Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

2.
are categorizations of objects that share com-
mon properties.
3. When you think of the concept “chair,” you immediately 
think of a comfortable easy chair. A chair of this type 
could be thought of as a 
of the category 
“chair.”
4. When you ask your friend how best to study for your psy-
chology fi nal, he tells you, “I’ve always found it best to 
skim over the notes once, then read the book, then go over 
the notes again.” What decision-making tool might this be 
an example of?
R E T H I N K
1. How might the availability heuristic contribute to preju-
dices based on race, age, and gender? Can awareness of 
this heuristic prevent this from happening?
2. From the perspective of a human resources specialist: How 
might you use the research on mental imagery to improve 
employees’ performance?
Answers to Evaluate Questions
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According to an old legend, a group of Vietnamese monks guard three towers on 
which sit 64 golden rings. The monks believe that if they succeed in moving the rings 
from the fi rst tower to the third according to a series of rigid rules, the world as we 
know it will come to an end. (Should you prefer that the world remain in its present 
state, there’s no need for immediate concern: The puzzle is so complex that it will 
take the monks about a trillion years to solve it.) 
In the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, a simpler version of the task facing the monks, 
three disks are placed on three posts in the order shown in Figure 1. The goal of the 
puzzle is to move all three disks to the third post, arranged in the same order, by 
using as few moves as possible. There are two restrictions: Only one disk can be 
moved at a time, and no disk can ever cover a smaller one during a move. 
Why are cognitive psychologists interested in the Tower of Hanoi problem? 
Because the way people go about solving such puzzles helps illuminate how people 
solve complex, real-life problems. Psychologists have found that problem solving 
typically involves the three steps illustrated in Figure 2: preparing to create solutions, 
producing solutions, and evaluating the solutions that have been generated. 
Key Concepts 
How do people approach and 
solve problems? 
What are the major obstacles 
to problem solving? 
What is creativity?