Chapters 10 and 11Thinking, Language, and

Intelligence

Thinking

Cognition mental activities associated with thinking, knowing,

remembering, and communicating Cognitive Psychologists

study these mental activities concept formation problem solving decision making judgment formation

Thinking

Concept mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas,

or people Prototype

mental image or best example of a category matching new items to the prototype provides a quick

and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

Which one is the prototype?

Thinking

Algorithm Step by step procedures that guarantee a

solution methodical, logical rule or procedure that

guarantees solving a particular problem contrasts with the usually speedier–but

also more error-prone--use of heuristics

Thinking

Heuristic simple thinking strategy that often

allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently

usually speedier than algorithms more error-prone than algorithms

Thinking

Unscramble

S P L O Y O C H Y G Algorithm

all 907,208 combinations Heuristic

throw out all YY combinations other heuristics?

Heuristic searching To search for hot cocoa mix, you could search every supermarket aisle (an algorithm), or you could check the breakfast, beverage, and baking supplies sections (heuristics). The heuristics approach is often speedier, but an algorithmic search guarantees you will find it eventually.

Thinking

Insight sudden and often novel

realization of the solution to a problem

contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Creativity the ability to produce

novel and valuable ideas

The Aha! moment A burst of right temporal lobe activity accompanies insight solutions to word problems

five components of creativity

1. Expertise2. Imaginative thinking skills3. A venturesome personality4. Intrinsic Motivation5. A creative environment

What Hinders our Problem Solving?

Confirmation Bias tendency to search for information that confirms one’s

preconceptions Fixation

inability to see a problem from a new perspective impediment to problem solving

The Matchstick Problem

How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles?

The Three-Jugs Problem

Using jugs A, B, and C, with the capacities shown, how would you measure out the volumes indicated?

The Candle-Mounting Problem

Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?

Example of Fixation

Mental Set tendency to approach a problem in a

particular way especially a way that has been

successful in the past but may or may not be helpful in solving a new problem

Example of Fixation

Functional Fixedness tendency to think of things only

in terms of their usual functions impediment to problem solving

The Matchstick Problem

Solution to the matchstick problem

The Three-Jugs Problem

Solution: a) All seven problems can be solved by the equation shown in (a): B - A - 2C = desired volume.

b) But simpler solutions exist for problems 6 and 7, such as A - C for problem 6.

The Candle-Mounting Problem

Solving this problem requires recognizing that a box need not always serve as a container

Heuristics (Mental Shortcuts) Representativeness Heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

may lead one to ignore other relevant information

Heuristics Availability Heuristic

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

Example: airplane crash

Thinking

Overconfidence tendency to be more confident than

correct tendency to overestimate the accuracy

of one’s beliefs and judgments

How can overconfidence lead to cramming?

Thinking Framing

the way an issue is posed how an issue is framed can significantly

affect decisions and judgments Example: What is the best way to

market ground beef--as 25% fat or 75% lean?

Framing and Options

• Preferred portion size depends on framing– SuperSize Me?

• Why choosing to be an organ donor depends on where you live. – Automatic?

• How to help employees decide to save for their retirement.– Opt-In or Opt-Out

Thinking

Belief Bias the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to

distort logical reasoning sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem

valid or valid conclusions seem invalid Belief Perseverance

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Intuition

• Intuition- an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

• Faced with complex decisions involving many factors, the best advice may indeed be to take our time—to "sleep on it"—and to await the intuitive result of our unconscious processing.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence designing and programming computer

systems to do intelligent things to simulate human thought processes

intuitive reasoning learning understanding language

Artificial Intelligence Computer Neural Networks

computer circuits that mimic the brain’s interconnected neural cells

performing tasks learning to recognize visual patterns learning to recognize smells

Language Language

our spoken, written, or gestured works and the way we combine them to communicate meaning

Phoneme in a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit Bat= phonemes b, a and t 869 exist, but English only uses about 40 Changes in phonemes produces changes in meaning

Ie bat, bet, beet, beat, bit, etc.

Language

Morpheme in a language, the smallest unit that carries

meaning may be a word or a part of a word (such as a

prefix or suffix) Grammar

a system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Language Semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language

also, the study of meaning Ie add –ed to a verb and it is past tense

Syntax the rules for combining words into

grammatically sensible sentences in a given language Ie adjectives come before nouns

Language We learn about 3500 words per year We are all born to recognize speech sounds from all

the world’s languages

100908070605040302010

0

Percentage ableto discriminateHindi t’s

Hindi-speaking

adults

6-8 months

8-10months

10-12months

English-speaking

adultsInfants from English-speaking homes

How Do We Learn Language?

• Skinner and Operant Learning: Through association, imitation, and reinforcement once the vocal musculature becomes able to learn

• Chomsky: Language is an acquisition device than can be turned on and off; there is a universal grammar that exists

Language Babbling Stage

beginning at 3 to 4 months the stage of speech development in which the

infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

One-Word Stage from about age 1 to 2 the stage in speech development during which

a child speaks mostly in single words

Language

Two-Word Stage beginning about age 2 the stage in speech development during which

a child speaks in mostly two-word statements Telegraphic Speech

early speech stage in which the child speaks like a telegram-–“go car”--using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting “auxiliary” words

Language

Summary of Language Development

Month(approximate)

Stage

410

12

24

24+

Babbles many speech sounds.

Babbling reveals households language.

One-word stage.

Two-world, telegraphic speech.

Language develops rapidly intocomplete sentences.

Language

Genes design the mechanisms for a language, and experience activates them as it modifies the brain

Language

New language learning gets harder with age

1009080706050 Native 3-7 8-10 11-15 17-39

Percentage correct ongrammar test

Age at schoolYoung children have a readiness to learn language. Ten years after coming to the United States, Asian immigrants took a grammar test. Although there is no sharply defined critical period for second language learning, those who arrived before age 8 understood American English grammar as well as native speakers did. Those who arrived later did not

Language Limits

• When a young brain does not learn any language, its language-learning capacity never fully develops.

• Childhood seems to represent a critical (or "sensitive") period for mastering certain aspects of language– Deaf children who gain hearing with cochlear implants by

age 2 develop better oral speech than do those who receive implants after age 4

– Natively deaf children who learn sign language after age 9 never learn it as well as those who become deaf at age 9 after learning English.

Language

The interplay of thought and language

Does language influence our thinking?

Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity• The idea that

language determines the way we think (not vive versa).• The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past.

Do people that speak more than one language think differently depending

on their language at that time?

Thinking without Language• We can think in words.• But more often we think in mental

pictures.

In 1977, Reggie Jackson hit 3 HR’s against the Dodgers. He has stated that before each at bat, he visualizes crushing a home run. Do you think visualization helps?

Do Animals think?

Kohler’s Chimpanzees• Kohler

exhibited that Chimps can problem solve.

Honeybees seem to communicate

Apes and Signing