Cognition

• The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

• In general, cognition = thinking.

What is thought?

• There are basically two types of thought…

1. Concepts (schemas)…usually based on prototypes.

2. Images

Our concept of men may include all of the following guys….

But they are based on our prototype (ideal) male…..

Problem Solving

Unscramble

S P L O Y O C H Y G

Algorithmall 907,208

combinations Heuristic

throw out all YY combinations

other heuristics?

PSYCHOLOGY !

Algorithms• A rule that

guarantees the right solution to a problem.

• Usually by using a formula.

• They work but are sometimes impractical.

Heuristics

• A rule of thumb that generally, but not always, can be used to make a judgment to solve a problem.

• It is fast, but is…• Prone to errors• Two major types of

heuristics….

Representativeness Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes.

• E.G. - thinking everyone from WWHS is a redneck/hunter, or someone with glasses is nerdy, or a blonde is not smart.

• If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence.

• She is an economics major at Harvard University.

Who went to Harvard?

Dan is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (but he looks like he did).

Availability Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on the availability of information in memory.

Which city has the highest murder rate?

New York, NY

Philadelphia, PA

The crime rate of Philadelphia, PA is much higher than that of New York City. Click here for the 2013 stats.

Read each question and decide 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. electrocution or asthma? 3. homocide or diabetes? 4. motor vehicle (car, truck, bus) accidents or colon cancer? 5. leukemia or drowning?

Which country has the larger population? 6. Morocco or Saudi Arabia? 7. Australia or Myanmar? 8. Vietnam or South Africa ? 9. Libya or Sri Lanka?

10. Tanzania or Iraq ?

Which city has the higher murder rate (per capita)?11. San Juan or Detroit ?12. Chicago or Baltimore?13. Manhattan or Gary, IN?14. Boston or New Haven, CT?15. Flint, MI or Dallas ?16. San Francisco or Durham, NC?

Read each question and decide the choice you think is correct.Which of the following is the more frequent cause of death in the World?

1. all accidents (35.9) or strokes (61.4)?2. asthma (1.7) or electrocution (.07)?3. homocide (5.7) or diabetes (23.6)?4. motor vehicle (car, truck, bus) accidents (15.6) or colon

cancer (20.8)?5. leukemia (6.2) or drowning (1.4) ?

Which country has the larger population?6. Morocco (31m) or Saudi Arabia (23m)?7. Australia (19m) or Myanmar (42m)?8. Vietnam (80m) or South Africa (44m ?9. Libya (5m) or Sri Lanka (19m)?10. Tanzania (36m) or Iraq (23m) ?

Which city has the higher murder rate (per capita)?11. San Juan (665) or Detroit (572) ?12. Chicago (371) or Baltimore (551) ?13. Manhattan (184) or Gary (556) ?14. Boston (216) or New Haven (274)15. Flint, MI (384) or Dallas (315) ?16. San Francisco (170) or Durham (238)?

One day, as you walk through the commons, you find this key.How would you use an algorithm to find the lock to which this key belongs?What about a heuristic?

Hurdles to problem solving

Mental setyour “formula” for success in a regular class vs AP

• a.k.a. rigidity• The tendency to

fall into established thought patterns.

Functional Fixedness(example of mental set)

• The inability to see a new use for an object.

Think of as many uses as you can for a ……

Confirmation Bias

• Looking for evidence to confirm our beliefs and ignore evidence that contradicts them.

• i.e. - One believes that all Italians are in shape and go tanning, then they turn on MTV.

Look…I knew it was true!!!But is it really?

Framing• 90% of the population will be saved

with this medication…..or• 10% of the population will die despite

this medication.• You should not drink more than two

drinks per day….or• You should not drink more than 730

drinks a year.Look at the following question and

think about how the question is worded may effect the way it is answered.

• How can businesses become more socially responsible?

• The way a problem is presented can drastically effect the way we view it.

Overconfidence• Our confidence is not a

good indicator of how right we are.

• Belief Perseverance- maintaining a belief even after it has been proven wrong

• Belief Bias- People will tend to accept any and all conclusions that fit in with their systems of belief, without challenging or seriously considering what it is they believe

Artificial Intelligence

• designing computer systems to simulate human thinking and do intelligent things

• computer neural networks – computer circuits that mimic the brain’s neural cells, performing tasks such as learning to recognize visual patterns or cells

CREATIVITYconvergent.divergent thinking

• Almost impossible to define.

• Little correlation between creativity and intelligence.

• Convergent Thinking versus Divergent Thinking

Divergent Thinking Convergent Thinking

• used to solve problems that have multiple solutions

• used to solve problems that have one solution

• its use requires creativity or thinking “outside the box”

• its use requires a narrow focus; the ability to correctly interpret the problem/question

•

• both are types of thinking used to solve

problems / answer

questions• How would

you use both

to win a couples dance

contest?