Contents

Schema
Metacognition
Cognitive bias
Confirmation bias
Attribution bias
Dunning-Kruger effect
Mental rigidity
Cognitive flexibility
Fallacy
Reductionism
Survivorship bias
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Emotional intelligence
Communication barriers
Linguistic relativity
Willful ignorance
Catharsis


Schema

Schemas are mental structures that represent a person's knowledge or ideas which help them with perception and interpretation of things. While schemas help reduce the time it takes to interpret something, they can also limit one's ability to understand something novel or influence their perception of it. Types of schemas include self schema, object schema, person schema, event schema.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & simplypsychology.org


Metacognition

Metacognition is the awareness or analysis of one's own learning or thinking processes, often involving regulation of the processes. This helps one learn better and come up with effective solutions to problems.

Learn more at wikipedia.org & cambridge-community.org.uk


Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is a mental state in which there is a difference between one's experiences or behaviour and one's beliefs about what is true.

Cognitive dissonance creates a motivational drive in a person to reduce the dissonance (similar to hunger). An individual is likely to reduce cognitive dissonance in one or multiple ways- (1) accept new information and change one's attitude or behaviour; (2) reject evidence and look for information to attempt to justify inconsistency in one's behaviour; (3) trivialise the dissonant behaviour or the importance of the attitude.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & simplypsychology.org


Cognitive Bias

Cognitive bias refers to deviation from rationality in judgement. Types of cognitive biases include confirmation bias, attribution bias, dunning-kruger effect, etc.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & simplypsychology.org


Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to gather and favor evidence that confirms one's preexisting expectations while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & simplypsychology.org


Attribution Bias

Attribution bias refers to inaccurate assumptions and faulty judgements of other people and their behaviour. It is based on attribution theory which focuses on identifying how an observer creates a causal explanation for events.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & wikipedia.org


Dunning-Kruger Effect

Dunning-Kruger effect refers to the tendency of people with low ability or expertise regarding something overestimating their own ability or knowledge.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & psychologytoday.com


Mental Rigidity

Mental rigidity is the inability to appreciate or entertain a new perspective. It can also refer to the inability to modify schemas once they are formed; and completing tasks in only one manner despite more effective alternatives being available.

Learn more at wikipedia.org & psychologytoday.com


Cognitive Flexibility

Cognitive flexibility refers to one's ability to adopt or shift between perspectives, adapt to one's environment, solve problems creatively. Cognitive flexibility can be improved by learning new skills, pursuing challenges and new experiences, breaking out of routines, meeting people with different cultures and ideas, meditation and reflection, etc.

Learn more at opencolleges.edu.au & psychologytoday.com


Fallacy

A fallacy refers to invalid or faulty reasoning in an argument. Some of the examples include straw man, ad hominem, a priori, fallacy fallacy, appeal to probability, reductionism, etc.

Learn more at iep.utm.edu & plato.stanford.edu


Reductionism

Reductionism is the oversimplification of something complex. It also refers to the assumption that there is only a single, simple cause of an outcome when in fact, there may have been many causes.

Learn more at thoughtco.com & encyclopedia.uia.org


Survivorship Bias

Survivorship bias is the tendency to focus on entities that have passed through some selection process and ignoring those that did not. This leads to the formation of incorrect judgements and conclusions due to the bias in selection.

Learn more at wikipedia.org & bbc.com


Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Self-fulfilling prophecy refers to a prediction that causes itself to become true as a result of the expectation that it would come true. If a person thinks something will happen, they may consciously or unconsciously make it happen through their actions or inaction.

For example, if a teacher believes that a student is unlikely to achieve great things in life, the teacher may reduce their effort in guiding the student since it would save the teacher's time and energy. This causes the prediction to come true as the student would be ignored or misguided.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & simplypsychology.org


Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand and regulate one's own feelings, and understand others' feelings and behave accordingly to avoid or solve problems. It is possible to improve one's own emotional intelligence through reflection, meditation, etc.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & psychologytoday.com


Communication Barriers

Communication barriers are factors that prevent an idea from being effectively shared between the speaker and the listener. Communication barriers can be categorised into linguistic barriers, psychological barriers, physical barriers, socio-cultural barriers, technological barriers, etc.

Examples for communication barriers include lack of open mindedness, lack of good mental health, cultural differences, misinterpretation, distance between the speaker and the listener, etc.

Learn more at open.lib.umn.edu & vedantu.com


Linguistic Relativity

Linguistic Relativity is a principle that suggests that the languages a person knows can influence their attention, perception, and decisions. People who speak multiple languages can perceive the world in more ways than those who speak one language. The ability to switch between mindsets can be resourceful for problem solving.

Learn more at psychologytoday.com & icjs.us


Willful Ignorance

Willful ignorance is the deliberate attempt at avoiding or rejecting information or evidence that contradicts one's preconceived notions. Though this helps protect one's own emotional state, it can be harmful in many ways.

Learn more at psychologytoday.com & psychologytoday.com


Catharsis

Catharsis is an emotional release linked to relieving unconscious conflicts and intense emotions built over time. The purification or purgation of emotions is done primarily through the creation or viewing of art. Greek tragedies are a prime example. Other methods include exercising, journaling, psychodrama, talking with a friend.

Learn more at verywellmind.com & britannica.com


Updated on 31 January 2023