Verified for the 2025 AP Psychology (2025) exam•4 min read•Last Updated on March 5, 2025
Thinking, problem-solving, judgments, and decision-making are key cognitive processes that shape our understanding of the world. These mental activities involve concepts, schemas, and various strategies for processing information and finding solutions to challenges.
Our brains use shortcuts like heuristics and algorithms to navigate complex situations. However, these methods can lead to biases and errors in judgment. Understanding these processes helps us make better decisions and think more creatively.
Concepts are the fundamental building blocks that allow us to categorize and make sense of the world around us. They help us organize information efficiently and recognize patterns in our environment.
Key aspects of concepts include:
Prototypes serve as the ideal or most typical examples of concepts:
We compare new examples to prototypes and the more an item matches, the more likely we'll include it in that category.
Schemas are complex mental frameworks that organize our knowledge and guide our understanding of new experiences. These cognitive structures evolve through two main processes:
Assimilation = Incorporating new information into existing schemas:
Accomodation = When we encounter information that doesn't fit our existing schemas
Systematic problem-solving approaches help us find solutions through careful analysis and structured thinking.
Algorithms provide step-by-step procedures that:
The effectiveness of algorithms depends on:
Mental shortcuts help us make quick decisions but can lead to systematic errors in judgment. These cognitive tools evolved to help us process information efficiently, but they don't always lead to optimal outcomes.
Common heuristics include:
These shortcuts can result in various biases:
Our decisions are shaped by various mental and environmental factors. These influences can work both consciously and unconsciously, affecting our choices in big ways.
Key influences include:
Decision making can be influenced by:
Systematic patterns of deviation from rational judgment affect our decision-making in predictable ways. Understanding these biases helps us recognize and potentially overcome them.
Common cognitive biases include:
These biases can impact financial decisions, risk assessment, personal relationships, and professional judgments.
Executive functions are higher-order cognitive processes that help us regulate behavior and achieve goals. These mental skills develop throughout childhood and continue to mature into early adulthood.
Core executive functions include:
These processes support important abilities such as:
Creativity involves generating novel and valuable ideas or solutions. This complex cognitive process draws on multiple mental abilities and can be enhanced through practice and technique.
The creative process often involves:
Things that can block creativity include: