In the context of cognitive psychology, which of the following best defines convergent thinking as studied in AP Psychology?

• A. The process of narrowing down multiple possibilities to arrive at a single, correct solution to a problem.
• B. The ability to generate many different ideas or solutions to a single problem.
• C. The tendency to rely on previously learned solutions when faced with new problems.
• D. The mental process of organizing information into meaningful patterns or categories.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the concept of convergent thinking within cognitive psychology. It refers to a specific type of problem-solving process.
2. Step 2: Recognize that convergent thinking involves focusing on narrowing down multiple possibilities to find one correct or best solution, rather than generating many ideas.
3. Step 3: Compare convergent thinking with divergent thinking, which is about generating many different ideas or solutions to a problem.
4. Step 4: Eliminate options that describe other cognitive processes, such as relying on previously learned solutions (which relates to mental set) or organizing information into patterns (which relates to categorization).
5. Step 5: Conclude that convergent thinking is best defined as the process of narrowing down multiple possibilities to arrive at a single, correct solution to a problem.