Cognitive Biases & Thinking Types

• PSYC-1160 Midterm Exam Study Guide

Thinking

• Any mental activity or processing of information.
• Learning, remembering, perceiving, communicating, and believing are all involved
• Essential for decision-making and problem-solving in daily life

Problem Solving

• Definition: The process of finding solutions to difficult or complex issues
• Steps:
• Define/Frame: Identify the nature and constraints
• Develop strategies: Use subgoals, heuristics, algorithms
• Evaluate solutions: Compare initial expectations to assess the effectiveness.
• Reassess and refine: Modify if ineffective

Problem-Solving Strategies

• Algorithms: Step-by-step, rule-based to guarantee a correct solution but can be time-consuming, like a mathematical formula
• Heuristics: Mental shortcuts to speed up decision-making but may lead to errors like choosing a familiar brand.
• Subgoals: Breaking down a large problem into smaller, manageable parts like completing a research paper
• Trial and Error: Experimenting with different solutions until the correct one is found like testing different keys.

Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Functional Fixedness: Viewing objects as having only one fixed function, like a coin as a screwdriver
• Mental Set: Sticking to old problem-solving patterns even when they are ineffective, like always attempting to solve math problems with the same method
• Cognitive Load: Overwhelming working memory with too much information, reducing efficiency, like struggling to focus while thinking all things at once.

Reasoning

• Inductive Reasoning: Drawing general conclusions from specific observations, like all white swan observations lead you to believe only white swans exist
• Deductive Reasoning: Applying broad principles to specific cases, like all mammals have lungs, so a dolphin must have lungs.

Decision Making

• System 1 (Fast Thinking): Intuitive, automatic, and relies on gut instincts, such as instantly recognizing a familiar face.
• System 2 (Slow Thinking): Analytical, deliberate, and requires cognitive effort, such as weighing pros and cons before a purchase.

Cognitive Biases (Heuristics in Decision-Making)

• Loss Aversion: Preferring to avoid losses rather than acquiring equivalent gains, like refusing to sell a declining stock
• Confirmation Bias: Seeking information that aligns with beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence, like reading news articles to support political views and disregard opposing ones.
• Base Rate Neglect: Ignoring statistical probabilities in favor of anecdotal ones like recently seeing someone win the lottery
• Hindsight Bias: Believing that an event was predictable after it has already happened like "I knew it all along"
• Representativeness Heuristic: Assessing similarity to a prototype rather than actual probabilities, like thinking a quiet person is a librarian rather than a farmer
• Availability Heuristic: Judging an event's likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind, like overestimating the risk of plane crashes due to frequent media coverage.
• Anchoring Bias: Relying too heavily on the first piece of information received, like a car dealer's initial high price
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Continuing an investment due to prior costs rather than future benefits like an investment in time and effort

Creativity and Problem-Solving

• Creativity: The ability to generate novel and effective solutions, like a new way to organize a cluttered workspace.
• Convergent Thinking: Narrowing down multiple possibilities to find the best single solution like taking a multiple choice exam.
• Divergent Thinking: Exploring multiple possible solutions and thinking outside the box, like brainstorming new product ideas

Phonemes, Morphemes, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics

• Phonemes: The smallest units of sound, like "b" in "bat"
• Morphemes: The smallest units of meaning, like "un-"
• Syntax: The rules for sentence structure, like the dog chasing the cat example
• Semantics: The meaning of words and sentences, like the word bat as an animal or equipment
• Pragmatics: Social aspects of language use, including tone, context, and politeness, like saying please and thank you.

Language Acquisition Stages

• Babbling: Infants begin producing sounds between 4-6 months
• One-word stage: Using single words to represent ideas around 12 months
• Two-word stage: Combining two words to make basic sentences between 18-24 months
• Sentence Stage: More complex sentences and grammar begins after 2 years

Critical Period Hypothesis

• Language acquisition is easiest during early childhood
• Children not exposed to any language by age 7 may struggle with fluent speech and grammar.
• Highlights the importance of early childhood education

Bilingualism and Cognitive Flexibility

• The ability to switch between languages enhances cognitive functions
• A bilingual child is often better at switching tasks and solving complex problems.

