Thinking, Intelligence, and Language: Understanding Cognition and Reasoning - Prof. Z. A. | Study notes Psychology

Chapter 8: Thinking and Intelligence (and language… for some reason)

Cognition: mental activity such as thinking or representing information

Analogical representation: has some of the physical characteristics of an object

Symbolic representation: does not correspond to the physical features of an object or idea

Concept: mental representation that groups or categorizes objects, events, or relations

around common themes

Defining attribute model : concepts are characterized by a list of features that are

necessary to determine if an object is a member of the category

Prototype model : best example of a category. Some representatives of a class are

more prototypical of a category than others

Exemplar model : when you see something, you compare it to all other of that

category you have seen. Each past memory serves as an exemplar

Reasoning: using information to determine of a conclusion is valid or reasonable

Decision making : selecting the best alternative among several options

oAlgorithm : procedure that always yields the correct answer

oHeuristic : shortcuts used to reduce the amount of thinking needed

Available heuristic : overestimate information that stands out in our

minds (car vs. plane crash)

Representativeness heuristic : rule for categorization based on how

similar the person or object is to our prototype for that category

Hindsight bias : “I knew it all along”

oFraming : effect of presentation on how information is perceived

Prospect theory : need to take into account wealth and loss aversion

oParadox of choice : too many choices = less satisfaction

Satisfiers : “good enough”

Maximizer : must be the best choice, take longer

oConfirmation bias : searching for information that supports our view

oBelief perseverance : maintaining a belief after contradictory evidence

Problem solving : finding a way around an obstacle to reach a goal

oInsight : sudden realization of a solution to a problem

oRestructuring : thinking about a problem in a new way that aids to its

solution

Functional fixedness : not thinking “outside the box”

oMental set : a problem solving strategy that has worked in the past

Deductive reasoning : using a belief or rule to determine if a conclusion is valid

(broad to specific)

Inductive reasoning : using examples or instances to determine if a rule or

conclusion is likely to be true (specific to broad)

To improve reasoning :

oAvoid judgment biases : don’t base decision on biases

oMeans-ends analysis : consider the endpoint, work backwards

oThink outside the box : avoid functional fixedness

oSocialize : work with others

Creativity: ability to think of something novel

Divergent thinking : thinking of multiple solutions, appose to convergent thinking

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Chapter 8: Thinking and Intelligence (and language… for some reason) Cognition: mental activity such as thinking or representing information Analogical representation: has some of the physical characteristics of an object Symbolic representation: does not correspond to the physical features of an object or idea Concept: mental representation that groups or categorizes objects, events, or relations around common themes  Defining attribute model: concepts are characterized by a list of features that are necessary to determine if an object is a member of the category  Prototype model: best example of a category. Some representatives of a class are more prototypical of a category than others  Exemplar model: when you see something, you compare it to all other of that category you have seen. Each past memory serves as an exemplar Reasoning: using information to determine of a conclusion is valid or reasonable  Decision making: selecting the best alternative among several options o Algorithm: procedure that always yields the correct answer o Heuristic: shortcuts used to reduce the amount of thinking needed  Available heuristic: overestimate information that stands out in our minds (car vs. plane crash)  Representativeness heuristic: rule for categorization based on how similar the person or object is to our prototype for that category  Hindsight bias: “I knew it all along” o Framing: effect of presentation on how information is perceived  Prospect theory: need to take into account wealth and loss aversion o Paradox of choice: too many choices = less satisfaction  Satisfiers: “good enough”  Maximizer: must be the best choice, take longer o Confirmation bias: searching for information that supports our view o Belief perseverance: maintaining a belief after contradictory evidence  Problem solving: finding a way around an obstacle to reach a goal o Insight: sudden realization of a solution to a problem o Restructuring: thinking about a problem in a new way that aids to its solution  Functional fixedness: not thinking “outside the box” o Mental set: a problem solving strategy that has worked in the past  Deductive reasoning: using a belief or rule to determine if a conclusion is valid (broad to specific)  Inductive reasoning: using examples or instances to determine if a rule or conclusion is likely to be true (specific to broad)  To improve reasoning: o Avoid judgment biases: don’t base decision on biases o Means-ends analysis: consider the endpoint, work backwards o Think outside the box: avoid functional fixedness o Socialize: work with others Creativity: ability to think of something novel  Divergent thinking: thinking of multiple solutions, appose to convergent thinking

Intelligence: human ability to use knowledge, solve problems, understand complex ideas, learn quickly, and adapt to environmental challenges  Galton: intelligence is inherited, neural efficiency  Binet-Simon intelligence scale: intelligence is a collection of mental skills, measured French children’s vocabulary, memory, numbers skills, etc o Stanford-Binet: revised for American children  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): verbal (comprehension, vocabulary, and general knowledge), performance (nonverbal tasks), most popular today  Mental age: intelligence relative to peers comparing test scores with the average o Intelligence quotient (IQ): dividing the mental age by the real age  Factor analysis: o General intelligence (Spearman); idea that one general factor (g) underlies all mental abilities, with specific intelligence (s) as parts of it o Cartell’s crystallized/fluid intelligence:  Fluid intelligence: information processing in novel or complex circumstances  Crystallized intelligence: knowledge acquired through experience and the ability to use that knowledge o Multiple intelligence (Gardner): idea that people can show different skills in a variety of different domain (bodily-kinesthetic, linguistics, mathematical/logical, spatial, intrapersonal, and interpersonal) o Sternberg’s triarchic factors: analytical (academic), creative (insight), practical (everyday tasks)  Emotional intelligence (EQ, Golman): form of social intelligence that emphasizes the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions to guide thoughts and actions o Bonanno: flexibility ability to express/repress emotions  Flynn effect: IQ scores rising dramatically each year, needing restandardization  Stereotype threat: apprehension about confirming negative stereotypes related to one’s own group  Types of tests: Achievement (current knowledge and accomplishments), aptitude (potential), speed, power (difficult, to test limit of knowledge)  Validity of testing: o Face: does it measure what it’s supposed to? o Content: does it reflect the whole range of material? o Criterion: concurrent (current performance) or predictive (future) o Construct: can it be correlated to similar, established measure?  Standardization: standardized to rest of population Language: tool of cognition, forms a bridge between past/present/future, facilitates social interaction Broca’s area: motor speech area Wernicke’s area: speech perception area Noah Chomsky: universal grammar & language acquisition device Arbitrary units: speech sounds to refer to different objects in the environment  Phoneme: smallest unit of sound

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