1. Chapter 8
Thinking and Language

2. Objectives 8.1 Overview: What Is Thinking?
Explain the dual processes of thinking.
8.2 Problem Solving
Compare and contrast the processes for problem solving.
Discuss how bias impacts problem solving.
Explain problem representation.
8.3 Decision Making
Examine the pros and cons of heuristic use in decision making.

3. Objectives
8.4 Reasoning
Explain how presented knowledge may bias reasoning.
Demonstrate how beliefs impact reasoning.
8.5 Language
Define language and describe the unique characteristics of human language.
Describe the theories of language acquisition.

4. Objectives 8.6 Brain, Language, and Culture
Explain how language use reveals its impact on our thinking.
Describe the influence of biology and culture on how we think.

5. What Is Thinking?
Thinking: The internal mental processes that make sense of our experiences
Cognition: All types of thinking, including knowing, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and communicating
Rational thinking: Thinking marked by the use of deliberate reasoning
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.1 Overview: What is Thinking?
LO: Explain the dual processes of thinking
In psychology, thinking is defined by the many kinds of mental processes we perform as we experience the world. Within psychology, we use the term cognition to refer to thinking processes, including knowing, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and communicating. Our emotions, associations in memory, biological functions in the brain, and cultural experiences may affect our thinking but are not considered to be thinking processes.
Cognitive researchers have developed a rich set of theories to describe how thinking is accomplished. A central point is that our thinking is often far from rational. People often believe that thinking should be logical, follow rules, and arrive at a “ correct” answer or conclusion. Rational thinking is marked by the use of reason, coming to conclusions after considering facts fully and carefully. This form of thinking is slow and deliberate, with the goal of avoiding errors and arriving at the best conclusion. In this type of slow deliberation , writing down all of the pros and cons of the options can be helpful, along with searching for information to help identify the best choices.

6. Intuition vs. Deliberative Thinking
Intuition: The “gut feeling” that leads to a fast and easy conclusion
Somatic marker: A visceral, physiological response that reveals underlying emotion about an event or decision
Dual processes: The two modes of thinking, one fast and easy, one slow and careful
Metacognition: Reflective thoughts about your own thinking processes
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.1 Overview: What is Thinking?
LO: Explain the dual processes of thinking
Often our thinking can be intuitive. We may rely on first impressions, instincts, or emotions to drive our choices without giving them much thought. Sometimes, even though all of the evidence points toward a choice, we may have a “gut feeling” about what to do. This intuition has been called “fast and frugal” because it helps us to arrive at a decision quickly while minimizing the effort we have to expend. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) that processes emotion may play a big role in our ability to choose well. Patients with OFC dysfunction do not experience the same emotional reaction to bad events that others do. These patients point out that our gut reactions to choices are important indicators of what is important to us in the world. This kind of reaction is called a somatic marker, through which the body reveals a response about an outcome. This physical response may then influence our decision-making processes, both unconsciously and consciously. As a result, our gut reactions may provide a better measure of how we should choose next. These “dual processes” in thinking—slow, deliberative, conscious reasoning versus fast, automatic, and emotional reactions—describe the major ways we think across many tasks. People are more likely to rely on the fast and easy strategies if they are tired or pressed for time. We are much more likely to use deliberative thought if the stakes are high and the decision is one we make infrequently, compared to decisions that we make over and over again.
A final question in defining thinking is our awareness of our own thinking processes, also called metacognition. We are often unaware of the internal mental activities that give rise to our conscious experience of thinking.

7. Problem-Solving Methods
Trial and error: Creating a solution, testing to see if it works, and then starting over if unsuccessful
Algorithm: A well-defined process that is guaranteed to produce a solution
Heuristic: A mental shortcut, or rule of thumb, that may or may not lead to a correct solution
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.2 Problem Solving
LO: Compare and contrast the processes for problem solving
A problem is any given situation that differs from a desired goal state. To solve problems, you have to think about how to get from the current state to the goal (the situation you want to achieve), and getting there involves some novel thinking. There are a variety of methods to follow in trying to generate solutions to problems.
Typically, we use a trial and error process in which we create a solution, test to see whether it worked, and then start over if unsuccessful. This method is also known as generate and test, because you generate a solution and then test to see whether it is correct. Trial and error is a slow method that is likely to lead to failures.
Sometimes, you want to choose a well-defined process guaranteed to produce a solution, called an algorithm. This requires deliberative thinking. However, for many problems, there are no known algorithms that can devise a solution.
Another problem-solving method is to break problems into subparts. Means-end analysis compares differences between where you are now and your goal state. In using this strategy, you try to reduce the differences between the current state and the goal.
Often, even when an algorithm is known, people prefer to take a “mental shortcut” or heuristic. The “rules of thumb” provided by heuristics are useful in our day-to-day thinking because they are fast, require little effort, and usually lead to the right answer.

