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Chapter 7: Cognition
Thinking & Intelligence
Cognition = knowing o Mental activity associated with processing info o Content and processes Cognitive Psychology arose in the 1950’s o Approach that explains observable behavior by investigating mental processes o Backlash against behaviorism o The invention of the computer helped give them the idea of how the brain can process information Mental processes/cognition = software Our physical brain = hardware How We Think Mental imagery: mental representations that stand for visual objects o Picture-like quality o Includes mental maps Mental manipulation of mental images similar to manipulation of real objects o More detailed questions take longer to answer o “How many windows are in your house?” o Daydreaming, remembering mental processes
Concepts: mental grouping of similar objects, events or people o Allow us to learn & remember o Allow us to judge quickly o Allow us to communicate to others Represent different levels of objects/events: o Superordinate concept: the most general type of concept Animal or fruit o Basic level type: an example of a type of concept around which other similar concepts are organized Animal = superordinate Dog = basic level type o Subordinate: the most specific type of concept Maltese Concepts vary in clarity of defining features: o Formal: concepts that are defined by specific rules or features A square is something w/ 4 sides that equal 360 degrees. Science and math rely on formal rules to define concepts o Natural: concepts formed as a result of real-world experiences Fuzzy types of concepts A bird A bird is something w/ wings that can fly But what about penguins? Prototypes: best example of a particular concept, closely matches defining features
Algorithms o Specific, step-by-step procedures o Guarantees solution to problem Ex. Cooking w/ a recipe Ex. Multiplication rules Solving anagrams Heuristics o Educated guesses that narrow down possible solutions Insight o Sudden “a-ha” moment of realizing solution o Something that your brain does, generally when you aren’t thinking about the problem you’re trying to solve Heuristics
Representative heuristic: decide whether example belongs to
category based on similarities to members of category o Is the guy a librarian or a farmer? o He seems like a librarian due to his characteristics o Leads to a lot of stereotypes
Availability heuristic: judging probability of event based on
examples/experience that can be brought to mind.
Work backward from goal
o Very effective o Must know what the goal is
Hill climbing: moving continually closer to the goal
o Do not work your way back
Ex. Like writing a paper
Sub-goals: breaking a problem into smaller pieces
Means-end analysis: difference between the starting
situation & then goal is determined & then steps are taken to reduce that difference o Break it down into smaller pieces and then work towards mini goals to achieve the end result. o Combining hill climbing and sub goals Problem Solving Obstacles
Functional fixedness: inability to think about objects
outside their normal function o Ex. The Candle Problem & The String Problem
Mental sets: tendency to use strategies that have
worked in the past o The Dot Problem o The guy who jumped out of the plane
Conformation bias: tendency to only see what you
want to see and ignore everything else o Ex. “Do you smoke?” “My uncle lived to be 90.” Intelligence Ability to o Learn from one’s experiences o Acquire knowledge o Use resources effectively Helps one survive in their culture o Biggest broad definition An all-purpose ability which allows us to do well on tests and whatnot.
Terman developed English version of Binet’s test (1916): Stanford-Binet test o Used IQ scoring, called IQ test Allows comparisons of different age groups Other popular IQ tests today o Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) o Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) Verbal, working memory, processing speed Validity: the degree to which a test actually measures what it is supposed to measure o Accuracy of test Ecological validity: accuracy in the real world o Is what we’re measuring in a lab what we’re measuring in the real world o Internal validity Reliability: the tendency of a test to produce the same scores again and again each time it is given to the same people. o Consistency of test o Testing the same person or a group of people twice. Unreliable and Invalid o A useless test o Worst case scenario Reliable but Invalid o Not measuring what you think you’re measuring Reliable and Valid test o Get the same score every time you take it
o And it’s reliable o Meaningful scores Standardization: process of giving the test to a large group of people that represents the kind of people for whom the test is designed. Representative sample o They provide norms (baseline) Normal curve: distribution in which scores are most frequent around the mean (average) o Symmetrical-bell shaped Deviation IQ scores used today: average variation of scores around the mean o Average IQ = 100 o Standard deviation: 15 pts How much do we differ from the mean Average amt of difference around the mean Cultural Bias in IQ Testing Culturally biased tests have favored people o Who are from urban areas, and are middle class and White Culture-Fair (or Culture-Reduced) Tests o Intended to be culturally unbiased o Include questions familiar to people of all backgrounds Immigrants who may not speak English o Or include no verbal questions
Ch. 8: Lifespan Development Human Development Scientific study of changes that occur in humans from conception until death o Personality, cognitive, biological, social Developmental Psychology Longitudinal Designs o Same group of the people followed over time to examine age-related changes o “Follow the same group of people for a LONG time. Ex: test IQ at 5, 10, 15 over ten year period Think of the chart of people as they age: infant, toddler, child, etc. It’s almost like a map. o Advantage: can look at changes within people due to age o Disadvantage: takes a long time to get data; expensive, and participants may move, drop out or die. Attrition: where people drop out of your study Cross-sectional design o Group of different aged participants studied at one point in time to determine age-related differences Ex: compare IQ scores at 5, 10 and 15 years Advantages: quick, cheaper, retention is not an issue. Disadvantage: less sure age is what contributes to differences observed (cohort effects) Cross-Sequential Designs o Combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs
o Compare different age groups at several points in time Ex: select participants 5, 10, 15 yrs. old and test them every 5 years. o Capitalizes on advantages and reduces disadvantages associated with longitudinal and cross-sectional designs. Infancy and Childhood (read pgs. 299-302) Physical Development Reflexes o Genetically wired, which are innate Grasping, startle, rooting, stepping, sucking Rooting and sucking are tied into each other If these actions do not happen, could be an issue Sensory Development o All but vision fairly well-developed at birth They have no color vision Cones have not developed o Preference for human voice & face Preference for human voices over anything else They prefer to look at human faces to anything else; abstract art, etc. o Motor development Occurs closes to the head Hold their own head up 2-4 months Rolling over 2-5 months Sitting up (4-6 months)
Cannot thinking logically
Develop language and concepts
o They can talk!
