Creativity, Logical Reasoning & Decision Making

Cognitive Psychology — Creativity, Logical Reasoning & Decision Making | Comprehensive Study Notes

Stop staring at your textbook trying to make sense of cognitive processes. These notes break down three of the most intellectually rich and exam-heavy topics in Cognitive Psychology — clearly, completely, and in a way that actually sticks.

What's Inside:

Section 1 — Creativity

The full scientific picture of one of psychology's most fascinating constructs:

1. Definition and nature of creativity — what it is, what it isn't, and why it matters
2. The 4P Framework — Person, Process, Product, Press
3. Wallas's 4-Stage Model — Preparation, Incubation, Illumination, Verification (with neural correlates for each stage)
4. Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking — Guilford's distinction, with the 4 components of divergent thinking (fluency, originality, flexibility, elaboration)
5. Investment Theory of Creativity (Sternberg & Lubart) — 6 interacting resources
6. Geneplore Model (Finke, Ward & Smith) — generative and exploratory phases
7. Default Mode Network & neuroscience of incubation — why resting the mind works
8. Threshold Theory — the IQ-creativity relationship explained
9. Characteristics of the creative person — openness, intrinsic motivation, risk tolerance, defocused attention, persistence, and more
10. Measurement — Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), alternate uses tasks, scoring criteria

Section 2 — Logical Reasoning

A complete account of how humans reason — correctly and incorrectly:

1. Definition and types of reasoning — deductive, inductive, abductive
2. Deductive Reasoning — syllogisms, propositional logic, validity vs. truth, the atmosphere effect
3. Inductive Reasoning — generalisation, analogical reasoning, strength vs. validity
4. Mental Models Theory (Johnson-Laird) — how we build internal representations to reason
5. Dual Process Theory — System 1 (fast, intuitive) vs. System 2 (slow, deliberate); when each operates and when each fails
6. Heuristics in Reasoning — representativeness, availability, anchoring — with vivid real-world examples
7. Classic Reasoning Tasks — Wason Selection Task, Linda Problem, syllogistic reasoning errors
8. Biases in logical reasoning — confirmation bias, belief bias, framing effects
9. Factors affecting reasoning — working memory, expertise, emotional state, problem framing
10. Practical and clinical applications — education, critical thinking training, clinical assessment

Section 3 — Decision Making

Everything from rational models to real-world cognitive shortcuts:

1. Definition and nature of decision making — programmed vs. non-programmed; certain vs. uncertain
2. Normative vs. Descriptive Models — what we should do vs. what we actually do
3. Utility Theory & Expected Utility — rational choice framework
4. Bounded Rationality (Herbert Simon) — satisficing, cognitive limitations, and the good-enough solution
5. Prospect Theory (Kahneman & Tversky) — loss aversion, reference points, value function, the endowment effect
6. Cognitive Biases in Decision Making — overconfidence, availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, anchoring & adjustment, sunk cost fallacy, hindsight bias — each defined, explained, and illustrated
7. Naturalistic Decision Making — Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) Model; expert intuition vs. novice analysis
8. Affect and Emotion in Decision Making — somatic marker hypothesis (Damasio); the role of gut feelings
9. Group Decision Making — groupthink, group polarisation, the Abilene Paradox, strategies for better collective decisions
10. Improving Decision Quality — pre-mortems, decision trees, debiasing strategies, structured analytical techniques
11. Neuroscience of Decision Making — prefrontal cortex, amygdala, dopaminergic reward systems, Iowa Gambling Task findings

Who is this for?

Psychology students — undergraduate and postgraduate

Why these notes?

✔ Every theory covered with background, core concept, key research, and critical evaluation ✔ Classic experiments explained clearly — Wason task, Linda problem, Iowa Gambling Task, Prospect Theory demonstrations ✔ Real-world examples throughout for answer writing ✔ Neuroscientific grounding for every major process ✔ Strengths and limitations included for every major theory and model ✔ Written to be answered in exams — not just memorised