What is a concept in cognitive psychology?	A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people (e.g., the category "furniture").
What is a prototype?	The most typical example of a concept, used to judge whether new items belong (e.g., a robin as the prototype bird).
How does an algorithm differ from a heuristic?	An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution but can be slow. A heuristic is a mental shortcut that is faster but more prone to error.
What is the availability heuristic?	Judging how likely an event is by how easily examples come to mind (e.g., overestimating the risk of plane crashes after heavy news coverage).
What is the representativeness heuristic?	Judging how likely something is by how well it matches a prototype, often while ignoring base rates.
What is confirmation bias?	The tendency to seek out and favor information that supports what you already believe and to overlook evidence against it.
What is functional fixedness?	The tendency to think of objects only in terms of their usual function, which blocks creative solutions (e.g., not seeing a coin as a screwdriver).
What is a mental set?	Approaching a problem in a way that has worked before, even when a different approach would work better.
What is the framing effect?	The way a choice is worded changes decisions, as when a treatment with a 90% survival rate is preferred to one with a 10% death rate.
What is the gambler's fallacy?	The belief that past random events change the odds of future ones (e.g., thinking a coin is due to land heads after several tails).
What is the sunk-cost fallacy?	Continuing to invest in something because of what has already been spent, even when quitting would be the better choice.
What is insight in problem solving?	A sudden realization of a problem's solution, as opposed to working toward it step by step.
How does convergent thinking differ from divergent thinking?	Convergent thinking narrows the options to a single best answer. Divergent thinking generates many possible answers and is linked to creativity.
What did Charles Spearman mean by general intelligence (g)?	A single general ability that underlies performance on all kinds of mental tests, which is why scores on different tests tend to correlate.
What did Howard Gardner propose about intelligence?	That there are multiple, relatively independent intelligences, such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist.
What are the three parts of Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory?	Analytical intelligence (academic problem solving), creative intelligence (generating novel ideas) and practical intelligence (handling everyday tasks).
How does fluid intelligence differ from crystallized intelligence?	Fluid intelligence is the ability to reason quickly and abstractly and tends to decline in later adulthood. Crystallized intelligence is accumulated knowledge and verbal skill and tends to grow with age.
How was the original intelligence quotient (IQ) calculated?	Mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100. William Stern proposed the formula and Lewis Terman applied it to his revision of Binet's test.
On modern intelligence tests, what are the average score and standard deviation?	An average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, so about 68% of people score between 85 and 115.
What does it mean for a test to be standardized?	It is given and scored in a uniform way, and each score is interpreted by comparison with the results of a large pretested group.
How does an achievement test differ from an aptitude test?	An achievement test measures what you have already learned. An aptitude test predicts your ability to learn a new skill.
What is the Flynn effect?	The rise in average intelligence test scores across many countries over the past century.
What is stereotype threat?	Worry about confirming a negative stereotype about your group, which can lower performance on tests.