Thinking and Language/Problem Solving

Concepts, the building blocks of thinking, simplify the world by organizing it into a hierarchy of categories. Concepts are often formed around prototypes, or the best examples of a category.

     When faced with a novel situation for which no well-learned response will do, we may use problem-solving strategies such as trial 

and error, algorithms, heuristics, and insight. Obstacles to successful problem solving include the confirmation bias, fixation, and a form of fixation called mental set. Heuristics provide efficient, but occasionally misleading, guides for making quick decisions. Overconfidence, belief perseverance, and framing further reveal our capacity for error.

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Thinking/Language Vocabulary