Unit 7: Problem Solving, Creativity, & Thinking

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.

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

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

Algorithms: step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution

“SPLOYOCHYG” “RTEWA” “KEJOR 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

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

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 Confirmation bias: where we seek only the evidence that verifies our ideas, and deny information that may refute them

Fixation: the inability to see a problem from a ‘fresh’ perspective Mental set: approaching a problem in a similar way that has been successful in the past 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

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

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

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