Concepts are the building blocks of thought. Concepts are formed by definition. Prototypes are the most representative example of a concept. Insight is the sudden flashes of inspiration. Obstacles to Problem Solving Confirmation bias - paying attention to information that confirms what we believe while ignoring information that opposes our beliefs.
Fixation is the inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective.
Making Decisions and Forming Judgments Heuristics are rules of thumb that suggest a course of action without guaranteeing an optimal solution. Overconfidence the tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments. The tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid. The most tangible indication of our thinking power is language. Language Structure Phonemes - the smallest distinctive sound unit.