenly discover the correct solution to a problem after struggling with it
for a while
Humans and animals have insight.
Often seems to be no strategy at all
Brain imaging and EEG studies suggest that when an insight strikes (the “Aha” experience), it activates
the right temporal cortex (Jung-Beeman, 2004).
The time between not knowing the solution and realizing it is 0.3 seconds.
Trial and Error
Trying possible solutions sequentially and discarding those that are in error until one works
 Tends to be inefficient
 Often not very practical
Algorithms
Algorithms: Methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantee solving a particular problem.
Strategy used by computers for solving problems
Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a solution.
Computers use algorithms.
Heuristics - A guiding principle or “rule of thumb” used in solving problems or making decisions
Simple, thinking strategies that allow us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently
Less time consuming, but more error-prone than algorithms.
Heuristics make it easier for us to use simple principles to arrive at solutions to problems.
Forming Subgoals
Subgoaling involves setting intermediate goals or defining intermediate problems that put us in a better
position for reaching the final goal or solution
Barriers to Problem Solving
Fixation: An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This impedes problem solving. Two
examples of fixation are mental set and functional fixedness.
Mental Set - A mental set exists when people persist in using problem-solving strategies that have
worked in the past
A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially if that way was successful in the past.
Functional Fixedness - A tendency to perceive of an item only in terms of its most common use
Scientific Method and Problem Solving
 It is often important to view a problem from more than one perspective.
 Prior assumptions concerning data are dangerous.
 Yes/no questions, properly formed, yield highly useful data.
 Details that do not fit expected patterns are often of crucial importance.
 Persistence is a key quality in problem solving.
 By expecting complicated answers, simple ones may be overlooked.
 Science is an enterprise that is frustrating, exciting, and requires considerable courage. (Hatch,
1990)