Linguistic Relativity (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)

• Language shapes how people think and perceive the world
• The Inuit have many words for snow, influencing how they perceive and categorize different types of snows

Code-Switching

• Alternating between languages or dialects in conversation, like English to Spanish
• Language Deprivation and Its Effects
• Children isolated from language development may have difficulty acquiring speech patterns

The role of Broca's area and Wernicke's area

• Speech production
• Wernicke's area: Language comprehension
• Broca's aphasia: Difficulty producing speech
• Wernicke's aphasia: Difficulty understanding speech

Nature vs. Nurture & Early Influences

• Definition: How genetics and environment work together to shape development
• Example: A child's genetic potential influenced by education and social interactions Epigenetics:
• Definition: Environmental factors can affect gene expression without altering DNA
• Example: Chronic stress affects the brain's stress-response genes Critical vs. Sensitive Periods:
• Critical Period: A time window when certain skills must be acquired
• Sensitive Period: A time when experiences have more impact but can still be learned outside this period.

Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

• Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
• Learning through sensory and motor interaction
• Key concept: Object permanence
• Preoperational Stage (2-7 years):
• Developing language, imagination, and symbolic thinking
• Key concept: Egocentrism
• Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years):
• Logical thinking about concrete events
• Key concept: Conservation
• Formal Operational Stage (12+ years): ability to think abstractly and reason logically about hypothetical situations Assimilation: Fitting new experiences into existing schemas Accommodation: Changing existing schemas to incorporate new information

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): The gap between what a child can doindependently and what they can do with assistance.
• Scaffolding: Providing support and guidance to help the child achieve a higherlevel of understanding.
• Role of Culture: Cognitive development is deeply influenced by social and cultural contexts.

Attachment Theory (Bowlby & Ainsworth)

• Strange Situation Task: A method to assess attachment styles in infants, that are either secure, avoidant, anxious, or disorganized
• Secure: Comfort with closeness and dependence
• Avoidant: Difficulty trusting others, avoiding intimacy.
• Anxious: Clinginess and fear of abandonment
• Disorganized: Inconsistent behavior towards caregivers
• Impact on Adult Relationships: Early attachment influences trust, intimacy, and coping with stress in adulthood.

Erikson's Psychosocial Development

• Stages:
• Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy): Trusting caregivers builds a foundation for future relationships.
• Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (Toddlerhood): Developing independence and self-control.
• Initiative vs. Guilt (Early Childhood): Exploring the world and taking initiative.
• Industry vs. Inferiority (Middle Childhood): Developing skills and confidence.
• Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence): Forming a personal identity and sense of direction.
• Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood): Establishing intimate relationships.
• Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood): Contributing to society, guiding future generations.
• Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood): Reflecting on life with either satisfaction or regret.

Moral Development (Kohlberg)

• Stages:
• Preconventional: Focus on avoiding punishment and gaining rewards.
• Conventional: Emphasis on societal norms and maintaining relationships.
• Postconventional: Higher ethical principles, justice, and individual rights.
• Heinz Dilemma: A moral decision-making scenario to illustrate the stages of moral development.
• Cultural and Gender Differences: Gilligan's critique highlighted the importance ofcare-based morality, especially for women.

Parenting & Social Development

• Parenting Styles:
• Authoritative: Supportive, sets clear expectations (healthiest outcomes).
• Authoritarian: Strict, controlling, with little warmth.
• Permissive: Lenient, with few rules, nurturing.
• Uninvolved: Neglectful, with little responsiveness.
• Peer vs. Parental Influence: Peer influence increases in adolescence.
• Divorce: Most children adjust well to divorce if the conflict between parents is low

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

• Includes linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic,interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic intelligence.
• Triarchic Theory (Sternberg):
• Analytical problem-solving ability
• Practical adaptation
• Creative: innovation
• Spearman's g and s:
• g factor: General intelligence
• s factor: Specific abilities
• Fluid vs Crystallized intelligence
• Fluid: Problem-solving ability
• Crystallized: Knowledge accumulation

IQ Testing & Measurement

• Binet & Simon's Intelligence Test: Designed to identify children needing educational support
• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): Most widely used IQ test, measuring verbal comprehension, working memory, perceptual reasoning, processing speed
• Stanford-Binet IQ Test: A revision of Binet's test, introducing the concept of intelligencequotient (IQ).
• Calculating IQ:
• Originally: (Mental Age / Chronological Age) x 100
• Heritability of Intelligence: Twin studies show a strong genetic component
• Environmental Influences:
• Socioeconomic Status (SES): Access to education, nutrition, and resources affects IQ.
• Early Intervention Programs: Programs like Head Start show short-term IQ boosts.

Controversies & Ethical Issues

• Eugenics Movement: Early misuse of IQ tests to justify forced sterilization
• Cultural Bias in IQ Testing: Tests may favor certain cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
• Fixed vs Growth Mindset (Dweck): the first suggests it is static and unchangeable
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ): The ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions

Test your knowledge of cognitive biases like availability heuristic and the sunk cost fallacy. Explore System 2 thinking and language's smallest meaningful unit. Identify biases in real-world scenarios.