12 Cognitive Psychology: Module 22

Module 22: Judgment and Reasoning No matter which public topic you discuss or which personal aspect you worry about – you need reasons for your opinion and argumentation. Moreover, the ability of reasoning is responsible for your cognitive features of decision making and choosing among alternatives. Everyone uses these two abilities in everyday life to the utmost. Let us, therefore, consider one more scene of Perry's life: It is again a rainy afternoon and Perry is tired of observing the black crows in his garden and decides to escape from the shabby weather and spend his mid-semester break in Mexico. Perry has never been to Mexico before and is pretty excited. He will leave the next day; thus, he begins packing his bag. The crucial things first: some underwear, some socks, a pair of pajamas and his wash bag with a toothbrush, shampoo, soap, sunscreen, and bug spray. But, Perry cannot find the bug spray until his friend, Terry, tells him that he lost it and will buy him a new bottle. Terry advises Perry to take an umbrella for the way to the corner store as it is raining outside before he turns back to his packing task. But what did he already pack into his bag? Immediately, he remembers and continues, packing his clothing into the bag, considering that each piece fits another one and finally his iPod as he exclusively listens to music with this device. Since he is going on somewhere warm, Perry specifically packs shorts and T-Shirts into his bag. After approximately half an hour, he is finally convinced that he has done everything necessary for having some fine holidays. Using Perry's vacation preparation, we will explain the basic principles of reasoning and decision making.