Thinking and Language

changing and reorganizing the information stored in memory to create new information

• thinking
• image
• symbol
• concept

a visual, mental representation of an event or object

• image
• symbol
• concept
• prototype

an abstract unit of thought that represents an object or quality; anything that stands for or represents something else

• symbol
• concept
• prototype
• rule

a label for a class of objects or events that have at least one attribute in common

• concept
• prototype
• rule
• metacognition

a representative example of a concept

• prototype
• rule
• metacognition
• algorithm

a statement of relation between concepts

• rule
• metacognition
• algorithm
• heuristic

the awareness of or thinking about one's own cognitive process (thinking about what you are thinking about0

• metacognition
• algorithm
• heuristic
• mental set

a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem

• algorithm
• heuristic
• mental set
• functional fixedness

a rule-of-thumb problem-solving strategy

• heuristic
• mental set
• functional fixedness
• creativity

a habitual strategy or pattern of problem solving

• mental set
• functional fixedness
• creativity
• flexibility