Transcript Document

Thinking and Language
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
Case Study: Can Animals Talk to Us?
Section 1: Understanding Thinking
Section 2: Problem Solving
Section 3: Reasoning and Decision Making
Section 4: Language
Lab: Applying What You’ve Learned
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Thinking and Language
Case Study: Can Animals Talk to Us?
Can animals use language? The answer depends on the definition of
language. Experiments with animals and language raise new questions
about animal intelligence.
Language Studies with Animals Conclusions
• Washoe was one of the first
chimpanzees reported to use
language.
• Animals can learn to use signs
and symbols and can follow
some commands.
• A bonobo named Kanzi used
several hundred words to
communicate.
• Most psychologists use a more
restrictive definition of
language, however. Under this
definition, the question of
animal language is less clear.
• A parrot named Alex learned
about 100 words.
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Thinking and Language
What do you think?
• What did Washoe, Kanzi, and Alex learn to do?
• How do you think language should be defined?
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Thinking and Language
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Thinking and Language
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Thinking and Language
Section 1 at a Glance
Understanding Thinking
• Thinking is the mental activity that allows us to
understand, process, and communicate information.
• The basic units of thought include symbols, concepts,
and prototypes.
• There are three kinds of thinking: convergent, divergent,
and metacognition.
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Thinking and Language
Understanding Thinking
Main Idea
Thinking is the mental activity that allows humans to process,
understand, and communicate information. There are three types of
thinking: convergent, divergent, and metacognitive.
Reading Focus
• What are some basic elements related to thinking?
• How do the three types of thinking differ?
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Thinking and Language
How do you know a
sign warns of danger
even though you don't
read Turkish?
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Thinking and Language
Basic Elements of Thinking
• Thinking is the mental activity that is involved in the understanding,
processing, and communicating of information.
• Thinking is made possible through units of thought that include symbols,
concepts, and prototypes.
Symbols
Concepts
• A symbol is an object or an act that
stands for something else.
• A concept is a mental structure used to
categorize objects, people, or events
that share similar characteristics.
• Letters and words are symbols.
• Mental images are symbols.
• Symbols help us think about things that
are not present.
• People organize concepts into
hierarchies.
• People learn concepts through
experience.
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Thinking and Language
Prototypes
• A prototype is an example of a concept that best exemplifies the
characteristics of that concept.
• Prototypes help us categorize the world and process information
about it.
• Without prototypes, people might have to examine unfamiliar
elements as if they were totally new.
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Thinking and Language
Reading Check
Identify
What are three basic elements related to
thinking?
Answer: symbols, concepts, and prototypes
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Three Kinds of Thinking
• In general people think in three ways: convergent, divergent, and
metacognitive.
Convergent
Divergent
• Convergent thinking is thought
limited to facts.
• Divergent thinking allows the
mind to associate more freely to
various elements of a problem.
• We use convergent thinking to find
one solution for a problem or task.
• Developing rules and following
them is one example of convergent
thinking.
• Divergent thinking is at the base of
creativity.
• Divergent thinking typically results
in multiple solutions.
• Convergent thinking is not
particularly creative.
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Metacognition
• Metacognition consists of planning, evaluating, and monitoring
mental activities.
• It is thinking about thinking.
• It has two different aspects: metacognitive knowledge and
metacognitive experiences.
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Thinking and Language
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Thinking and Language
Reading Check
Contrast
In what ways are the three ways of thinking
different?
Answer: Convergent thinking is directed toward achieving one
solution; divergent thinking is open-ended, typically resulting in multiple
solutions; metacognition is thinking about thinking—for example,
planning a task and then evaluating one’s performance.
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Thinking and Language
Current Research in Psychology
Automatic Thought Processes
How we think has long been of interest to psychologists. How much of our
thinking is done consciously? Do we really think about every single thing we
do? Do we deliberately make choices in all our actions? Current research
indicates that the answer is no. (Hassin, et. al, eds., 2006)
• Subconscious thought processes
are receiving new attention in the
field of psychology.
• Example: Psychologist John Bargh
believes that some of our thinking
is nonconscious and automatic.
• Experiments have demonstrated
the automatic thought process.
• Some researchers call automatic
thinking “thinking lite.”
• Bargh suggests that automatic
thought processes are “mental
butlers” that anticipate and take
care of some tasks for us without
being asked.
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Thinking and Language
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Thinking Critically
• Think about a situation you had not encountered before.
How did your behavior at that time reflect the theory
about automatic thought?
• What are some dangers of automatic thought?
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Thinking and Language
Section 2 at a Glance
Problem Solving
• Problem solving involves a series of processes, including
analyzing the problem, breaking it into component parts,
and establishing goals.
