The Thinking Mind

Things covered in this lecture:•What do we think about - Mental representations, concepts•Solving problems - Decision heuristics and errors in problem solving•Language and behaviour

Mental Representations

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“Mental representations” are stored information that can be activated and manipulated by thought.

There is always content in thought .You have to think about something,

One might call up a visual memory of a route to reach a destination.

Mental Images

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Some people with autism spectrum disorders, such as Temple Grandin, think mostly in mental images.

Mental Concepts

DOGNoun: A domesticated carnivorous mammal (Canis familiaris) related to the foxes and wolves and raised in a wide variety of breeds.Verb: unwelcome persistent accompanimentAdj, Adv: dogged, doggedly

SImile – dog-like devotion

Concepts as Sets of Common Features

FLOWER: Petals in a circle Bright color Grows on trees

or stems Smells nice

??

Concepts as Prototypes

Concepts as Exemplars

Concepts as Theories

FLOWER =?

FLOWERYES

Concepts as Schemas

“Give-flowers-to-romantic-partner” is part of many people’s schema for flowers.

You encountered schemas in chapter 9

Concepts in animals

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This pigeon pecks only when a human is in the picture it can see (text p456)

Does it have a ‘concept’ of ‘human’? What kind of concept?

Decisions and heuristics in problem solving

Problem solving can often be thought of in terms of four steps

Decisions and heuristics in problem solving

Notice that the very idea of making a plan assumes mental representations of contingencies. We need not use trial and error

Step 1: Understand the Problem

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Problem: Term paper for class

Outline major

sectionsBrainstorm topics

Write thesis

statement

Add details/

evidence

Write paper

Barrier: Writer’s BlockSolution

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Utility: Costs and Benefits Affect: Gut ReactionPossible Topics

Depression

Aggression

Personality

Step 2: Make a Plan

Sensation

Emotion

Language

Aggression

Sensation

EmotionEmotion

Step 3: Carry Out the Plan

Outline major sections

Brainstorm topics

Write thesis statement

Add details/evidence

Write paper

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7

Completed Unfinished

Step 4: Look Back

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Heuristics are short cuts in decision making, and often affect choice of solutions

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Problem: Term paper for class

Outline major

sectionsBrainstorm topics

Write thesis

statement

Add details/

evidence

Write paper

Barrier: Writer’s BlockSolution

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Some common heuristics

Heuristics do not always work (partial information)

They sometimes reveal biases (e.g. stereotypes)

Availability RepresentativenessRecognitionAffect

Decision-Making and the Brain

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Orbitofrontal cortex

Nucleus accumbens

Amygdala

Bias and the ‘Asian disease’ problem:Imagine we face an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease has been proposed. The best scientific estimate of the consequences of these programs are as follows:

Some subjects are then presented with options A and B: Positive FramingA: If this program is adopted, 200 people will be saved [72%] SecureB: If this program is adopted, there is a one-third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved [28%] Risky

Other subjects are presented with options C and D: Negative FramingC: If this program is adopted, 400 people will die [22%] SecureD: If this program is adopted, there is a one-third probability that nobody will die and a two-thirds probability that 600 people will die [78%] Risky

In A&C the numerical outcomes are the same. In B&D the probable outcomes are the same.

The robust experimental finding is that subjects tend to prefer the secure option when given positive frames, but tend to prefer the gamble when given negative fames

Tversky & Kahneman’s “Asian Disease” problem

It contradicts conventional utility theory of choice.

Negative framing promotes riskier choices, despite equivalent outcomes

Fig 10.7

Language: Uniquely Human?

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Many animals communicate with each other using vocalizations, signals, or sequences of behavior.

Non-human Animals and Language

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Nature/Nurture Interactions and Language

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Language is a strong example of nature-nurture interaction.

The Building Blocks of Language

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Phonemes

Morphemes

Language is the blood of the soul.—Oliver Wendell Holmes

Grammar

language is blood of soul

Language and the Brain

Broca’s area Wernicke’s area

Broca’s aphasia: Difficulty producing phonemes

Wernicke’s aphasia: Difficulty using morphemes

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Learning Phonemes

The number of phonemes in a language is largest near the West Coast of Africa and decreases with distance from that origin.

Learning Vocabulary

Number ofWords in

Vocabulary

14 15 1716 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Age (Months)

The Vocabulary Spurt

Learning Grammar

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By around the age of 12, the “sensitive period” for learning grammar ends.

Language is a good example of senstive periods in development.

Next Week: The Developing Mind

Omitting pages 544-564 (life-span development after adolescence)