Unit 3: Learning, Memory, Thinking, and Language Thinking (Cognition) definitions

Cognition Definition Cognition, or thinking, refers to a process that involves knowing, understanding, remembering, problem solving and communicating. OBJECTIVE 1| Define cognition.

Cognitive Psychology Cognition involves a number of mental activities, which are listed below. Concepts Problem solving Decision making Judgment formation Language Memory

Schema or Concept The mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. There are a variety of chairs but their common features make up your CHAIR schema OBJECTIVE 2| Describe the roles of categories, hierarchies, definitions, and prototypes in concept formation.

We organize concepts into category hierarchies. Courtesy of Christine Brune

Schemata can get fuzzy Is a whale a mammal? Are penguins and kiwis birds? Are 17 year old people children or adults People more easily detect male prejudice against females than female against males or female against female

Can I read your mind? State a color. Name or draw a triangle. List the first type of vehicle that comes to mind. Write a sentence Describe a hero. Describe a heroic act. Name a game. Name a philosopher. Name an author. Name a singer.

I gave schemata and tried to predict prototypes. red or blue a picture of an equilateral triangle a car a short declarative statement, e.g., “The boy ran home.” Superman, Batman, or possibly a fireman a single act by a male, e.g. a rescue by a fireman monopoly or some other board game Socrates or Aristotle Stephen King, or some other white male author Taylor Swift or Beyonce

Prototypes A prototype is the BEST example or cognitive representation of something within a certain schema or concept. Schema List characteristics that make a place a college or university. Prototype Now list a specific college that BEST represents or embodies those characteristics.

Categories Once we place an item in a category, our memory shifts toward the category prototype. Courtesy of Oliver Corneille A computer generated face that was 70 percent Caucasian led people to classify it as Caucasian.

Schema Developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget believed that children develop and modify schema by two processes: Assimilation Accommodation

Assimilation Assimilation incorporates new experiences into existing mental structures and behaviors Example: a toddler who has a chocolate lab at home would also incorporate Dalmatians into her schema of dog. Assimilation lays the foundation for accomodation

Accommodation Accommodation occurs when a child’s theories are modified based on an experience Example- The baby with a theory of dogs is surprised the first time she sees a cat- it resembles a dog, but meows instead of barks and rubs up against her rather thank licking The baby must REVISE her previous theory to include this new kind of animal

Why is this process important? As adaptation continues, the child organizes his/her schemata into more complex mental representations, linking one schema with another.

Unit 3: Learning, Memory, Thinking, and Language Problem-solving techniques

4 Problem Solving Steps Define the Problem Use that definition to decide what category a problem belongs to and then based on that Select a solution strategy that would solve a problem in that category Always evaluate progress toward goal

Possible Solution Strategies Trial and error Works best with limited number of choices Information retrieval Retrieve from memory information about how such a problem has been solved in the past Algorithms Step-by-step methods that guarantees a solution Methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantee solving a particular problem. Math problems are an example of the type best solved using an algorithm Heuristics Rules of thumb that may help simplify a problem, but do not guarantee a solution. They are quicker than algorithms

S P L O Y O C H Y G Algorithms Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a solution. Computers use algorithms. S P L O Y O C H Y G If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word using an algorithmic approach, we would face 907,208 possibilities.

Heuristics In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules, learned from experience, that people use to make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information.

Heuristic at work: Y’s usually go at the end of a word. Heuristics Heuristics make it easier for us to use simple principles to arrive at solutions to problems. S P L O Y O C H Y G P S L O Y O C H G Y S P L O Y O C H G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y Heuristic at work: Y’s usually go at the end of a word.

Hill Climbing Heuristic Move progressively closer to goal without moving backward

Sub-goals Break large problem into smaller, more manageable ones, each of which is easier to solve than the whole problem

Means-end analysis Aims to reduce the discrepancy between the current situation and the desired goal – subgoals not immediately in the solution direction are considered

Working backward Work backward from the desired goal to the existing condition

Obstacles to Solving Problems Motivation Desire to solve a problem Mental sets Tendency to perceive and approach problems in certain ways Functional fixedness Tendency to see only a limited number of uses for an object

Motivation If you don’t attempt to solve a problem you won’t.

Mental Set “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”  Albert Einstein

Functional Fixedness “I can only use it for this one thing!”