A mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).
The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements.
A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.
The inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set.
A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common.