Conclusions logically follow from two premises.

Principle I: If premises are true, conclusion will be true.

Principle II: the validity of a syllogism is determined by its form not content.

TRUTH and VALIDITY of syllogisms- different things.

Tendency to reach conclusions that agree with current beliefs. 

People more likely to evaluate a syllogism as valid when they have a believeable conclusion.

Going from one or more specific cases to a more general conclusion.

Strength of conclusions:

·Number of observations- more=better

·Representativeness- temporal.

The availaibility heuristic: use most available info to make decisions. recency/ amount

The representativeness heuristic: biased belief that everyone in a group are a homogenous population- stereotypes.

Choosing between alternatives.

Want to optimise decisions

Making a decision in your own interest.

-Each decision has costs/benefits based on our personal goals.

-Estimate a subjective utility for each item

UNCERTAINTY: risks involved in making a decision- calculate estimated utility

-FORECAST: must be abe to accurately estimate expected utility.

·people usually focus on salient characteristics- bad at affective forecasting

-FRAMING: decisions affected by the way choices are stated- language & context.

Steps we need to take to get from starting and goal state.

-Problem Space: path for problem solving

-Subgoals: hierarchical setup of goals. (particular order)

Assess and reduce difference between current and goal states.

-Subgoals allow us to move toward solution without having to plan problem space.

-Sometimes we need to temporarily move away from goal in order to achieve subgoal.

*Not useful for ill-defined problems

(well-defined: clear goal & starting state, guidelines for reaching goal.)