Transcript Notes: Thinking

Cognition
crash course
• The mental activities
associated with
thinking, knowing,
remembering, and
communicating.
• In general, cognition
= thinking.
What is thought?
Our concept of
men may include
all of the following
guys….
• There are basically
two types of
thought…
1. Concepts
(schemas)…usually
based on
prototypes.
2. Images
But they are based
on our prototype
(ideal) male…..
Problem Solving
Unscramble
SPLOYOCHYG
Algorithm
all 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
Who went to Harvard?
Reagan was a smart dude,
but did not go to Harvard
(but he looks like he did).
•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.
• Judging a situation
based on how similar
the aspects are to
the prototypes.
•
E.G. - thinking
everyone from OHS
is a redneck/hunter,
or someone with
glasses is nerdy, or a
blonde is not smart.
Availability Heuristic
• Judging a situation
based on the
availability of
information in
memory.
Which city has the highest murder
rate?
New York, NY
The crime rate of :
• Baltimore, Maryland is 37.7
per 100,000
• New York City NY is 4 per
1000,000
Baltimore, MD
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 set
• 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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09UlB17cgKw
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 Perseverancemaintaining 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
CREATIVITY
convergent.divergent thinking
• Almost impossible to
define.
• Little correlation
between creativity
and intelligence.
• Convergent Thinking
versus Divergent
Thinking
Divergent Thinking
• used to solve problems
that have multiple
solutions
• its use requires
creativity or thinking
“outside the box”
• i.e. – How might
someone use a brick?
Convergent Thinking
• both are
types of
thinking used
to solve
problems /
answer
questions
• used to solve problems
that have one solution
• its use requires a
narrow focus; the ability
to correctly interpret the
problem/question
• i.e. – What is the sum
of 5 and 6?