• Algorithms and heuristics are general approaches to
problem solving.
• There are specific methods of problem solving, including
systematic searching, trial and error, difference reduction,
means-end analysis, working backward, and use of
analogy.
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Problem Solving
Main Idea
Solving problems can be done in logical and planned ways to achieve
the best results.
Reading Focus
• What are two basic approaches to problem solving?
• How can certain methods help with problem solving?
• Why do obstacles to problem solving occur?
• What is the connection between problem solving and creativity?
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Thinking and Language
How do you pick up a ship?
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Approaches to Problem Solving
Algorithms
Heuristics
• An algorithm is a specific
procedure that, when used properly
and in the right circumstances, will
always lead to the solution of a
problem.
• Algorithms are guaranteed to work,
but they are not always practical.
• Mathematical formulas are
examples of algorithms.
• One kind of complex algorithm is a
systematic search.
• This is why people use heuristics
for many types of problems.
• Heuristics are rules of thumb that
often, but not always, help us solve
problems.
• They are shortcuts that are faster
than algorithms, but they are not
always reliable.
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Reading Check
Recall
What are two basic processes used in
problem-solving?
Answer: Algorithms and heuristics are two basic
processes used in problem-solving.
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Thinking and Language
Problem-Solving Methods
Trial and Error
• Somewhat similar to systematic searching, but more haphazard and
less reliable.
Difference Reduction
• Difference reduction is a problem-solving method in which we
identify our goal, where we are in relation to it, and the direction we
must go to move closer to it.
• The aim is to reduce the difference between a present situation in
which a problem is unsolved to a desired situation in which the
problem is solved.
• Not always a reliable method.
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Thinking and Language
Means-End Analysis
• Means-end analysis is a heuristic problem-solving technique.
• In means-end analysis, certain things we do (means) will have
certain results (ends).
• Focus on the knowledge that a particular action will have a particular
result.
Working Backward
• Involves breaking a problem down into parts and dealing with each
part individually.
• Starts by examining the final goal, then works back to determine the
best course of action.
• Very useful when the goal is known but the way to achieve it is not.
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Thinking and Language
Analogies
• An analogy is a similarity between two or more items, events, or
situations.
• When people have successfully solved one problem, they may try to
use the same approach in solving another problem if it is similar
enough to the first one.
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Thinking and Language
Reading Check
Identify
What are five problem-solving methods?
Answer: trial and error, difference reduction, means-end
analysis, working backward, analogies
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Thinking and Language
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Mental Sets
• The tendency to respond to a new problem with an approach that
was successfully used with similar problems is called mental set.
• Mental set can get in the way of problem-solving.
Functional Fixedness
• Another obstacle to problem solving is called functional fixedness,
which is the tendency to think of an object as being useful only for the
function that the object is usually used for.
• Functional fixedness can interfere with finding a solution to a
problem.
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Thinking and Language
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Reading Check
Compare
In what ways is functional fixedness a type
of mental set?
Answer: As with mental set, functional fixedness brings a
preexisting attitude or approach to solving a problem.
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Thinking and Language
Problem Solving and Creativity
Flexibility
• Flexibility is the ability to adapt to new, different, or changing
situations.
• Flexibility leads to original thinking.
Recombination
• Recombination is the mental rearrangement of elements of a
problem.
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Insight and Incubation
• Insight gives us sudden understanding of a problem.
• The incubation effect is the tendency to arrive at a solution after a
period of time away from the problem.
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Reading Check
Describe
What are some methods for solving
problems creatively?
Answer: flexibility, recombination, insight, incubation
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Thinking and Language
Section 3 at a Glance
Reasoning and Decision Making
• Reasoning is the use of information to reach conclusions.
There are two main types of reasoning: deductive and
inductive.
• People use a variety of methods to make decisions,
including using a balance sheet and some types of
heuristics.
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Thinking and Language
Reasoning and Decision Making
Main Idea
Deductive and inductive reasoning are used in the decision-making
process. Various strategies can help us make decisions.
Reading Focus
• What is deductive reasoning?
• What are the steps in inductive reasoning?
• When can weighing costs and benefits be helpful?
• What are some shortcuts in decision making?
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Thinking and Language
How does a pitcher make
quick decisions?
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Deductive Reasoning
• Reasoning is the use of information to reach conclusions. There are
two main types of reasoning: deductive reasoning and inductive
reasoning.
• In deductive reasoning, the conclusion is true if the premises are
true.
• A premise is an idea or statement that provides the basic information
that allows us to draw conclusions.
