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Cognition -- Thinking and Language (AP) Flashcards

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6636230914cognitionthe mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating0
6636230915concepta mental group of similar objects, events, ideas, or people1
6636230916prototypea mental image or best example of a category2
6636230917algorithma methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the speedier -- but also more error prone -- use of heuristics.3
6636230918heuristica simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error prone than algorithms4
6636230919insighta sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions5
6636230920creativitythe ability to produce novel and valuable ideas6
6636230921confirmation biasa tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence7
6636230922fixationthe inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set8
6636230923mental seta tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past9
6636230924functional fixednessthe tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving10
6636230925representativeness heuristicjudging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information11
6636230926availability heuristicestimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common12
6636230927overconfidencethe tendency to be more confident than correct -- to over-estimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments13
6636230928belief perseveranceclinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited14
6636230929intuitionan effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning15
6636230930framingthe way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments16
6636230931languageour spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning17
6636230932phonemein language, the smallest distinctive sound18
6636230933morphemein language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word (such as a prefix)19
6636230934grammarin language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others20
6636230935semanticsthe set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; the study of meaning21
6636230936syntaxthe rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language22
6636230937babbling stagebeginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language23
6636230938one-word stagethe stage in speech development, from about 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words24
6636230939two-word stagethe stage in speech development, beginning around age 2, during which a child speaks mostly in two-word statements25
6636230940telegraphic speechearly speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram --"go car"--using mostly nouns and verbs26
6636230941linguistic determinismWhorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think27
6636230942linguistic relativity hypothesisthe idea that language influences (not necessarily limits) the thought process, modern view of the relationship between thoughts and language28
6636230943cognitive mapa mental representation of an area or place29
6636230944schemaa mental framework used to organize and interpret information (perspective)30
6636230945critical periodan optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development31
6636230946deductive reasoningjustifying a conclusion based on the truth of the premise; general to specific32
6636230947inductive reasoningform a conclusion based on the accessibility of information; specific to general33
6636230948convergent thinkingthinking that is dominated by conforming to a single, correct answer34
6636230949divergent thinkingthinking that is linked to creativity and finding multiple solutions to a problem35
6636230950overgeneralizationthe over-extension of grammar rules36
6636230951overextensionwhen children are too broad with a particular vocabulary word (calling a horse a "doggie")37
6636230952underextensionwhen children are too restrictive with vocabulary words38

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