Thinking and Language: Cognition, Problem Solving, and Causes of Irrationality, Part II

Obstacles to Problem Solving Confirmation Bias: human tendency to search for information that confirms your preconceptions Study: What is the pattern? (p. 399 Myers) 2 4 6

Child Custody Handout (Myers)

Obstacles to Problem Solving Fixation: refers to the inability to see a problem from a new perspective. How would you arrange six matches to form 4 equal lateral triangles?

Solution to Matchstick Problem

Obstacles to Problem Solving Mental Set: tendency to approach a particular problem in a particular way. You usually use strategies that have been successful in the past at solving problems even though it may not be most efficient strategy for the new problem.

The Three Jugs Problem

Solution to the Jugs Problem B-A-2C=desired amount of water. Problem 6 & 7 had easier solutions though which were probably blocked by mental set.

6 & 7 Solution

Candle Mounting Problem Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?

Candle Mounting Solution Inability to solve this problem may result from functional fixedness. You would have to recognize that a box need not always serve as a container

Obstacles to Problem Solving Functional Fixedness: tendency to think of objects only in terms of their usual functions. CAN EQUAL

Possible Obstacles to Problem Solving Representative Heuristic: is a MENTAL SHORTCUT for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to match our prototypes. May lead us to make incorrect assumptions.

Example of Representative Heuristic Errors Below is Fred. He is muscle-bound, uses steroids, and enjoys getting into fights. Is he more likely to be a high school teacher or a wrestler from the WWE.

Which is more prevalent? Handout 10-6

Possible Obstacles to Problem Solving Availability Heuristic: is a MENTAL SHORTCUT where we judge the likelihood of an event based on how readily the event comes to mind. What types of things can effect the availability of things in our memory?

Availability Heuristic Can Lead Us to Irrationally Fear Things Which Are Unlikely. EX: People tend to be more fearful of the dangers of airplane travel than of traveling in an automobile. EX: People tend to be more fearful of being raped by a stranger even though it is more likely they will be raped by someone they know.

Overconfidence We tend to be overconfident in our thinking and our decision making because we: do not realize how flimsy our evidence is ignore examples that conflict with our opinions.

Development of Language Language: refers to our spoken, written, or gestured words and how they are combined to communicate.

Humans vs. Animals Most psychologists will say that only humans have the ability of language even though some animals (apes) can use sign language or respond to spoken commands. This is because animals cannot put symbols (letters and words) into grammatical sentences.

Language: Building Blocks 1. Phonemes: the smallest distinctive sound unit. How many phonemes are in the word: Cheat? 2. Morphemes: the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix) How many Morphemes are in the word “previewed?” How many Morphemes are in the word “rabbits?”

Language: The Rules Grammar: a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. Includes semantics and syntax. Semantics: the study of meaning; rules for how we get meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language. Syntax: the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.

Examples of Language Rules Semantic Examples: adding –ed to the end of a word does what? Adding –s to a noun does what? Syntax Examples: In English, adjectives come before nouns, but the opposite is true in Spanish. Pretty girl Chica bonita

Stages of Language 1. Babbling Stage: beginning at 3 to 4 months the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language 2. One word stage: from about age 1 to 2 the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Stages of Language 3. Two-Word Stage beginning about age 2 the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements Telegraphic Speech early speech stage in which the child speaks like a telegram – “go car” – using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting “auxiliary” words

Language Summary Summary of Language Development Month (approximate) Stage 4 10 12 24 24+ Babbles many speech sounds. Babbling reveals households language. One-word stage. Two-world, telegraphic speech. Language develops rapidly into Complete sentences.

Overregularization The tendency for a child who has memorized irregular verbs and nouns (and thus uses them correctly) to suddenly begin to use them incorrectly after he/she has learned proper grammar rules. Ex. At 3-years old: “I ran away.” At 5-years old: “I runned away.” Ex. At 3-years old: “I saw some geese!” At 5-years old: “I saw some gooses!”

Chomsky Believes Our Brains Are Hardwired With Inborn Universal Grammar. Language is Enabled by a: Language Acquisition Device: humans are born with innate abilities to acquire language. Chomsky believed that there is a critical period for learning language (before age 7). After that, it will be much more difficult for a child to learn a language

Bilingualism – Learning More Than One Language Bilingualism is spreading in the U.S. It is common in many countries around the world, especially in Europe. Surveys indicate that two-thirds of the world’s children are raised as bilingual speakers; however, less than 7% of U.S. citizens are bilingual.

Bilingualism – Learning More Than One Language Learning more than one language helps children learn their first language better. The best time to learn a second language? – as early as possible. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to learn it and the better accent you will have.

Language Relativity and Doublespeak Double-Speak describes when language is used to disguise the actual meaning and possibly mislead people. Examples: “Downsizing”=multiple firings of employees. “Physical Persuasion”=torture “Collateral Damage”=death of civilians “Concentration Camp”=labor/death camp