Thinking

							Thinking
               Cognition
• Cognition – all mental
  activities associated with
  thinking, knowing,
  remembering and
  communicating
• Cognitive psychologist –
  study how we create
  concepts, solve problems,
  make decisions and form
  judgments
                             Our concept of

        What is thought?
                             men may include
                             all of the following
                             guys….

Concepts – mental
  groupings of similar
  objects, events, ideas
  and people
  – Category hierarchies –
    collection of
    subordinate categories
    to a basic category
Prototypes – mental
  image or best example
  of a category               But they are based
                              on our prototype
                              (ideal) male…..
  Problem Solving Strategies

Types of problem solving
strategies
1. Trial and Error
2. Algorithms
3. Heuristics
4. Insight
Problem Solving Strategies
          • Algorithm – step by step
            procedure that
            guarantees the right
            solution to a problem.
            – Usually by using a formula.
            – Work, but time consuming
            – Don’t work – subjective
              values or too many
              unknowns
          • Example –
     Problem Solving Strategies
Heuristic - A rule of thumb that
  generally, but not always, can
  be used to make a judgment
  to solve a problem.
    – Fast, but prone to errors
    – Doesn’t guarantee a solution
•   Two types of heuristics
    – Representative heuristic*
    – Availability Heuristic*
•   Examples –

•   *Can be a hurdle to solving a problem
    Types of Problem solving
• Insight – sudden
  realization of the
  solution to a problem
  – Doesn’t involve
    strategy based
    solutions
Hurdles to problem solving
Mental Set
Fixation
Functional fixedness
Availability Heuristic
Representative Heuristic
Confirmation Bias
Overconfidence
Belief Perseverance
Framing
          Confirmation Bias
• We look for
  evidence to confirm
  our beliefs and
  ignore evidence that
  contradicts them.
• For example, if one     Look…I knew it was true!!!
  believes that all       But is it really?
  Italians are in shape
  and go tanning, then
  they turn on MTV.
      Fixation and Mental set
• Fixation - Inability to solve a
  problem from a new
  perspective
  – Mental set - The tendency to
    fall into established thought
    patterns.
  – Function Fixedness - The
    inability to see a new use for
    an object.


• Examples:
 Representativeness Heuristic
        Who went to Harvard?
                     Mr. Rivera is a smart dude,
                     but did not go to Harvard
                                                   • Judging a situation
                     (but he looks like he did).     based on how similar
                                                     the aspects are to the
                                                     prototypes the person
                                                     holds in their mind.
                                                   • Like thinking everyone
                                                     at Gilmore is preppy,
                                                     or someone with
                                                     glasses is nerdy, or a
                                                     blonde is not
•If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports
Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make
                                                     smart…you better not
certain quick judgments (heuristics) about           think that
her…like about her interests or intelligence.
•She is an economics major at Harvard
University.
               Availability Heuristic
                                         Which place would you be more scared of
                                         getting mugged or even murdered?

  • Judging a situation
    based on examples
    of similar situations
    that initially come to
    mind.
  • Vivid examples in the                                   Cleveland

    news often cause an
    availability heuristic.
The crime rate of Cleveland is MUCH higher
than the New York. But when you think of
crime, which town comes to mind?
                                    New York, NY
            Overconfidence
• Overconfidence –
  tendency overestimate
  the accuracy of our
  knowledge and judgment

• Belief Perseverance –
  sticking with our beliefs
  even after they’ve been
  discredited
                              Belief Perseverance
                 Intuition
• Intuition – Automatic,
  immediate feeling or
  thought (gut feel)
                                Framing
•   90% of the population will be saved
    with this medication…..or                • The way a problem is
•   10% of the population will die despite     presented can
                                               drastically effect
    this medication.
•   You should not drink more than two
    drinks per day….or                         the way we view it.
•   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?
    CREATIVITY

• Creativity – the
  ability to create
  novel and valuable
  ideasLittle
  correlation between
  creativity and
  intelligence.
• Convergent Thinking
  versus Divergent
  Thinking
           Creativity
• Strernberg’s five
  components
 –Expertise
 –Imaginative thinking skills
 –A venturesome
  personality
 –Intrinsic motivation
 –A creative environment