Congnititon
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.
Functional Fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving.
Long-term Memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
Memory
the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.
Heuristic
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.
Retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage.
Representativeness Heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.
Belief Perseverance
clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.
Concept
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.
Insight
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
Fixation
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set.
Short-term Memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten
Working Memory
a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
a mental image or best example of a category.
Storage
the retention of encoded information over time.
Mental Set
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.
Availability Heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common.
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning.
Algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier—but also more error-prone—use of heuristics.
Creativity
the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.
Sensory Memory
the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Overconfidence
The tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.
Framing
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.