Types of Heuristics and Problem Solving PROBLEMS!

simple thinking strategies that allow us to solve problems and make judgments efficiently are called 

• fixations 
• semantics 
• heuristics 
• algorithms 

A strategy in which the likelihood of an event is estimated on the basis of how easily other instances of the event are available in memory is called the:

• Availability heuristic
• Availability algorithm
• Representativeness heuristic
• Representativeness algorithm

When Janice forgot to pack a pillow for her camping trip she used her down-jacket as a substitute pillow. In this situation Janice:

• Was not constrained by functional fixedness
• Was constrained by a mental set
• Was constrained by functional fixedness
• Used an algorithm to solve her problem

You hear that one of the Smith children is an outstanding Little League player and you immediately conclude that it’s their son rather than any of their four daughters. You reached your quite possibly erroneous conclusion as the result of:

• The confirmation bias
• The availability heuristic
• The representativeness heuristic
• Belief perseverance

Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they match our prototype.

• availability heuristics

• representative heuristics

• base rate heuristics

• functional fixedness

The way an issue is presented may alter perception.

• belief bias

• framing

• mood congruent memory

• mental set

Airline reservations typically decline after a highly publicized airplane crash because people overestimate the incidence of such disasters. In such instances, people’s decisions are being influenced by:

• Confirmation bias

• The availability heuristic

• The representativeness heuristic

• Functional fixedness

On her way to London, Janet was invited into the cockpit to meet the pilot, Alex. Sh was surprised to see that Alex was a woman. This is an example of:

• Confirmation bias

• Convergent thinking

• Insight

• Representative heuristic

Pablo vainly searches for a screwdriver while failing to recognize that a readily available coin in his pocket would turn the screw. His oversight best illustrates: 

• functional fixedness.
• the availability heuristic.
• belief perseverance.
• the representativeness heuristic.

Algorithms

• are also known as "rules of thumb."

• will always result in a correct solution, if there is a correct solution to be found.

• are also known as mechanical solutions.

• are what happen when the mind simply reorganizes a problem and comes up with a solution in an "aha" moment.