1 / 16

Chapter 8: Thinking

Chapter 8: Thinking. Music : “Thinking of You ” Norah Jones “Think” Katherine McPhee. Thinking: Agenda. 1. The Cognitive Revolution 2. Reasoning: a) deductive b) inductive 3. Problem Solving: a) approaches b) barriers 4. Judgments & Decision Making Problems (a-f)

ilario
Download Presentation

Chapter 8: Thinking

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Chapter 8: Thinking Music: “Thinking of You” Norah Jones “Think” Katherine McPhee

  2. Thinking: Agenda • 1. The Cognitive Revolution • 2. Reasoning: • a) deductive • b) inductive • 3. Problem Solving: • a) approaches • b) barriers • 4. Judgments & Decision Making • Problems (a-f) • 5. Common Cognitive Distortions • 6. Thinking Critically • Pointers • 7. Tutorial

  3. 1.The Cognitive Revolution • “I think therefore I am…” • How do we know what we know? • Authority • Reason: • Considered by Renaissance scholars to be the most reliable source of knowledge • Observation: • Basis for empirical knowledge • Cognitive Psychologists: • Study reasoning, judgments, decision making, and problem solving

  4. 2. Reasoning • a) Deductive: • Drawing a conclusion that follows logically from two or more statements or premises • Note: **If one of the premises is false, then conclusion must be false • Example: • Premise 1: All human beings have cognitions • Premise 2: All cognitions are intelligent • Conclusion: All human beings have intelligent cognitions…. • Valid but false conclusion

  5. 2. a) Deductive Reasoning (cont’d) • Invalid Conclusions: • Conclusions must follow logically from 2 or more premises to be valid • Example: • Premise 1: Some A’s are B’s • Premise 2: Some B’s are C’s • Conclusion: Some A’s are C’s? • OR • Premise 1: Some women are intelligent beings • Premise 2: Some intelligent beings are men • Conclusion: Some women are men? A’s B’s C’s

  6. 2. a) Deductive Reasoning (cont’d) • Belief Bias Effect: • We tend to judge as true those conclusions with which we agree, and as untrue those with which we disagree

  7. 2. a) Confirmation bias: p. 342

  8. 2. b) Inductive Reasoning • Problem solver goes from the particular to the general • Typical in process in science • Base a hypothesis on limited evidence, and test it against other evidence • Example: • Problems of inducing structure (p. 326): • Can you supply missing number? • 1 3 4 7 ___ • 5 9 13 __ 21 • Analogies: • Carpenter: House Author:_____ • Star: Constellation Room:______

  9. 3. Problem Solving • Thinking directed toward solving a specific problem. Approaches: • Clarify! What is initial state? What is goal state? • Means-end analysis: • specify subproblems and subgoals to move from initial state to goal • b) Barriers: p. 326-327 • Functional Fixedness • Mental Sets: Can help or hinder • E.g. O-T-T- __ -__ -__ • J- F- M- A- __ - __ - __ • Stress: leads to fixation • e.g. soldiers in war action

  10. 4. Judgments & Decision Making • Judgments: • Processes by which we form opinions, reach conclusions, make evaluations of people and events • Problems: • a) Overconfidence effect p. 342 • b) Availability Heuristic p. 337 • Basing a probability on the ease with which an example comes to mind • E.g. Which is the most frequent cause of death? • 1) Homicides vs diabetes • 2) Leukemia vs drowning • 3) Earthquakes vs asthma • c) Representativeness Heuristic: • Basing a probability on the similarity with a prototype

  11. 4. Heuristics cont’d • c) Representativeness Heuristic (con’d): • E.g. You hear about a person who is short, slim, and likes to read poetry. • Is this person more likely to be a Literature Professor, or a truck driver? • d) Conjunction Fallacy: (p. 338) • E.g. Bill is 34 years old, intelligent, unimaginative, compulsive, and somewhat boring. Which is more likely to be true? • Bill plays jazz as a hobby OR • Bill is an accountant who plays jazz as a hobby Accountants Jazz as hobby

  12. p.338

  13. 4. Judgments & Decision Making (cont’d) • e) Framing:(p. 342) • Decisions are heavily influenced by the way in which a question is asked • E.g. Will you undergo a particular surgery if: • a) 90% chance of recovery • b) 10% chance of death • f) Alternative Outcomes Effect • Perceived likelihood of a certain outcome is influenced by the distribution of alternative outcomes • Another example of “bounded rationality” • People deviate in predictable ways from optimal decision making

  14. 5. Common Cognitive Distortions • Arbitrary Inference: • Drawing unfavorable conclusions about oneself without evidence (e.g. mind-reading/ fortune-telling) • Magnification and minimization: • Dwelling on the negative and discounting the positive • Overgeneralization: • Viewing a negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat • Reasoning from how you feel: • E.g. “I feel like an idiot… Therefore, I must be one.” • Personalization: • Taking blame for events that are unintended or beyond one’s control

  15. 6. Thinking Critically • Critical Thinking: • Ability to make objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence • Rather than basing your judgment on emotion or anecdotal evidence • To improve: • Remember common pitfalls • Define your terms concretely • Examine the evidence • Be aware of your biases • Avoid emotional reasoning • Avoid simplistic explanations • Tolerate uncertainty • Form convictions with care, and carry them lightly!

  16. 7. Tutorial & Wishing You Clear thinking!

More Related