Thinking

What is thought?

• There are basically two types of thought…

1.Concepts (schemas)…usually based on prototypes.

2.Images

Our concept of men may include all of the following guys….

But they are based on our prototype (ideal) male…..

Problem Solving

Algorithms• A rule that

guarantees the right solution to a problem.

• Usually by using a formula.

• They work but are sometimes impractical.

Heuristics (hew – RIS- tik)

• A rule of thumb that generally, but not always, can be used to make a judgment to solve a problem.

• It is fast, but is…• Prone to errors• Two major types of

heuristics….

Representativeness Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind.

• Ex. someone with glasses is nerdy, or a blonde is not smart.

•If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence.•She is an economics major at Harvard University.

Who went to Harvard?My friend Dan is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (but he looks like he did).

Extreme Makeover: Criminal Court Edition

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Extreme Makeover: Criminal Court Edition

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Availability Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on examples of similar situations that initially come to mind.

• Vivid examples in the news often cause an availability heuristic.

Which place would you be more scared of getting mugged or even murdered?

The Bronx, NY

Gary, Indiana

The crime rate of Gary, Indiana is MUCH higher than the Bronx. But when you think of crime, which town comes to mind?

I realize the Bronx picture is misleading.

Representative • any stereotypes – • blondes are dumb, irish

are leprechauns, germans are not funny, muslims are terrorists,

Availability • shortcut based on your

available information• - the best pizza and

wings are from my hometown of Clinton Township - "have you tried any others?" of course not, the best is in Buffalo!

Heuristics can lead to Overconfidence…

• Our confidence is not a good indicator of how right we are.

• Belief Perseverance- maintaining a belief even after it has been proven wrong.

• Belief Bias- People will tend to accept any and all conclusions that fit in with their systems of belief, without challenge or any deep consideration of what they are actually agreeing with.

God is love.Love is blind

Ray Charles is blind.Ray Charles is God.

Hurdles to problem solving

Mental set

• a.k.a. rigidity• The tendency to

fall into established thought patterns.

• Some examples are….

Using no more than four lines, can you connect all nine dots without lifting your pencil from the paper?

• To overcome mental sets you must “think outside the box”—literally!

Mental Set Example

• Assume that you’re the engineer of a passenger train. At the first station, 20 passengers get on. At the next station, 5 passengers get off and 15 get on. At the next station, 10 passengers get off and 12 get on. At the next station, 7 get off and 5 get on. At the next station, 8 passengers get off and 3 get on.

1. How old is the engineer of the train? 2. How many stations were there? 3. How many passengers are left on the train? 4. Altogether, how many passengers have gotten off the train since the first station?

Mental Set

Functional Fixedness

• The inability to see a new use for an object.

Think of as many uses as you can for a ……

Confirmation Bias

• We look for evidence to confirm our beliefs and ignore evidence that contradicts them.

• For example, if one believes that all Italians are in shape and go tanning, then they turn on MTV.

Look…I knew it was true!!!But is it really?

Framing• 90% of the population will be saved

with this medication…..or• 10% of the population will die despite

this medication.• You should not drink more than two

drinks per day….or• You should not drink more than 730

drinks a year.Look at the following question

and think about how the question is worded may effect the way it is answered.

• How can businesses become more socially responsible?

• The way a problem is presented can drastically effect the way we view it.

Framing Examples• A surgeon bragging about a 98% survival rate OR • A surgeon bragging about a 2% death rate

• Ground beef being 20% fat OR 80% lean.

• Condoms have a 95% success rate in stopping HIV infections. (90% college students rate condoms as effective) Condoms have a 5% failure rate (4% rate condoms as effective)

CREATIVITY

• Almost impossible to define.

• Little correlation between creativity and intelligence.

• Convergent Thinking versus Divergent Thinking

• Convergent – What is the area of a

triangle that is 3 feet wide at the base and 2 feet tall?

– Erica is shorter than Zoey but taller than Carlo, and Carlo is taller than Jared. Who is the second tallest?

• Divergent– What objects can you

think of that begin with the letter BR?

– How could discarded aluminum cans be put to use?

Language can be…..

All languages contain….

Phonemes• The smallest units of

sound in a language.• English has about 44

phonemes.

Morphemes• The smallest unit of

meaningful sound.• Can be words like a or but.

• Can also be parts of words like prefixes or suffixes…”ed” at the end of a word means past tense.

How many phonemes does platypus have?

23

Structuring Language

Phrase

Sentence

Meaningful units (290,500) … meat, pumpkin.Words

Smallest meaningful units (100,000) … un, for.

Morphemes

Basic sounds (about 40) … ea, sh.Phonemes

Composed of two or more words (326,000) … meat eater.

Composed of many words (infinite) … She opened the jewelry box.

Grammar

• The rules of a language.

• Syntax: the order of words in a language.

Is this the White House or the House White?

Language Acquisition

Stages that we learn language…

1. Babbling Stage2. Holophrastic Stage (one

word stage)3. Telegraphic Speech

Stage (2-word )• After the telegraphic

stage we get overgeneralization.

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When do we learn language?

How do we learn language?

Social Learning Theory

• B.F. Skinner from the Behaviorist School

• Baby may imitate a parent.

• If they are reinforced they keep saying the word.

• If they are punished, they stop saying the word.

Chomsky’s Theory(nativist theory)

• We learn language too quickly for it to be through reinforcement and punishment.

• Inborn universal language acquisition device

Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity

• The idea that language determines the way we think.

• The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past.

Do animals use language?

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/28127-assignment-discovery-whale-talk-video.htm

...

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/08/05/am.kluger.animals.think.cnn

• Searching for analogies:

A teacher had 23 pupils in his class. All but 7 of them went on a museum trip and thus were away for the day. How many students remained in class that day?

• Susan gets in her car in Boston and drives toward New York City, averaging 50 miles per hour. Twenty minutes later, Ellen gets in her car in New York City and starts driving toward Boston, averaging 60 mph. Both women take the same route, which extends a total of 220 miles between the two cities. Which car is nearer to Boston when they meet?

7

Susan & Ellen are exactly the same distance from Boston when they meet

• The maker doesn’t want it, the buyer doesn’t use it, the user doesn’t see it.

• How can you physically stand behind your father while he is standing behind you?

A coffin

Stand back to back

• A man left home one morning. He turned right and ran straight ahead. Then he turned left. After a while, he turned left again, running faster than ever. Then he turned left once more and decided to go home. In the distance he could see two masked men waiting for him. Who were they?

• What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years?

The umpire & the other team’s catcher

The letter M

You have two coins worth 30 cents. One of them is not a quarter. What are the two coins?

A nickel & quarter