Do Now List non-traditional uses for a spoon, a wad a gum, and a paper clip.

Unit 7B Cognition : Thinking, Problem Solving, Creativity, & Language Thinking, Problem Solving, & Creativity – Part 1

Cognition Cognition Cognitive Psychologists The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating Cognitive Psychologists Study these activities How we create concepts How we solve problems How we make decisions How we form judgements

Concepts Concepts mental groupings of objects, events or people that are similar Allow us to classify newly encountered objects on the basis of our past experience We create categories/hierarchies so we can use the info in there efficiently Prototypes: typical, highly representative example of a concept… usually a mental image or best example of the concept EX: Bird = small, feathery, flying creature Concepts speed up and guide our thinking

Solving Problems Strategies Trial and Error Algorithms: step by step procedure A rule Usually guarantees success EX: Shoe un-tied= make a tree, chase bunny around tree, into the whole, pull tight Heuristic a cognitive shortcut that MIGHT lead to a solution More error prone Faster EX: mental math rather than writing it out Insight sudden awareness of how items are related and seeing the solution to the problem You often need some prior experience and initial trial-and-error to gain insight

Solving Problems - Creativity Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas If you are creativity you may be able to arrive at a conclusion in a different manner Intelligence requires convergent thinking, creativity requires divergent thinking 5 Components Expertise having a well developed knowledge base helps build ideas , images and phrases that we would normally block out, in essence the more we have to build the better we can put it all together Imaginative thinking skills the ability to see things in novel ways, this helps you make connects and see unnoticed patterns A vertursome personality having the desire to seek new experiences, being able to tolerate the unknown, overcome obstacles Intrinsic motivation Self driven/ driven by your own interests A creative environment A place that supports curiosity and exploration

Obstacles to Problem Solving Confirmation Bias the want to confirm rather than refute the ideas that we already have Fixation inability to see a problem from a new perspective Mental Set: tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist make it impossible for us to see new ways to solve the problem EX: the only way to start a fire is with a match Functional Fixedness tendency to think of an object only in terms of its typical use EX: a shoe can only be used to protect the feet while walking as opposed to using it as a hammer

Today Creative Thinking Activity Quiz #1-3 Begin HW HW= Qs # 5-7 (Thinking… - Part 2 Making decisions & Forming Judgements)