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ThinkingThinking

CognitionCognition• thinking, knowing, thinking, knowing, remembering, problem remembering, problem

solving, and decision makingsolving, and decision making

• Does the way we think really matter?

Of Course it does!!!!

Maybe we can become super Thinkers if we understand the process of thinking!!!

How do I become a super thinker you ask…How do I become a super thinker you ask…• In order to think about the world, the 1st step is to form

something called ConceptsConcepts– A mental categorymental category of similar objects, events or ideas– Concepts are similar to Piaget’s idea of…schemasschemas

• These animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of ????

• Lets try another…

What is the Concept??? One or Two??

Sometimes we use our concepts of things to define a PrototypePrototype

• A best example of a concept (category)

• If a new object is similar to our prototype, we are better able to recognize it

• If that is your prototype what about these people?

What happens if something

doesn’t fit your prototype??

Prototype

Man

Differs from person toperson based on experience

Concept HierarchyConcept Hierarchy• Different levelslevels of thinking

– start with a generalgeneral concept and then get more complexmore complex– Helps us understand our world better

• When our thinking is simplesimple we first master the simplesimple concepts – “Hey look at that truck!!”

• Then when our thinking becomes more sophisticatedsophisticated we can understand more complexcomplex concepts – “No, that is not a truck it is a Ford crossover SUV”

• Vehicles cars or trucks cars sports car or sedan sports car corvette

How do we solve thinking problems?

Trial and ErrorTrial and Error• TryingTrying out different solutions until until

one worksone works

• This is good for solving problems when??– Only practical when the number of

solutions is pretty small

AlgorithmsAlgorithms• A step by stepstep by step set of rulesrules that will always

lead to a correct solution or ending

• Example – following model directions

• Good and Bad?? – always will produce a solution –– but could take very very long

HeuristicsHeuristics• A short cutshort cut to a solution

• Does not guarantee a solution, but you will arrive at one more quickly

• Good and Bad??– May be quick– But may be prone to errors

Insight and IntuitionInsight and Intuition• A sudden solutionsudden solution to a problem

AHA!! I’ve Got It!!!AHA!! I’ve Got It!!!• No real strategy involved

Move only 3 dots to makeA downward facing triangle

Jokes, Riddles, and Insight

Obstacles to Obstacles to Problem SolvingProblem Solving

What stops us from figuring things out??What stops us from figuring things out??

OPS’sOPS’s

Irrelevant InformationIrrelevant Information• Sometimes there is just too much stuff and we have to

figure out what is needed and what is fluff

– Example – Can you solve?

• In the Thompson family there are five brothers, and each brother has one sister. If you count Mrs. Thompson, how many females are there in the Thompson family? Click to find the answer

– 2

• Fifteen percent of the people in Topeka have unlisted telephone numbers. You select 200 names at random from the Topeka phone book. How many of these people can be expected to have unlisted phone numbers? Click to find the answer

– 0

OPS #1OPS #1

Confirmation and Belief Confirmation and Belief BiasBias

• Preexisting beliefs distort logical reasoning…because…– We only search for information that confirms our

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

• Why can be a problem for juries??Why can be a problem for juries??

Belief PerseveranceBelief Perseverance• Clinging to your initial conceptions after

the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

OPS #2OPS #2

FixationFixation• We can’t solve a problem because we can’t

see the problem in a new way

OPS #3OPS #3

Mental SetMental Set• The tendency to rely on strategies that

worked in the past– Because things worked in the past we think they will work

again or may be the only way things work

Why do we suffer from Fixation??

FixationFixation

Without lifting yourpencil from the paper, Draw no more than four

Lines that will crossThrough all nine dots.

See also the Tower of Hanoi Problem

OPS #3OPS #3

Functional FixednessFunctional 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)?

OPS #4OPS #4

How would you grasp both How would you grasp both strings at the same time?strings at the same time?

Mount a candle on the wall with Mount a candle on the wall with the items shown.the items shown.

OverconfidenceOverconfidence

• The tendency to be more confident than correct

• To overestimate the accuracy of your beliefs and judgments.

OPS #5OPS #5

I’m the Greatest of all time!!!

Framing Framing

• The way statement is posed or how choices are structured can often confuse us – This can block us from making good decisions and

judgments

• A surgeon has 95% success rate or a 5% death rate? – Who would you feel comfortable with??

• What would happen if ground beef were marketed as 20% fat instead of 80% lean?

OPS #6OPS #6

• AA - a sure gain of $240 • BB – a 25% chance of winning $1000

and a 75% chance of winning nothing

• AA – a sure loss of $750• BB – a 75% chance of losing $1000

and a 25% chance of losing nothing

Decisions Involving UncertaintyDecisions Involving Uncertainty

How do we make a decision when we are uncertain and not sure what to do??

• We often use a heuristic…(remember what these are??)– They will help us solve problems and reach

answers but often lead to errors and bad decisions

1. Availability Heuristic1. Availability Heuristic

2. Representativeness Heuristic2. Representativeness Heuristic

Availability HeuristicAvailability Heuristic• We base our judgments (or decisions) on the availability of

information in our memories– If instances of an event come to mind easily we assume such events are

common

Ex: Although car accidents kill many more people than airplane crashes, it has been shown that people will judge airplane crashes to be more of an issue.This is because airplane crashes 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 car crashes

Representativeness HeuristicRepresentativeness Heuristic• A rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in

terms of how well they match our prototype

Ex: Below is Linda. She loves books and hates loud noises. Is Linda a librarian or a beautician?–Chances are she is a beautician.

Why? Even though the person described maybe be more representative of librarians, statistically there is a better chance she is a beautician because of the number of beauticians out there.

Creativity and ThinkingCreativity and Thinking• Creativity

– there is no real definition of creativity but often it is looked at as the ability to generate novel, valuable, useful ideas

– Must have a minimum level of intelligence to be creative, but not all intelligent people are creative

Divergent vs. Convergent ThinkingDivergent vs. Convergent Thinking• DivergentDivergent

– people’s thoughts go in different directions as they try to generate many different solutions to a problem

• ConvergentConvergent – people narrow down a list of possibilities to arrive at a

single right answer

Divergent thinking is generally associated more with creativitycreativity