Egocentric thinking
o Unable to take on the perspectives of others
Centration
o Focusing on only one feature of an object o Concrete Operational Stage (ages 7-11)
Successful conservation task, ability to “reserve”
o Formal Operational Stage (ages 12+)
Abstract thinking possible
Hypothetical thinking
Thinking about possibilities and future
Criticisms o He studied his own children o He studied white, middle class children o Cognitive development is gradual and slow process. Vgotsky’s Theory Emphasized role of social interactions on cognitive development Scaffolding: learning technique whereby more skilled person aids child in learning o You only provide as much help as needed and once the skill is acquired, you help less. Zone of proximal development (ZPD): what a child can do alone versus what child do with help.
Language Development Language acquisition device (Chomsky) o Our brains are naturally wired to understand and produce language Stages common across all cultures o Clearly some natural factor contributing to language o 2 months: Cooing o 6 months: babbling o 1 year: one-word speech (holophrases) o 18 months” telegraphic speech o 2-3 years & up: whole sentences o 6 years: as fluent as an adult Psychosocial Development Development of personality, relationships, and sense of gender Temperament: behavioral and emotional characteristics present at birth How you act o Easy: regular, adaptable and happy o Difficult: irregular, nonadaptable and irritable o Slow to warm up: need to adjust gradually to change
Easy going, but it takes them a little longer to warm
up.
Makes changes gradually
Attachment: emotional bond that forms between infant and primary caregiver Ainsworth’s “Strange Situation” o Secure o Avoidant o Ambivalent o Disorganized-disoriented
Industry vs. Inferiority (6 years to puberty) o Mastering knowledge and intellectual skills o If you have success in this stage, it builds confidence and self-esteem. o If not, may make you feel inferior. Adolescence o Period of life from about 13 to early 20s o Transition between childhood and adulthood Physical development o Growth spurt o Puberty: physical changes that occur in the body as sexual development reaches its peak. Takes about 4 years Cognitive Development o Frontal lobes last to mature o Piaget’s Formal Operations stage (12+) Abstract, hypothetical thinking possible Egocentrism still present: own thought Personal fable o Believe your story is unique to you o Nothing bad can happen to them Imaginary Audience o Everyone is watching me! Metacognition: think about your thinking Moral Development Cognitive Development Carol Gilligan: Women’s morality is based on a standard of caring for others. o Men’s morality is based on a standard for justice. Psychosocial Development
Erikson’s Theory o Identity vs. Role Confusion (13-early 20’s) Identity: who you are and who you are becoming Psychosocial moratorium: time out from adult roles. o Parent-teen conflict normal Usually only about matters of personal taste, not moral issues. Adulthood Physical Development Young adulthood (20-39): minimal signs of aging begin in 20s. Middle Adulthood (40-65): moderate signs of aging o Female: menopause o Males: andropause Late Adulthood (65+): advanced signs of aging present Physical Development Theories of Physical Aging o Cellular-clock o Wear-and-tear Stress, physical exertion o Free-radical Our body does it to itself Oxygen molecules w/ unpaired electrons which travel around and cause damage. Theory of Psychological Aging Activity theory: if you keep up higher levels of activity, you are more likely to be physically and psychologically healthier. Cognitive Development Middle Age o Problem solving and decision making
Types of motivation o Intrinsic: motivation provided by activity itself Intrinsic: inside o Extrinsic: motivation comes from consequences of activity Extrinsic: outside Approaches to Studying Motivation o Instinct o Drive-reduction o Arousal o Incentive o Humanistic Hierarchy of needs theory Self-determination theory Instinct Approaches Evolutionary theory of motivated behaviors involving instincts o Biologically determined, innate patterns of behavior o E.g., instinct to reproduce responsible for sexual behavior Could name behaviors, but could not explain them Drive-Reduction Theories Physiological need -- aroused state (tension) Motivated behavior is attempt to reduce tension and return body to steady state o Homeostasis: balanced internal state Primary drives: Hunger, thirst, sex, sleep. Secondary drives: learned behaviors; earning $$$, learning habits
Does not explain all human motivation Arousal Approaches Yerkes-Dodson Law o Performance is best under conditions of moderate arousal, rather than low or high arousal. o Inverted U on a graph o High arousal for easy task o Low arousal for difficult task o Moderate amount is the best Incentive Approaches Incentive: things that attract/lure people into action Expectancy-value theories o Attempt to explain behavior in terms of reward associated with a stimulus Humanistic Approaches Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs o Levels of needs that one must strive to meet before highest level can be reached o Top part is self-actualization, which is where we achieve full human potential. o Peak experiences: you get into self-actualization but go back down again. Self-Determination theory: proposed three needs that, when met, help gain a complete sense of self and healthy relationships w/ others
