1. Chapter 10
Thinking and Language

2. Thinking Cognition Cognitive Psychologists Concept Prototype
How do we use the information we receive, perceive, store and retrieve?
Cognition
mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Cognitive Psychologists
study these mental activities: concept formation ; problem solving ; decision making ; judgment formation
Concept
mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people; we create hierarchies & definitions of ; written on our brain ;
Prototype
mental image or best example of a category
matching new items to the prototype - a quick and easy method for including items in a category (ex.s: comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin ; disease symptoms don’t match prototype, don’t seek help ; prejudice prototypes)

3. Thinking – Solving Problems
How?
Trial and error
Step-by-step - algorithms
Simple strategies - heuristics
Algorithm
methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
contrasts with the usually speedier–but also more error-prone--use of heuristics
Heuristic
simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently
usually speedier than algorithms
more error-prone than algorithms

4. Thinking – Solving Problems
Unscramble
S P L O Y O C H Y G
Algorithm
all 907,208 combinations
Heuristic
throw out all YY combinations
other heuristics?
Insight
Sudden, novel realization of the solution to a problem (text ex. Johnny’s sand solution)
contrasts with strategy-based solutions

5. Obstacles to Solving Problems
Confirmation Bias
tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions – we would rather verify our ideas than try to refute them.
Fixation - inability to see a problem from a new perspective
Mental Set
tendency to approach a problem in a particular way
especially a way that has been successful in the past but may or may not be helpful in solving a new problem
Functional Fixedness
-tendency to think of things only in terms of their
usual functions

6. The Matchstick Problem
How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles?
Obstacle:
Fixation on 2-dimensional solution

7. The Three-Jugs Problem
Using jugs A, B, and C, with the capacities shown, how would you measure out the volumes indicated?
Obstacle:
Mental set for solving first 5 applied to #6 & 7, instead of simpler solution.

8. The Candle-Mounting Problem
Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?
Obstacle:
Functional fixedness – use the box in a different way!!

9. The Matchstick Problem
Solution to the matchstick problem.

10. The Three-Jugs Problem
Solution: a) All seven problems can be solved by the equation shown in (a): B - A - 2C = desired volume.
b) But simpler solutions exist for problems 6 and 7, such as A - C for problem 6.

11. The Candle-Mounting Problem
Solving this problem requires recognizing that a box need not always serve as a container

12. Heuristics Representativeness Heuristic Availability Heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes
Problem: may lead one to ignore other relevant information – we ignore statistical or logical considerations (text ex. : short, slim poetry reader = professor of classics at Ivy League school or truck driver?)
Availability Heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common
Examples: airplane crash, winners of lottery/gambling.
Used by insurance salespeople (among others!!)
Affects social judgements (ex. One story of welfare recipients = all welfare recipients)

13. Thinking – Making Decisions & Judging
Overconfidence
tendency to be more confident than correct
tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments
Try putting money on it!!
The most confident people are not the most accurate!
Student projects generally take twice as long as predicted!! Think about it…
Framing
the way an issue is posed – “10% die” or “90% survive”
how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments
Example: What is the best way to market ground beef--as 25% fat or 75% lean?
To create fear of something always frame as #s not %s (text ex. Smoking stats)
Marketers use this all the time to sell, sell, sell !!

15. Thinking Belief Bias Belief Perseverance Phenomenon
the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning
sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid or valid conclusions seem invalid
Look at several examples in your text on pages
Belief Perseverance Phenomenon
clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited (Text ex. Risk-taker vs. Cautious person as better firefighters)
Prejudice persists

16. Artificial Intelligence
designing and programming computer systems to: do intelligent things ; simulate human thought processes - intuitive reasoning, learning, understanding language
Computer Neural Networks
computer circuits that mimic the brain’s interconnected neural cells
performing tasks: learning to recognize visual patterns & smells

17. Language Language Phoneme Morpheme Grammar
our spoken, written, or gestured works and the way we combine them to communicate meaning – spreads information beyond its actual experience.
Phoneme
in a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
Morpheme
in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning
may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)
Grammar
a system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with and understand others

18. Language Semantics Syntax
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language
also, the study of meaning
Syntax
the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language

19. Language 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Percentage able
We are all born to recognize speech sounds from all the world’s languages
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
Percentage able
to discriminate
Hindi t’s
Hindi-
speaking
adults
6-8
months
8-10
10-12
English-
Infants from English-speaking homes

20. Language Babbling Stage One-Word Stage Two-Word 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 – nature at work!
Eventually non-native sounds disappear
One-Word Stage
from about age 1 to 2
the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words
Two-Word Stage
beginning about age 2
the stage in speech development during which a child speaks in 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

21. Language Summary of Language Development Month (approximate) Stage 410 12 24
24+
Babbles many speech sounds.
Babbling reveals households
language.
One-word stage.
Two-word, telegraphic speech.
Language develops rapidly into
complete sentences.

22. Language
Genes design the mechanisms for a language, and experience activates them as it modifies the brain
The debate is how much is nature, and how much is nurture

23. Language New language learning gets harder with age
100 90 80 70 60 50
Native
3-7
8-10
11-15
17-39
Percentage
correct on
grammar
test
Age at school
New language learning gets harder with age
“critical period” for language acquisition – begins to close around 7.

24. Language Linguistic Determinism
Whorf”s hypothesis that language determines the way we think –
studies show bilingual people have different self-concepts depending on the language used.
Language is a key to culture
Complexity of language can influence how we distinguish and think about things – the Inuit describe snow with separate words depending on the type. We distinguish different colours with more and more complexity – this differs from one language to another
Subtle influences – sexist language which implies lower status of women
To expand language is to expand the ability to think, understand, express

25. Language
The interplay of thought and language