1. Cognition
Unit 7B

2. Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Cognitive Psychologists study these activities

3. Concepts Mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, people
Without concepts, we would need different words for everything

4. Concepts formed by Hierarchies Definition – Maps Shapes Prototypes
Nation
State
County
City
Neighborhood
Street
Definition –
Shapes
Prototypes
Mental images

5. Mental Concept Challenge
Can you draw what is seen forming a mental prototype while it described?

6. Problem solving Strategies Algorithms Heuristics Insight
Step by step procedures that guarantee a solution
Heuristics
Making judgments
Faster, but error prone
Insight
Sudden realization of a solution
Eureka Moment

7. Creativity
The ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable
Cannot be measured on an intelligence test
Convergent thinking – one correct answer
Divergent thinking

8. 5 Components to Creativity
1. Expertise
A well developed base of knowledge
Ideas
Phrases
Images
All serve as the building blocks to creativity

9. 5 Components to Creativity
2. Imaginative thinking skills
Provides the ability to see things in novel ways
Recognize patterns
Make connections

10. 5 Components to Creativity
3. A venturesome personality
Seeks new experiences
Tolerates risk
Exploring new cultures

11. 5 Components to Creativity
4. Intrinsic motivation
Driven more by interest, satisfaction and challenge than by external pressures
Less deadlines for work and more pleasure from work

12. 5 Components to Creativity
5. A creative environment
Sparks, supports and refines creative ideas
Support contemplation

13. Obstacles to problem solving
Confirmation Bias
We look for information that backs up our ideas more than info that goes against it
Watson
“People defend themselves against the threat of new information relevant to the issue”
WMD’s in Iraq

14. Obstacles to problem solving
Fixation
The inability to see a problem in a fresh perspective
MENTAL SET –
Approaching a problem in a way that has worked before
What comes next?
T-E-T-T-F-?-?-?
J-F-M-A-?-?-?

15. Fixation Functional Fixedness
Thinking only in terms of objects usual functions
Inability to think outside the box to use tools available in a different way to solve a problem

16. Making Decisions and Forming Judgments
Using Heuristics
Making quick decisions – mental shortcuts
Instantaneous decisions
Sometimes bad judgments
Representative heuristics
Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they fit in particular prototypes

17. Heuristics Availability Heuristics
Judgments based on how much information is available
If it can be thought of quickly, vividly memorable
Casinos – attract gamblers with bright flashing lights
Easy to forget that there is a ton of $ being lost
Stereotypes – terrorists
Jaws

18. We often overfeel and underthink
Mother Theresa
“If I look at the masses, I will not act. If I look at one, I will”
Feed the Children
“This is________. For only a dollar a day, you can help”

19. Overconfidence
The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments
People who are 100% confident are often wrong about 15% of the time
How quickly can you turn out a quality paper/project
Procrastination
Valuable?
People who are more overconfident live happier lives
Easier time making tough decisions

20. Belief Perseverance
Clinging to initial beliefs, even after they have been proven wrong
The more we hold our beliefs to be true, the tighter we hold onto them
Learning disabilities
“consider the opposite”
A way to reduce the bias of groups

21. Intuition Effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought
Stranger looks dangerous, we react to them
Which is larger – Frankfurt or Bremen
San Diego or San Antonio

22. Intuition Thinking is always taking place Intuition is adaptive
Being able to size up a situation in an instant
Nurses, firefighters, art critics, mechanics, athletes
All can make decisions in split seconds that can have immediate impacts

23. Framing
The way an issue is posed will have an impact on decisions and judgments
10% of operations result in death
90% of operations survive
1 in 20 more surprising than 10 in 200
Exposure to a virus will kill 10 out of 10 Million
Exposure to a virus will kill %

24. Framing in Politics Aiding the needy vs Welfare SALE!!!
Mark up regular price, looks like a better deal
Cash price vs Credit at the gas pump

25. Framing with options
Used to push people in a certain direction when giving them options
Portion sizes at restaurants
Regular vs “small size”
Small size vs “Supersized”
Organ donations
If default is yes, nearly all will do it
If you have to opt out, less likely to say no

26. Language Spoken, written, or signed ways of communicating Phonemes
The smallest part of spoken language
In about 500 languages, there are 869 different phonemes
English uses about 40

27. Phonemes Varying the vowel sounds between b and t
How many different words can you come up with?
Bait, bat, beat/beet, bet, bit, bite, boat, boot, bought, bout, but

28. Phonemes Consonants carry more meaning when we speak
“The trerth ef thes stetement shed be evedent frem thes bref demenstretien”

29. I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.

30. Phonemes Works in sign language too?
You can tell where a person is from by the different types of signing they do
More than 200 types of sign language

31. Morphemes Smallest part of language that carries meaning I
S, to understand a plural
Include prefixes (pre), suffixes (ed)

32. Grammar System of rules that enables us to communicate with each other
Semantics – rules that allow us to derive meaning from morphemes, words and sentences
ed means it happened in the past

33. Grammar
Syntax
Rules we use to put words in order in a sentence
The English language has 616,500 words (in the dictionary)
How we put these words together, allows us to create an infinite number of sentences

34. Language Development
After 1 year old, you learn about 3500 words a year
Rarely do we form sentences in our minds before we speak them
They are put together as we are speaking

35. When do we start learning language?
Infants – In fantis “without language”
Babies can recognize speech
They look for the one speaking
Recognize ‘ah’ and ‘ee’ sounds and mouth position

36. Productive Language Receptive language Ability to produce words
Babbling stage – spontaneously start uttering sounds
Not imitating adult speech –
Nature allows speech, nurture cultures it
Receptive language
They can take words and start to break them into segments of each sound
7 months

37. Language
By 10 mos, a trained ear may be able to pick up what a baby is saying
1st Bday – one word stage
Using one word to convey meaning
2 yrs. – telegraphic speech
2 word phases

38. Skinner and Language Operant Conditioning –
Learning principles can explain language acquisition
Association – seeing things and hearing words
Imitation – words and syntax used by others
Reinforcement – rewards for correct use

39. Chomsky Kids learn way to fast to be explained by just Skinner’s rules
Language acquisition device
Language happens to a child
Universal grammar
Nouns, verbs, adjectives are similar in any language
Arrangement may be different
Start speaking in nouns in most languages

40. Statistical learning and critical periods
At 7 mos, babies can recognize syllable patterns through exposure and repetition
They come with built in programming?
Childhood seems to be the only time we can do this
Critical period for language development
The older you get, the harder it becomes to learn languages
Deaf children – born deaf vs becoming deaf

41. Linguistic determinism
Language determines the way we think – B. L. Whorf
“language itself shapes basic ideas”
The Hopi and the past
Bilingual people will respond to questions differently when taking a test in different languages
Influences how we think more than it determines our personality

42. Increased word power Bilingual advantage
More aptly find the important information when communicating than those who speak one language
Students immersed in elementary school, we more creative, had higher aptitude scores, better English and more appreciation for other culture

43. Thinking in images Implicit memory
Thinking with images, not words
Mental picture of how you do something
Chi Kung
Watching videos can activate the brain’s ability to simulate it
Sports, Music, Pain

44. Thinking in images Outcome simulation vs process simulation
Which is better to imagine for 5 minutes a day?
Celebrating a good grade on a test
Visualizing good study habits
Language does affect our thinking, but thinking also affects language – that’s how we come up with new words