Thinking and Intelligence Chapters 8 and 9 Music: “Stupid Girl” By Garbage “Paper Planes” By M.I.A.

Agenda (Ch. 8 & 9) –Tips for Midterm #2 –A. Thinking (Ch. 8) 1. Problem Solving: –a) approaches –b) barriers 2. Judgments & Decision Making –a)- f) Problems –B. Intelligence (Ch. 9) 1. Definitions of Intelligence –a) Issues –b) Common definition 2. Assessment of Intelligence –a) Historical background b) Modern tests 3. Genetic & Environmental Determinants –a) Genetics: Twin studies –b) Environmental Determinants »Range set by environment »Effects of schooling

**Tips for the exam ** From the Text : –Chapters 5-9 (except pgs , , , , ) –Know the sections covered in class. For other sections, don’t obsess about tiny details. From the Lectures : –Go over your notes carefully, and try to anticipate short answer questions from the slides. Format (same as last time): –2 hours in class –60 Multiple Choice; 4 Short Answers

A. Thinking (Ch. 8) “I think therefore I am…” Cognitive Psychologists: –Study reasoning, judgments, decision making, and problem solving

1. Problem Solving a) Approaches: –Clarify! What is initial state? What is goal state? –Means-end analysis: specify subproblems and subgoals to move from initial state to goal b) Barriers: p –Functional Fixedness –Mental Sets: Can help or hinder E.g. O-T-T- __ -__ -__ J- F- M- A- __ - __ - __ –Stress: leads to fixation e.g. soldiers in war action

2. Judgments & Decision Making Judgments: –Processes by which we form opinions, reach conclusions, make evaluations of people and events Problems: –a) Overconfidence effect p. 342 –b) Availability Heuristic p. 337 Basing a probability on the ease with which an example comes to mind E.g. Which is the most frequent cause of death? –1) Homicides vs diabetes –2) Leukemia vs drowning –3) Earthquakes vs asthma –c) Representativeness Heuristic: Basing a probability on the similarity with a prototype

2. c) Problems in Judgments c) Representativeness Heuristic (con’d): –E.g. You hear about a person who is short, slim, and likes to read poetry. –Is this person more likely to be a Literature Professor, or a truck driver? d) Conjunction Fallacy: ( p. 338 ) –E.g. Bill is 34 years old, intelligent, unimaginative, compulsive, and somewhat boring. Which is more likely to be true? –Bill plays jazz as a hobby OR –Bill is an accountant who plays jazz as a hobby Jazz as hobby Accountants

p.338

2. Judgments & Decision Making (cont’d) e) Framing: (p. 342) –Decisions are heavily influenced by the way in which a question is asked –E.g. Will you undergo a particular surgery if: –a) 90% chance of recovery –b) 10% chance of death f) Alternative Outcomes Effect –Perceived likelihood of a certain outcome is influenced by the distribution of alternative outcomes –Another example of “bounded rationality” People deviate in predictable ways from optimal decision making

B. Intelligence (Ch. 9)

1. Definition of Intelligence a) Issues: –What do we mean by “intelligence”? Most people think of verbal, practical and social aspects of intelligence (p. 361) –How do we go about evaluating intelligence? What do IQ tests tell us? –Is intelligence culturally-defined, or is it culture-free? Depends on how it is measured At the moment, there are no “culture free” tests

1. Intelligence  b) Common definition:  Most agree that intelligence= Capacity to adapt Learn from experience Think abstractly, solve problems effectively –Emotional Intelligence or EI: Important component of success in life –Self-awareness, self-regulation of emotion, ability in using emotion –Predicts work performance better than IQ

2. Assessment of Intelligence  a) Historical background  Binet (1905):  Devised the first IQ test to identify children with learning difficulties  Stanford-Binet:  Adapted by Terman in 1916 for use in America  IQ= Mental Age/Chronological Age X 100  b) Modern Tests:  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Verbal IQ Performance IQ (non-verbal/ visual-spatial skills) See page 359  Distribution follows normal curve (p. 360)

Distribution of IQ scores (p. 360)

Lower 3% of IQ distribution (p. 364)

3. Genetic and Environmental Determinants a) Genetics : –Account for 50-70% of variance in IQ points –Determined from twin studies: –Genetic overlap and IQ similarity p.368

Genetic Overlap and IQ Similarity (p. 368)

3. b) Environmental Determinants Range set by the environment p. 371

3. b) Environmental Determinants (cont’d) Effects of schooling on IQ –Both the relationship between schooling and earnings, and the relationship between intelligence and earnings are influenced by the joint relationship between schooling and intelligence (see overheads in class).

7. Wishing You