4. SOME BASICS
Conceptsâa mental grouping of similar
objects, events, ideas, or people
Prototypesâa mental image or best example
of a category. Matching new items to a
prototype provides a quick and easy method
for sorting items into categories
5. ACTIVITY 1: What is prototypical? Give the best
example (or first example that comes to mind) when
given the following categories. After you write down
your answers, proceed to the next slide.
1. A bird
2. A color
3. A triangle
4. A motor vehicle
5. A sentence
6. A hero
7. A heroic action
8. A game
9. A philosopher
10. A writer
6. There are no ârightâ answers, but these are the most
common responses, or the most prototypical
responses.
1. A bird
2. A color
3. A triangle
4. A motor vehicle
5. A sentence
6. A hero
7. A heroic action
8. A game
9. A philosopher
10. A writer
7. The table below moves from prototypical to atypicalâ
some of which we wouldnât even place in a category
of âvehiclesâ or âfruits.â
8. Which are cups, vases, or bowls? Your answer
depends on your prototype for each.
10. DID YOU USE ANY OF THESE AS YOU ATTEMPTED TO SOLVE THE
PUZZLES/BRAIN-TEASERS? TIPS FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING
1. Work backwards
2. Recognize irrelevant information
3. Graphic illustrations
4. Restate the problem
5. Insight and incubation
6. Avoid unnecessary constraints
11. #1
Cross out six letters to make a single word out
of the following:
C S R I E X L E A T T T E R E S
CONTENT CONNECTION: The Process of Problem-
Solving
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS ON P. 10 AND 11
12. #1
Cross out six letters to make a single word out
of the following:
C S R I E X L E A T T T E R E S
You must cross out the âS,â the âI,â the âX,â the âLââŚand so onâall of the letters that
comprise âSix Letters.â
The remaining letters spell: CREATE.
13. #2: Husbands and Wives
Three menâFred, Ed, and Tedâare married to
Joan, Sally, and Vickie, but not
necessarily in that order. Joan, who is
Edâs sister, lives in Detroit. Fred
dislikes animals. Ed weighs more than
the man who is married to Vickie. The
man married to Sally breeds Siamese cats
as a hobby. Fred commutes over 200
hours a year from his home in Ann Arbor,
Michigan to his job in Detroit. Match
up the men with the women they married.
Next slide will reveal answer.
14. #2: Husbands and Wives
Fred is married to Vickie.
Ed is married to Sally.
Ted is married to Joan.
15. PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES
Trial and errorâproblem-solving method in
which one possible solution after another is
tried until a successful one is found
16. PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES
Algorithmsâa methodical, logical rule or
procedure that guarantees solving a particular
problem. This contrasts with the usually
speedierâbut more errorâuse of heuristics
It is a rule that
guarantees an
answer, usually by
way of a formula.
19. S P L O Y O C H Y G
UNSCRAMBLE THE WORD BELOW.
20. PSYCHOLOGY
If we were to unscramble these
letters to form a word
using an algorithmic approach, we
would face
907,208 possibilitiesâŚSO
INSTEAD, YOU USED AâŚ
UNSCRAMBLE THE WORD BELOW.
21. PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES
Heuristicâa simple thinking strategy that
often allows us to make judgments and solve
problems efficiently; usually speedier but
more error-prone that algorithmsâŚmore on
this later.
23. Check out this site that documents general
RULES OF THUMB.
http://rulesofthumb.org/
24. PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES
Insightâa sudden and often novel realization
of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with
strategy-based solutions
This is like Skinnerâs pigeon who suddenly got the
idea to use the box as a stool to get the hanging fruit.
25. #3
The maker doesnât want it,
the buyer doesnât use it,
and the user doesnât see
it. What is it?
Next slide will reveal answer.
30. #5
a. STA4NCE: For instance
b. O_ER_T_O_: Painless
operation
c. LITTLE LITTLE LATE LATE:
Too little, too late
d. YOU JUST ME: Just between
you and me
33. #10: REMOTE ASSOCIATION TEST
a. Law, Birthday, Swim
b. Brother, Sister, Knight
c. Paint, Doll, Dog
d. Cottage, Cake, Blue
e. Toast, Poodle, Kiss
f. Heart, Tooth, Talk
Next slide will reveal answer.
