Thinking Cognition Another term for thinking knowing and

Thinking

Cognition • Another term for thinking, knowing and remembering Does the way we think really matter? Maybe by studying the way we think, we can eventually think better.

In order to think about the world, we form……. . Concepts • A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people. • Concepts are similar to Piaget’s idea of…. Schemas These animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of “dogs”.

We base our concepts on …. Prototypes • A mental image or best example of a category. • If a new object is similar to our prototype, we are better able to recognize it. If this was my prototype of a man; then what am I?

PROTOTYPES of these concepts-- BIRDS? FISH? NURSE? IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITY?

PENGUINS GOOSE ROBIN OSTRICH SEAHORSE Brown University Columbia University Cornell University Dartmouth College Harvard University of Pennsylvania Princeton University Yale University

How do we solve problems?

Trial and Error

Algorithms • A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. What are the benefits and detriments of algorithms?

Heuristics Who would you trust to baby-sit your child? • A rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently. • A short cut (that can be prone to errors). Your answer is based on your heuristic of their appearances.

Read each question and circle the choice you think is correct. Which of the following is the more frequent cause of death in the World? 1. all accidents or strokes? 2. asthma or war? 3. alcohol or diabetes? 4. motor vehicle (car, truck, bus) accidents or HIV/AIDS? 5. suicide or tuberculosis? 6. malaria or drowning? Which country has the larger population? 7. Morocco or Saudi Arabia? 8. Australia or Myanmar? 9. Vietnam or South Africa ? 10. Libya or Sri Lanka? 11. Tanzania or Canada ? Which city has the higher murder rate (per capita)? 12. Gary, IN or Detroit, MI, ? 13. Chicago, IL, or Baltimore, MD? 14. Manhattan, NY, or St. Louis, MO? 15. Boston, MA, or Newark, NJ? 16. Milwaukee, WI or Dallas, TX, ? 17. San Francisco, CA, or Durham, NC?

The answers are as follows, with the correct answers in bold: More frequent cause of death All accidents (112, 012) or strokes (150, 074 deaths per 100, 00) War (2. 8 deaths per 100, 000) or asthma (3. 9 deaths per 100, 000) Alcohol (1. 5 deaths per 100, 000) or diabetes (15. 9 deaths per 100, 000) Motor vehicle accidents (19. 1 deaths per 100, 000) or HIV/AIDS (44. 6 deaths per 100, 000) Suicide (14. 0 deaths per 100, 000) or tuberculosis (25. 2 deaths per 100, 000) Drowning (6. 1 deaths per 100, 000) or malaria (20. 4 deaths per 100, 000) Source: National Center for Health Statistics (2004) and WHO (2004). Larger population Morocco (31. 2 million) or Saudi Arabia (24. 7 million) Myanmar (48. 7 million) or Australia (21. 1 million) Vietnam (87. 3 million) or South Africa (48. 5 million) Sri Lanka (19. 2 million) or Libya (6. 1 million) Tanzania (40. 4 million) or Canada (33. 0 million) Source: Respective nations national census and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2007). Higher murder rate Detroit, MI (42 murders) or Gary, IN (58) Chicago, IL (15. 6) or Baltimore, MD (42) Manhattan, NY (6. 6) or St. Louis, MO (37. 9) Boston, MA (12. 9) or Newark, NJ (34. 5) Dallas, TX (16. 4) or Milwaukee, WI (20. 6) San Francisco, CA (12. 8) or Durham, NC (17. 1) Source: FBI Uniform Crime reports.

Unscramble SPLOYOCHYG

Algorithm all 907, 208 combinations Heuristic throw out all YY combinations other heuristics? PSYCHOLOGY !

Representativeness Heuristic judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes may lead one to ignore other relevant information

Availability Heuristic estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common Example: airplane crash

Insight • A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem. • No real strategy involved

Obstacles to problem solving

Confirmation Bias • A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions. For example, if you believe that during a full moon there is an increase in admissions to the emergency room where you work, you will take notice of admissions during a full moon, but be inattentive to the moon when admissions occur during other nights of the month.

Match Problem Can you arrange these six matches into four equilateral triangles?

Match Problem Fixation • The inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

Mental Set • A tendency to approach a problem in the same predictable way, especially if it has worked in the past. • May or may not be a good thing.

Functional Fixedness • The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions. What are some things I can do with this quarter (other than spend it)?

Types of Heuristics (That often lead to errors)

Representativeness Heuristic • A rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they match our prototype. • Can cause us to ignore important information. Below is Linda. She loves books and hates loud noises. Is Linda a librarian or a beautician? Chances are, she is a beautician!!!

Availability Heuristic Although diseases kill many more people than accidents, it has been shown that people will judge accidents and diseases to be equally fatal. This is because accidents are more dramatic and are often written up in the paper or seen on the news on t. v. , and are more available in memory than diseases. • Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in our memory. • If it comes to mind easily (maybe a vivid event) we presume it is common.

Overconfidence • The tendency to be more confident than correct. • To overestimate the accuracy of your beliefs and judgments. Considering “overconfidence” who you want to risk 1 million dollars on an audience poll?

Framing • The way an issued is posed. • It can have drastic effects on your decisions and How do you think framing will play a part judgements in this years election?

Belief Bias • The tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning. Sometimes making invalid conclusions 2. • Dictators are not valid or vice versa. Democrats. Conclusion: Dictators do not support free speech.

Belief Perseverance • Clinging to your initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. All Red Sox fans who still believe that this is their year are suffering from belief perseverance.