AP Psychology AMSCO Guided Notes
2.2: Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgments, and Decision-Making
AP Psychology Guided Notes
AMSCO 2.2 - Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgments, and Decision-Making
Essential Questions
- How do psychological concepts and theories account for thinking, problem-solving, judgment, and decision-making?
I. Metacognition
1. What is metacognition and what cognitive processes does it involve?
2. How can metacognition help you improve your learning and thinking in the future?
II. Concepts and Prototypes
1. What are concepts and how do they help us organize information about our environment?
2. How do category hierarchies help us learn and retrieve information more effectively?
A. Prototypes
1. What is a prototype and how do we use prototypes to categorize new items?
2. How do social background, culture, and language influence the prototypes we hold in our minds?
III. Critical Thinking
1. What is critical thinking and what is the role of skepticism in critical thinking?
2. Why should claims be assessed based on evidence and reasoning rather than emotion and anecdotes?
IV. Forming and Modifying Schemas
1. What is a schema and how do schemas help the brain make sense of the world?
A. Assimilation
1. What is assimilation and how does it allow us to incorporate new experiences into existing schemas?
2. What are examples of assimilation in both everyday life and academic learning?
B. Accommodation
1. What is accommodation and how does it differ from assimilation?
2. How do children use accommodation when learning language and how do adults use it when changing social roles?
C. Schemas as Mental Filters
1. How do schemas act as mental filters and what impact does this have on what we remember and forget?
2. How are schemas influenced by our assumptions, stereotypes, and expectations?
V. Executive Functions
1. What are executive functions and what role does the prefrontal cortex play in these processes?
2. How do executive functions help us adapt to new situations and make well-informed decisions?
3. What strategies can improve executive functions and how might this improvement benefit academic and professional performance?
VI. Solving Problems
A. Trial and Error
1. What is trial and error and when is this problem-solving method most effective?
2. Why is trial and error impractical for problems with many possible solutions?
B. Algorithms
1. What is an algorithm and how does it guarantee an accurate solution to a problem?
2. How do algorithms differ from trial and error in terms of efficiency and reliability?
C. Heuristics
1. What are heuristics and why are they often faster than algorithms for problem-solving?
2. What is the representativeness heuristic and how can it lead us to incorrect conclusions?
3. What is the availability heuristic and what are examples of how it can mislead our judgments?
VII. Problems in Problem-Solving
1. What are cognitive biases and how do they cause us to deviate from rational problem-solving?
A. Confirmation Bias
1. What is confirmation bias and how does it affect the information we seek and accept?
2. Why is confirmation bias particularly dangerous in psychological research?
VIII. Making Decisions
1. How are problem-solving and decision-making related, and what distinguishes them?
2. What role does intuition play in decision-making and when is it most useful?
A. Mental Set
1. What is a mental set and how does it influence the decision-making process?
2. How can mental sets both facilitate and inhibit creativity and flexibility in decision-making?
B. The Influence of Circumstances
1. Priming
1. What is priming and how does it unconsciously influence our behavior and decisions?
2. What are examples of priming in everyday situations and how does it work at an implicit level?
2. Framing
1. What is framing and how does the way information is worded influence our perceptions and decisions?
2. How do politicians and policymakers use framing techniques to shape public opinion?
C. Other Cognitive Biases
1. Gambler's Fallacy
1. What is the gambler's fallacy and why do people mistakenly believe past outcomes influence future independent events?
2. How does understanding the gambler's fallacy help people make more rational decisions in situations involving probability?
2. Sunk-Cost Fallacy
1. What is the sunk-cost fallacy and how does it lead people to continue investing in failing projects?
2. How can people avoid the sunk-cost fallacy when making decisions about future investments?
IX. Creativity
1. What is creativity and in what disciplines and professions is creativity essential?
A. Components of Creativity
1. What are the key characteristics and components that contribute to creativity?
2. How do workplace environments and corporate culture support and foster creative thinking?
B. Convergent and Divergent Thinking
1. What is convergent thinking and why does it limit creativity?
2. What is divergent thinking and how does it support creative problem-solving?
C. Functional Fixedness
1. What is functional fixedness and how does it limit a person's ability to think creatively?
2. How can breaking out of functional fixedness open up new possibilities for solving problems?
Key Terms
accommodation
algorithm
assimilation
availability heuristic
concept
convergent thinking
creativity
critical thinking
decision-making
divergent thinking
executive functions
framing
functional fixedness
gambler's fallacy
heuristics
mental set
priming
problem-solving
prototype
representativeness heuristic
schema
sunk-cost fallacy