PSYC 2000 Chapter : Psych Ch 7
Document Summary
How people think nature of thought, processes involved. How well people think- variations among people in thinking ability. Mental representations that stand for objects or events have a picture like quality. Interacted with in similar ways as physical objects. Helpful for memory, learning, and maintaining motor skills. Mental category used to represent a class, group of objects, events, or activities with common attributes. Allow identification of new objects and events that may fit a concept (seeing a new type of dog) Formal concepts- formed by learning specific rules or features that define it; many acquired in school (ex: square) Natural concepts formed by people"s experience in the real world ex: birds, fruit. Prototype when someone hears fruit they think of apples to represent all fruits. Decision making- evaluating alternatives and choosing among them. Problem solving- thoughts and actions required for achieving a goal. Algorithms- step by step procedure that guarantees a solution to a particular problem.