8. The Role of Information in Cognitive Biases
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.2 Problem Solving
LO: Discuss how bias impacts problem solving.
Your approach to a given problem may involve choosing from a variety of heuristics observed in problem solving, decision making, and reasoning.

9. Analogy and Insight
Analogy: A problem-solving process that makes use of a previous solution
Insight: The sudden appearance in consciousness of a solution
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.2 Problem Solving
LO: Explain problem representation.
New situations automatically bring past experiences to mind from memory. Consequently, we often rely on our past experiences to solve new problems.
Analogy involves recalling a previous problem with a known solution to apply to a novel, or new, problem. While analogy should help to solve problems, studies show people often have difficulty recognizing when a new problem is similar to an old one. This is called lack of transfer.
Another problem-solving process is called insight, or the sudden appearance in consciousness of a solution. Insight occurs when the representation of the problem is restructured to alter your perspective. Evidence from neuroimaging and event related potential (ERP) studies have identified neurological correlates of the feeling of “Aha!” Insight solutions are associated with a burst of high-frequency neural activity starting about 300 milliseconds before participants signaled they had arrived at a solution. The location of the activity is in the right anterior temporal lobe.

10. Biases in Problem Solving
Bias can occur when we:
approach a problem with past experiences and assumptions that alter our perspective
use habits we learn from solving past problems
use objects in specific ways based on previous experience
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.2 Problem Solving
LO: Discuss how bias impacts problem solving.
In problem solving, bias can occur when we approach a problem with past experiences and assumptions that alter our perspective. Often, these beliefs are helpful in finding solutions; however, they can interfere with finding solutions because they affect our mental representation, or internal description, of the problem. Some problems seem more difficult because they include irrelevant information, (unnecessary detail) or unnecessary constraints (an apparent requirement for a solution that is not really needed).
Another type of bias in problem solving is the use of habits we learn from solving past problems. Your mental set, a preexisting state of mind, habit, or attitude, can affect and mislead your attempt to solve a new problem. Once you have latched onto a particular approach, it can be very difficult to consider alternatives. This is called fixation. People often become stuck on a dead end in their solution path, which may block the consideration of alternatives. Related obstacles to a solution arise from our previous use of objects in specific ways. Functional fixedness, the tendency to see an object as having only a familiar function, sometimes prevents us from solving simple problems.
When faced with a difficult problem, it often helps to take a fresh perspective. Incubation is defined as a period of time in which a problem is set aside prior to further attempts to solve it. Meta-analysis of incubation studies found that tasks with open-ended solutions show more benefit from incubation.

11. Expertise
Source: Reproduced from Ericsson, K. A., & Ward, P. (2007). Capturing the naturally occurring superior performance of experts in the laboratory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 346–350.
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.2 Problem Solving
LO: Explain problem representation.
Studies of skill-building over time, including that of chess experts, pianists, and athletes, found that approximately 10,000 hours of practice are needed to produce outstanding performance. Experts have more knowledge, and their knowledge is organized around important patterns in the domain. This knowledge enables experts to think in larger units, tackling problems in bigger steps. A surprising conclusion from this research is that experts are made, not born. Deliberative practice (focusing on tasks just beyond your current level of competence and comfort) leads to success.

12. Algorithms in Decision Making
Probability theory: A statistical algorithm that takes into account all contingencies and their likelihoods to determine the best estimate of an uncertain event
Decision tree: A decision support tool that uses a tree-like graph of options, including chance event, resources, cost, and value
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.3 Decision Making
LO: Examine the pros and cons of heuristic use in decision making
In addition to solving problems, we are called upon to make decisions where we must choose among alternatives or whether to take some action. Judgment refers to a type of decision making in which we project beyond what we already know and draw our “best guess” conclusion. Judgments take place under uncertainty; we must often use whatever evidence we have to make our best estimate of what might be true or is most likely to be. Just as in problem solving, there are algorithms available to help determine the best decision. For judgments, we can use probability theory to take into account all contingencies and their likelihoods and determine the best estimate of what will occur. This can be visualized in a decision tree that shows all of your choices and weighs each one based on its value to you.

