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CH 6 Griggs
Psychology: A Concise Introduction (6th Ed): Thinking & Intelligence
Term | Definition |
---|---|
thinking | The processing of information to solve problems and make judgments and decisions. |
well-defined problem | A problem with clear specifications of the start state, goal state, and the processes for reaching the goal state. |
ill-defined problem | A problem lacking clear specification of either the start state, goal state, or the processes for reaching the goal state. |
fixation | In problem solving, the inability to create a new interpretation of a problem. |
functional fixedness | The inability to see that an object can have a function other than its typical one in solving a problem. |
mental set | The tendency to use previously successful problem-solving strategies without considering others that are more appropriate for the current problem. |
insight | A new way to interpret a problem that immediately yields the solution. |
algorithm | A step-by-step problem-solving procedure that guarantees a correct answer to a problem. |
heuristic | A problem-solving strategy that seems reasonable given one’s past experience with solving problems, especially similar problems, but does not guarantee a correct answer to a problem. |
anchoring and adjustment heuristic | A heuristic for estimation problems in which one uses his or her initial estimate as an anchor estimate and then adjusts the anchor up or down (often insufficiently). |
working backward heuristic | A problem-solving heuristic in which one attempts to solve a problem by working from the goal state back to the start state. |
means–end analysis heuristic | A problem-solving heuristic in which the distance to the goal state is decreased systematically by breaking the problem down into subgoals and achieving these subgoals. |
representativeness heuristic | "A heuristic for judging the probability of membership in a category by how well an object resembles (is representative of) that category (the more representative, the more probable)." |
conjunction fallacy | Incorrectly judging the overlap of two uncertain events to be more probable than either of the two events. |
gambler’s fallacy | Incorrectly believing that a chance process is self-correcting in that an event that has not occurred for a while is more likely to occur. |
availability heuristic | A heuristic for judging the probability of an event by how available examples of the event are in memory (the more available, the more probable). |
illusory correlation | The erroneous belief that two variables are statistically related when they actually are not. |
belief perseverance | The tendency to cling to one’s beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence. |
confirmation bias | The tendency to seek evidence that confirms one’s beliefs. |
person-who reasoning | Questioning a well-established research finding because one knows a person who violates the finding. |
intelligence quotient (IQ) | (mental age/chronological age) × 100. |
standardization | The process that allows test scores to be interpreted by providing test norms. |
deviation IQ score | 100 plus or minus (15 × the number of standard deviations the person is from the raw score mean for their standardization group). |
reliability | The extent to which the scores for a test are consistent. |
validity | The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure or predicts what it is supposed to predict. |
factor analysis | A statistical technique that identifies clusters of test items that measure the same ability (factor). |
heritability | An index of the degree that variation of a trait within a given population is due to heredity. |
reaction range | The genetically determined limits for an individual’s intelligence. |
Flynn effect | The finding that the average intelligence test score in the United States and other industrialized nations has improved steadily over the last century. |