1. Thinking and Language

2. What is Thinking?
Mental activity involved in understanding, processing, and communicating information.

3. Symbols An object or act that stands for something else Letters
Memories
Drawings

4. Concepts Mental grouping
What do dogs, elephants, humans, pigs, and whales have in common?
Animals
Mammals
Learn concepts through experiences
Added to schema

5. Prototypes An example of a concept that best fits that concept to you.
Think of a shoe
What did you picture?
What color?
Think of the alphabet
Which alphabet?

6. Problem Solving

7. Algorithms Specific procedure E.X. Complex = Sudoku E.X. formulas F=ma
Y=mx+b

8. Heuristics Rules of thumb Shortcuts Not as reliable
I before e except after c
Lies

9. Problem Solving Methods
Trail and Error
Puzzle games
Key ring
Difference Reduction
Identify goal, where we are in relation to it, and the direction we must go to get it.
In video games

10. Problem Solving Methods
Means-End Analysis
Certain things we do (means) have certain consequences (end)
“What can I do to get there?”
Working Backward
Break a problem into parts
Examine the goal and work back to where you are

11. Problem Solving Methods
Analogies
Similarity between two or more items/events/situations
Use the same approach that solved another problem
How to measure volume

12. Insight Sudden understanding
Little conscious awareness of how we solved the problem
Chimps

13. Incubation Effect
Standing back from the problem for a while and some unconscious process works on it.

14. Obstacles to Problem Solving
Mental set
Tendency to respond to problems with an approach that was similar to another problem
Functional Fixedness
Tendency to think that an object is only useful in the function that it is used for.

15. Problem Solving and Creativity
Convergent Thinking – thought is limited to available facts.
Divergent Thinking – associates to the various elements of the problem (following “leads” in various direction).
Creative writing

16. Reasoning

17. Deductive Reasoning The conclusion is true if the premise is true.
A premise is an idea that provides basic info that allows us to draw conclusions.
South Korea is in Asia
The city of Seoul is in South Korea
Seoul is in Asia

18. Inductive Reasoning
Reason from individual cases or particular facts to read a general conclusion.
Conclusion can be wrong when premise is correct.
Countries near each other have similar languages.
Confirmation bias- Try to prove theory correct, when it actually needs to be disproven.
Often impossible to tell if inductive reasoning is true

19. Decision Making and Judgment

20. Weighing the Plusses and Minuses
List the pros and cons
Balance them
Opportunity Cost

21. Shortcuts in Decision Making and Judgment
Weighing the benefits and costs is not practical
Use heuristics
The Representatives Heuristic
Base things on representation (e.x. True False answers)
The Availability Heuristic
Make decision base on the immediate availibility of information.

22. Shortcuts The Anchoring Heuristic
Make decisions on certain ideas/standards they hold.
These ideas are an anchor.
Beliefs about religion, politics, and way of life are common anchors.

23. Wording affects decision making.
The Framing Effect
Wording affects decision making.
Light foods (Diet Coke)

24. Overconfidence Confidence in wrong decisions.
People are unaware of the weakness of evidence
Pay attention to examples that confirm and ignore examples that deny.
People tend to believe things that they think are true.

25. Wrap up
Find a partner. Spend the rest of class time trying to solve riddles. No phones, the winning duo will receive bathroom passes.