13. Heuristics in Decision Making
Representativeness heuristic: Making a guess based on how much the situation “looks like” something known
Availability heuristic: Using the ease of memory access as a measure of the likelihood of an event
Framing effect: A bias in decisions based on the description of the problem
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.3 Decision Making
LO: Examine the pros and cons of heuristic use in decision making
Just as with problem solving, people often use heuristics, or rules of thumb, to help make decisions. We are influenced by the representativeness heuristic, that is, whether things “look like” what we expect. Most of the time, using the representativeness heuristic leads to a quick and easy decision that is often correct, but representativeness can lead to judgments based on stereotypes, in which assumptions are unfairly made based on factors like gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
Another source of information used in decisions is what is already in your memory. The availability heuristic is the tendency to estimate the likelihood of an event in terms of how easily it can be recalled.
Decision making can also be biased by the way the choices are presented, known as the framing effect. Framing of information can have direct effects on behavior. In all cases, framing effects follow a simple pattern called loss aversion: People try to make choices that will minimize losses.
How can we avoid making decision errors based on heuristics? One way to “debias” your thinking is to examine how any given information can help—or hurt—your decision making. We assume that information in front of us is relevant and informative about the situation, but we are often faced with choice overload. In such cases, we may be more likely to resort to heuristics.

14. Algorithms in Reasoning
Inductive reasoning: Generalizing from specific information to form a rule
Deductive reasoning: A logical task in which new assertions are derived from what is known
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.4 Reasoning
LO: Explain how presented knowledge may bias reasoning.
A third type of thinking is called reasoning, or evaluating information (including facts, assumptions, and beliefs) to draw a conclusion. In inductive reasoning , we move from some specific information to a more general conclusion. In deductive reasoning , we start with a general rule and apply it to a specific instance.
The rules of logic provide algorithms for drawing conclusions; unfortunately, psychological show that people do not use the rules of logic very often. A syllogism is a simple deduction task with three statements or premises, but most of us make errors on the majority of problems involving syllogsms. Instead, we try to reason logically by creating a mental model (a spatial representation of the possibilities). We construct these models to help us think about the problem.
Another factor in solving logic problems is that people are influenced by the content, or meaning, of the words used in the problem, even though they do not matter in logic. Studies of deduction have demonstrated that people are very prone to judge statements on their content rather than on their logic.

15. Biases in Reasoning
Confirmation bias: Seeking out information consistent with what is believed to be true
Belief perseverance: Holding onto a belief in the face of evidence against it
Overconfidence: Being more certain about your beliefs than you should be
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.4 Reasoning
LO: Demonstrate how beliefs impact reasoning.
The information that we have in memory is used to process new information. As a result, our thinking processes are also affected by the confirmation bias, in which it is easier to process and incorporate new information that is consistent with what we already know. As a result, we tend to seek out information that confirms what we know rather than look for new evidence that might prove us wrong. In its extreme form, this can cause us to discount or ignore conflicting information when it is available. Once our beliefs are established, we have a tendency to reject evidence against them and favor evidence that supports them, which is a bias called belief perseverance. If we only accept evidence that supports our beliefs and reject other information, our beliefs become impervious to evidence. We stop looking to see whether our beliefs are right and look for evidence that they are right. These reasoning errors can make it difficult to change our beliefs even when overwhelming evidence is presented. We are also very prone to overconfidence about our beliefs, where we overestimate how likely we are to be correct. Studies have shown that the less knowledge you have in a domain, the more likely you are to overestimate your success in it.

16. Language
Semanticity: Containing meaning or reference to things in the world
Generativity: The capacity to use a finite set to create endless variety of unique combinations
Displacement: The ability to refer to things not visible in our immediate surroundings
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.5 Language
LO: Define language and describe the unique characteristics of human language.
Language, one form of communication, is a core and defining process of human thinking and it identifies the human species as different from all others. A few key properties separate human language use from communication in other species. First, our language has semanticity, or meaning. Another property is generativity, the capacity to use a finite set of words and rules for combining them to generate an endless variety of unique things to say. Finally, our language includes displacement, the ability to communicate about things that are not in our immediate surroundings.

17. Language Structure Phoneme Morpheme Word Phrase Sentence
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.5 Language
LO: Define language and describe the unique characteristics of human language.
There are at least 7000 distinct languages worldwide, and tens of thousands of differing dialects. Each is based on the same structures, though they differ in which specific elements are included. The smallest units of speech are phonemes , the basic sounds of all languages. The smallest unit that carries meaning is called a morpheme. Every word has one or more morphemes, including prefixes and suffixes. Combining groups of words leads to a phrase, and phrases are then combined into sentences, an organized sequence of words that can convey facts, hypotheses, questions, requests, intentions, and thoughts.

18. Grammar Surface structure: The ordering of a sequence of words in time
Deep structure: The composition of meaning within a phrase
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.5 Language
LO: Define language and describe the unique characteristics of human language.
The organization of words within a language, or grammar, involves two levels: the surface structure, or the ordering of a sequence of words in time, and the deep structure, or the composition of meaning within a phrase. People preserve the semantics, or gist, of the information, but they “forget” other aspects of the language expression. After reading, you can recall a paraphrase or description of the meaning it contained, but you do not preserve other linguistic elements.

