5.7 Thinking

• What are the two ways to problem solve?

  algorithms and heuristics
• What is an algorithm?


  a set of well-defined steps for performing a task or solving a problem
• What is a heuristic?


  a quick way to solve a problem, but is usually less effective than using an algorithm (more error prone). Heuristics also involve using trial and error

  
  

  
  

  An example of a heuristic would be trying to find the x value that makes this equal true: 3x+6=24. You might plug in multiple x values until you determine the x value that works.
• What is trial and error?


  multiple different attempts until a successful outcome is achieved
• What is a mental set?


  when individuals try to solve a problem the same way all the time because it has worked in the past
• What is mental fixation?


  the inability to look at a problem with a different perspective.
• What is intuition?


  It is sensing something without a direct reason and basically an automatic thought

  
  

  colloquially known as a "gut feeling."
• What is insight?


  It occurs when an individual has an all-of the sudden understanding when solving a problem or learning something.

  
  

  It's that light bulb moment!
• What is inductive reasoning?


  specific to general
• What is bottom-up processing?


  analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information
• What is top-down processing?


  information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
• What is deductive reasoning?


  Deductive reasoning uses general premises to make specific predictions
• What is convergent thinking?


  narrowing the solutions to a problem till we find the best one. Convergent thinking is used in IQ and intelligence tests.
• What is divergent thinking?


  Thinking outside the box- creative thinking to find as many solutions as possible to a single problem