34. #10: REMOTE ASSOCIATION TEST
CONTENT CONNECTION:TRIAL AND ERROR
a. Law, Birthday, Swim: SUIT
b. Brother, Sister, Knight: HOOD
c. Paint, Doll, Dog: HOUSE
d. Cottage, Cake, Blue: CHEESE
e. Toast, Poodle, Kiss: FRENCH
f. Heart, Tooth, Talk: SWEET
36. ROBERT STERNBERGâS COMPONENTS OF CREATIVITY
1.Expertise
2.Imaginative thinking skills
3.A venturesome personality
4.Intrinsic motivation
5.A creative environment
37. Convergent thinkingâtype of thinking in
which a problem is seen as having only one
answer, and all lines of thinking will
eventually lead to that single answer, using
previous knowledge and logic.
Divergent thinkingâtype of thinking in
which a person starts from one point and
comes up with many different ideas or
possibilities based on that point.
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING
38. #9: Paper clip
Write down all the different uses
for this ordinary paper clip.
CONTENT CONNECTION: Creativity
39. #9: Paper clip
Write down all the different uses
for this ordinary paper clip.
Speaker Ken Robinson suggests that children
are much better at this than adults.
Robinson asserts that schools kill
creativity. (I strongly disagree with this,
by the way.)
42. Stop cut apples browning in your childs lunch box
by securing with a rubber band.
43. Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone & iPod
in a bowl. The concave shape amplifies the music.
44. Overhaul your linen cupboard, store bed linen sets
inside one of their own pillowcases and there will
be no more hunting through piles for a match.
53. Confirmation Biasâa tendency to search for
information that supports our preconceptions
and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING
54. Mental setâa tendency to approach a
problem in one particular way, often a way
that has been successful in the past
Functional fixednessâthe tendency to think
of things only in terms of their usual
functions; an impediment to problem
solving
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING
Fixationâthe inability to see a problem from
a new perspective by employing a different
mental set
77. A bat and a ball
A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in
total. The bat costs $1 more
than the ball. How much does
the ball cost?
Next slide will reveal answer.
78. A bat and a ball
The bat costs $1.05; the ball
costs 5 cents. Did you get it
wrong? Lots of people do.
Intuition can steer us wrong.
Next slide will reveal answer.
79. Overconfidenceâthe tendency to be more
confident than correctâto overestimate the
accuracy of our beliefs and judgments
MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS
80. MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS
Fact: only 50% of people in any particular
field can be above average.
Fact: 80% of the people in the US describe
themselves as above average.
(Therefore, 30% of Americans have an
unrealistic view of their abilities.)
81. Representative heuristicâjudging the
likelihood of things in terms of how well
they seem to represent, or match, particular
prototypes; this may lead us to ignore other
relevant information
MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS
82. Who went to Harvard?
You see where this is going, right?
83. Who went to Harvard?
Sonia Dara did. A 2013 grad. She probably
doesnât not fit/ârepresentâ our image of a
Harvard student.
84. Availability heuristicsâestimating the
likelihood of events based on their
availability in memory; if instances come
readily to mind (perhaps because of their
vividness), we presume such events are
common
MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS
85. Earlier this year, Ebola seemed to be sweeping the world.
You might be surprised to know that you have a 1:13.3
million chance of contracting Ebola.
To put this in perspective, you have a 1:3.7 million chance
of being killed by a shark in your lifetime.
AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC affects our
thinking. See more on link at the bottom of the lesson
to see Ebola statistics.
MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS
86. Which city in the US has
the highest crime rate?
What came to mind?
87. City Crime Risk Index
1. St. Louis 530
2. Atlanta 484
3. Birmingham Alabama (tie) 380
3. Orlando (tie) 380
5. Detroit 369
6. Memphis 361
7. Miami 346
8. Baltimore 339
9. Kansas City, Missouri 337
10. Minneapolis (tie) 331
10. Cleveland (tie) 331
The 11 Most Dangerous Cities
These cities have the highest overall crime rates in the United States
88. Availability Heuristic
Why does our availability heuristic lead us astray?
If it is easy to recall (remember), the probability or
frequency must be very high.
How is retrieval facilitated?
1. How recently we have heard about the event.
2. How distinct it is.
3. How correct it is.
89. Belief perseveranceâclinging to oneâs initial
conceptions after the basis on which they
were formed has been discredited
Please read p. 15 in notes packet.
MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS
90. Framingâthe way an issue is posed; how an
issue is framed can significantly affect
decisions and judgments
MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS
Editor's Notes
The bag itself is colored to make it look like mold.