PSYCH 9B Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Psych, Problem Solving, Decision-Making
Document Summary
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it . Life in the true sense is perceiving or thinking . Mental activities (consciousness and non) used form judgements, reason, evaluate potential decisions, and solve problems. Capture some characteristics of that which they represent. Bear none of the characteristics of that which they represent. Not stored randomly or as independent pieces of information all over. Create shortcuts to information so that we think efficiently. Networks of related symbols - nodes - connected via associative links. Once node activated, similar, linked information also activated. Level of activation depends on strength of relation. Can make fast decisions based on activated links. Can fill in gaps when information missing. How does information (and its organization) affect our thought process. Most of time, organization is both effective and efficient. But, errors may occur as a result of spreading activation or filling in.
