Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgments & Decision-Making Chapter Notes | AP Psychology - Grade 11 PDF Download

Introduction

Thinking, problem-solving, judgments, and decision-making are essential cognitive processes that help us understand and interact with the world. These processes involve organizing information, solving problems, and making choices using mental tools like concepts, schemas, heuristics, and algorithms. While these tools make thinking efficient, they can also lead to biases and errors. By studying these processes, we can improve our decision-making and think more creatively.

Cognitive Bias in Decision Making

• Confirmation Bias: Looking for information that supports what we already believe.
  • Example: Reading only positive articles about a favorite celebrity and ignoring negative ones.
• Availability Heuristic: Making decisions based on information that comes to mind easily.
  • Example: Thinking airplanes are more dangerous than cars because plane crashes are more memorable.
• Anchoring Bias: Relying too much on the first piece of information when deciding.
  • Example: Seeing a $1500 shirt first, so a $100 shirt seems like a bargain.

Psychological Concepts in Cognitive Processes

Concepts and Prototypes

• Concepts are mental categories that help us organize and understand the world.
• Key features of concepts:
  • Mental images that define groups of objects, ideas, or experiences.
  • Common traits that identify items in a category.
  • Ability to include variations within a category.
• Prototypes are the best or most typical examples of a concept.
• Roles of prototypes:
  • Show the clearest example of a category.
  • Help quickly identify and sort new information.
  • Shape expectations and judgments about items in the category.
• New items are compared to prototypes to decide if they belong to a category.

Schema Formation and Modification

Schemas are mental frameworks that organize knowledge and guide understanding of new experiences.

Assimilation = Adding new information to existing schemas:

• Includes new details in current knowledge.
• Strengthens existing patterns.
• Builds on what we already know.

Accommodation = Changing schemas when new information doesn’t fit:

• Adjusting existing schemas to include new information.
• Creating new mental categories.
• Updating understanding to match reality.

Algorithms for Problem-Solving

Algorithms are step-by-step methods for solving problems.

Features of algorithms:

• Guarantee a solution if followed correctly.
• Work best for clear, well-defined problems.
• May need a lot of time and resources.

Factors affecting algorithm effectiveness:

• How complex the problem is.
• Resources available.
• Time limits.
• Need for accuracy.

Heuristics and Judgment Errors

Heuristics are mental shortcuts for quick decisions.

Common heuristics:

• Availability: Judging likelihood based on easily recalled examples.
• Representativeness: Judging based on how similar something is to a prototype.
• Anchoring:Relying too much on the first information received.

Biases caused by heuristics:

• Overestimating how often memorable events happen.
• Stereotyping based on limited information.
• Making inaccurate probability judgments.

Influences on Decision-Making

Decisions are affected by mental and environmental factors, consciously or unconsciously.

Key influences:

• Mental Set: Relying on past successful strategies.
• Functional Fixedness: Seeing objects as having only one use.
• Priming: Recent experiences influencing decisions.
• Framing: How information or choices are presented.
• Environmental Factors: Context, time pressure, emotions, social influences, and available information.

Cognitive Biases in Decisions

Cognitive biases are predictable errors in rational thinking.

Common biases:

• Confirmation Bias: Seeking information that supports existing beliefs.
• Anchoring Bias: Over-relying on initial information.
• Hindsight Bias: Believing past events were more predictable than they were.
• Gambler’s Fallacy: Misjudging random events, like thinking a win is "due."
• Sunk-Cost Fallacy: Continuing an action because of past investment.
• Overconfidence Bias: Overestimating one’s abilities or knowledge.

Impact of biases:

• Affect financial decisions.
• Influence risk assessments.
• Impact personal relationships.
• Affect professional judgments.

Executive Functions for Behavior

Executive functions are advanced cognitive skills that control behavior and help achieve goals. Develop through childhood and mature into early adulthood.

Core executive functions:

• Working Memory: Holding and manipulating information in the mind.
• Cognitive Flexibility: Adapting to new situations.
• Inhibitory Control: Resisting impulses.

Abilities supported by executive functions:

• Planning and organization.
• Time management.
• Self-monitoring.
• Emotional regulation.

Creativity and Divergent Thinking

Creativity is about producing new and valuable ideas or solutions. Involves multiple mental abilities and can be improved with practice.

Creative process stages:

• Preparation: Collecting relevant information.
• Incubation: Letting ideas develop unconsciously.
• Illumination: Experiencing a sudden insight or "aha" moment.
• Verification: Testing and refining ideas.

Blocks to creativity:

• Functional Fixedness: Seeing only one use for an object.
• Self-Censorship: Harshly judging one’s own ideas.
• Fear of Failure: Avoiding risks due to fear of mistakes.
• Limited Perspective: Not considering alternative viewpoints.