Thinking or Cognition - Without prototypes, people might

have to examine unfamiliar

- From a Latin word meaning “to elements as if they were totally new
know”
- Mental activity that goes on in the Proposition
brain when a person is organizing
and attempting to understand - A unit of meaning that is made up
information and communicating concepts and expresses a single idea
information to others - Express nearly any sort knowledge
- is made possible through units of or belief
though units of thought that include - Link together in complicated
symbols, concepts, and prototypes network of knowledge, association,
beliefs, and expectations
ELEMENTS OF THINKING OR COGNITION
2 TYPES OF THINKING
- Concepts are idea that represent a
class or category of objects, events, System 1
or activities - Which involves making quick
Symbol decisions and using cognitive
shortcuts, is guided by our innate
- is an object or an act that stands for abilities and personal experiences.
something else.
- Letters and words are symbols. System 2
- Mental images are symbols. - Which is relatively slow, analytical,
- Help us think about things that are and rule based, is dependent more
not present on our formal educational
Mental Images experiences.

- Mental representations that stand 3 KINDS OF THINKING

for objects or events and have a - In general people think in three
picture-like party ways: convergent, divergent, and
- (representations that stands in for metacognitive
objects or events and have a
picture-like quality) are on of 1. Cognitive Thinking
several tools used in the thought - Is thought limited to facts
process - We use convergent thinking to find
- Especially visual images, picture in one solution for a problem or task
the mind’s eye are also important in - Developing rules and following
thinking & in the construction of the them is one example of convergent
cognitive schema thinking
Prototype - Is not particularly creative

- Is an example of a concept that best 2. Divergent Thinking

exemplifies the characteristics of - Allows the mind to associate more
that concept freely to various elements of a
- Help us categorize the world and problem
process information about it - Is at the base of creativity
 - Typically results in multiple - Inductive Reasoning – in which the
solutions conclusion probably follows from
the premises but could conceivably
3. Metacognition be false
- Consist of planning, evaluating, and
monitoring mental activities Informal Reasoning
- It is thinking about thinking - There may be no clearly correct
- Has 2 different aspects: solution; many approaches,
metacognitive knowledge and viewpoints, or possible solutions
metacognitive experiences may compete, and you may have to
HOW CONSCIOUS IS THOUGHT? decide which one is more
reasonable
Subconscious Processes - Heuristics – a rule of thumb that
suggests a course of action without
- Lie outside the awareness but can guaranteeing an optimal solution
be brought into consciousness when - Dialectical Reasoning – a process
necessary in which opposing facts or ideas are
Nonconscious Processes weighed and compared, with a view
to determining the best solution or
- Remain outside of awareness to resolving differences
- Example, people rely on “intuition”,
hunches and gut feelings, rather PROBLEM-SOLVING AND DECISION-
than conscious reasoning to make MAKING STRATEGIES
decisions Problem Solving
REASONING RATIONALLY - Process of cognition that occurs
Reasoning when a goal must be reached by
thinking and behaving in certain
- Is a purposeful mental activity that ways
involves operating on information in
order to reach conclusion Decision Making

Formal Reasoning - Process of cognition that involves

identifying, evaluating, and choosing
- The information needed for drawing among several alternatives
a conclusion or reaching a solution
is specified clearly, and there is a *Thinking and behaving in certain ways
single right (or best) answer to reach a goal
- Algorithm – a problem-solving *There are several different ways in
strategy guaranteed to produce a which people can think in order to solve
solution even if the user does not problems:
know how it works
- Deductive Reasoning – involves
drawing conclusions from a set of
observations or propositions
(premises)
1. Trial and Error (Mechanical Solutions) *Cognitive Thinking
aka Mechanical Solution
 The logical method for problem
 problem-solving method in which  A problem is seen as having only
one possible solution after another one answer, and all lines of thinking
is tried until a successful one is will eventually lead to (converge on)
found that single answer by using previous
knowledge and logic
2. Algorithms
Reflective Judgement
 are specific, step-by-step
procedures for solving certain types - Is basically what we have called
of problems critical thinking
- Ability to question assumptions,
Heuristics evaluate, and integrate evidences,
Representativeness Heuristic relate that evidence to a theory or
opinion, consider alternative
- Assumption that any objects interpretations, and reach
(or person) sharing conclusions that can be defended as
characteristics with the reasonable or plausible, while
members of a particular standing ready to reassess those
category is also a member of conclusions in the face of new
that category information

Availability Heuristic BARRIERS TO REASONING RATIONALLY

- Estimating the frequency or Functional Fixedness

likelihood of an events based on
how easy it is to recall relevant - Only thinking about objects in terms
information from memory or of their typical uses
how easy it is for us to think of Exaggerating the Improbable
related examples
- Exaggerate the probability of very
*Insight rare events
 When the solution to a problem Avoid Loss
seems to come suddenly to mind
 Often takes the form of an “aha!” - To avoid minimize risks & losses
moment-the solution seems to come when we make decisions
in a flash
The Confirmation Bias
*Creativity
- Paying attention only to evidence
 The process of solving problems by that confirms their belief and
combining ideas or behavior in new finding fault with evidence or
ways arguments that point in a different
direction
Biases Due to Mental Sets

- Mental Set – a tendency to solve

problems using procedures that
worked before on similar problems

The Hindsight Bias

- The tendency to over estimate one’s

ability to have predicted an event
once the outcome is known; the I “I
knew it all along” phenomenon