19. Language As a Social Vehicle
Pragmatics: The social context of language that adds to its meaning
Extralinguistic factors: Information outside of language that aids in comprehension
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.5 Language
LO: Define language and describe the unique characteristics of human language.
Language is a social vehicle, and the pragmatics, or social context, of language is also critical to comprehension. Determining which meaning the speaker intends is part of communication, but it depends on extralinguistic factors—that is, information outside of the literal content of language that aids in comprehension.

20. Language Development Take a moment and create a development chart
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.5 Language
LO: Define language and describe the unique characteristics of human language.
Just by being exposed to language, children learn an average of 9 words per day between ages 1 and 6 and average around 14,000 words by that age. Newborns cry to communicate. In the second month of life, infants begin using their tongues to coo. At about 4 months, babies begin babbling, vocalizing in ways that sound like human speech. These three stages are consistent regardless of the language heard. However, sounds not used in one’s own language are eventually dropped out of the babbling. Around 1 year, babies produce their first, short words in their native language. Such one-word utterances are called holophrastic, referring to this early use of a single word to express a complex idea. For the next few months, toddlers’ word mastery increases quickly. Around 2 years of age, their vocabulary explodes to hundreds of new words each year. Toddlers also begin telegraphic speech, in which they combine two- and three-word phrases. As they enter grade school, children’s vocabulary continues to expand, and they construct longer and more complex sentences. They display generativity, constructing phrases of their own. They learn to correctly apply rules of grammar although they may overregularize the rule. Later in grade school, children begin to understand that words can have double meanings and begin to understand abstract concepts. These developmental milestones are quite consistent across gender, language, and cultures. Children not exposed to language by around age 7 gradually lose their potential for learning the complexities of language.

21. Theories of Language Acquisition
Behaviorist theory: Language is learned just like other things
Nativist theory: Language is a special skill we are born with
Interactionist theory: Language combines inborn abilities with special environmental triggers
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.5 Language
LO: Describe the theories of language acquisition.
How language acquisition takes place is a question hotly debated within psychology. Behaviorist theories argue there is nothing special about language learning; instead, it follows the same principles identified in general learning theories. In this view, the principles of association, imitation, and reinforcement are adequate to explain how language acquisition occurs. Nativist theories argue that language learning is too remarkable to be explained by experience alone; instead, some built-in capacity must account for our language capacity. All people have language, and all languages have particular properties in common. Humans are genetically prepared for language, and evidence shows that humans are born with unique sensitivities to the sounds and structures of speech. Interactionist theories attempt to combine explanations of inborn tendencies with those of the special environmental triggers that enhance the development of language.

22. Language in Animals
Studies of communication among dolphins and apes have demonstrated use of semantics and grammar.
Chimpanzees have shown innovation in sign language use and can learn as humans do through exposure to language in context.
Animal learning of human languages peaks at the level attained by humans at age 2 or 3.
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.5 Language
LO: Define language and describe the unique characteristics of human language.
Researchers have studied communication in apes, dolphins, and even parrots to uncover what makes human language so special.

23. Brain, Language, and Culture
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.6 Brain, Language, and Culture
LO: Explain how language use reveals its impact on our thinking.
What is special about humans that allowed us to develop language and to think abstract thoughts? One answer can be determined from our “hardware,” the specific functions supported in the brain that allow us to comprehend and produce spoken language. Early clues about brain function arose from clinical cases of brain injury. In 1865, Paul Broca noticed his medical patients sometimes suffered from an inability to speak. The damaged area of the brain was in the left frontal lobe, now called Broca’s area. Another area, located in the left temporal lobe, called Wernicke’s area, produced different behavior when damaged by strokes; words still flowed freely but made little sense, a condition described as “word salad.”
As brain injury cases suggest, language processing in the brain occurs mainly in the left hemisphere. In all right-handed people and even most left-handed people, these language-processing centers are located only in the left hemisphere. Wernicke’s area is active when hearing words, and Broca’s area is active when speaking words.

24. Linguistic Relativity
Learn Psychology by Carter and Seifert
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
8.6 Brain, Language, and Culture
LO: Describe the influence of biology and culture on how we think.
Linguistic relativity is the idea that language shapes our ideas and not the other way around. The language we speak may determine the ways we conceptualize the world. This notion, that language creates thought, is called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The ways of expression created by language may in turn influence how we think. How a culture thinks spatially influences how they think about time. How we think also influences what we understand in language comprehension. Another place where language may drive the concepts we use is the topic of gender. Many languages, such as French, have gender marked in reference to objects. Individualism-collectivism describes the degree to which a culture relies on and has allegiance to the self (independence) or the group (interdependence). The language we speak influences our thinking about ourselves—a core aspect of cognition—and the cultural values we hold.