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Reading Check
Identify
What is one problem with using deductive
reasoning?
Answer: The premises must be true to reach an accurate
solution.
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Inductive Reasoning
• In deductive reasoning, we usually start out with a general statement
or principle and reason down to specifics that fit that statement or
principle.
• In inductive reasoning, we reason from individual cases or
particular facts to reach a general conclusion.
• In inductive reasoning, the conclusion is sometimes wrong, even
when the premises are correct.
• Even though inductive reasoning does not allow us to be certain that
our assumptions are correct, we use inductive reasoning all the time.
• Most sciences, including psychology, rely on inductive reasoning.
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Thinking and Language
Reading Check
Contrast
How is inductive reasoning different from
deductive reasoning?
Answer: Inductive reasoning moves from specific
information to a (sometimes inaccurate) general
conclusion; deductive reasoning will always arrive at the
correct answer if the premises are true.
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Weighing Costs and Benefits
• Making decisions means choosing among goals or courses of action
to reach goals.
• When we make decisions, we weigh the pluses and minuses of each
possible course of action.
• Making a balance sheet can help ensure that all available information
has been considered.
• A balance sheet can also be helpful when a person is making a
decision between two or more alternatives.
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Thinking and Language
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Reading Check
Recall
What is one method for making good
decisions?
Answer: weighing costs and benefits
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Shortcuts in Decision Making
The Availability Heuristic
• The availability heuristic can help people make decisions on the
basis of available information in their immediate consciousness.
The Representativeness Heuristic
• Based on the representativeness heuristic, people make decisions
about a sample according to the population that the sample appears
to represent.
• The representativeness heuristic can be misleading.
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The Anchoring Heuristic
• The anchoring heuristic is the process of making decisions based
on certain ideas or standards held by the decision maker.
• Family traditions, political beliefs, religion, and ways of life are
common anchors.
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Thinking and Language
Reading Check
Identify Main Ideas
What are three shortcuts in decision
making?
Answer: availability heuristic, representativeness
heuristic, anchoring heuristic
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Thinking and Language
Section 4 at a Glance
Language
• Language is the communication of ideas through symbols
that are arranged according to rules of grammar.
• Language contains three basic elements: phonemes,
morphemes, and syntax.
• Children everywhere learn language in the same
sequence of steps. Heredity and environment both affect
language learning.
• Bilingualism is the ability to understand and speak two
languages.
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Language
Main Idea
Language is a complex human activity that allows humans to
communicate with others over time and space. It has specific elements,
and people acquire language in specific steps.
Reading Focus
• What are some of the basic concepts of language?
• How do the basic elements of language build on each other?
• What are the stages of language development?
• Why is bilingualism a significant aspect of modern society?
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Thinking and Language
What language is
written on the
Phaistos Disk?
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Basic Concepts of Language
• Language is the communication of ideas through symbols that are arranged
according to the rules of grammar.
• Language makes it possible for people to share knowledge.
• The psychology of language is called psycholinguistics.
Hereditary Influences
Environmental Influences
• The natural tendency to acquire
language can be called a language
acquisition device (LAD).
• Children learn language partly by
observing and imitating other
people.
• The LAD enables the brain to
understand and use grammar and
to turn ideas into sentences.
• Children acquire the languages of
their parents and then pass them
down to their children.
• Most people are capable of
acquiring language from about 18
months of age to puberty.
• In this manner, languages pass,
with small changes, from
generation to generation.
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Reading Check
Contrast
What are the two main sources of language
acquisition?
Answer: hereditary (natural tendency to acquire learning)
and environmental (observation and imitation)
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The Basic Elements of Language
Phonemes
Morphemes
• Phonemes are the basic sounds of
language.
• The units of meaning in a language
are called morphemes.
• English uses about 43 phonemes,
including some that are not found in
other languages.
• Morphemes are made up of
phonemes.
Syntax
Semantics
• The way in which words are
arranged to make phrases and
sentences is syntax.
• The study of meaning in language
is called semantics.
• The rules for word order are the
grammar of a language.
• Semantics involves the relationship
between language and the objects
depicted in the language.
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Reading Check
Describe
What are the three basic elements of
language?
Answer: phonemes, morphemes, syntax
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The Stages of Language Development
Crying, Cooing, and Babbling
• Crying is an effective form of verbal expression for infants.
• Infants begin to coo during their second month of age.
• Infants begin to babble at about six months of age.
• Crying, cooing, and babbling are basic human abilities.
• Babies understand much of what other people are saying before they
learn to talk.
Words, Words, Words
• The learning of words is the start of true language development.
• Most early words are nouns.
• Research indicates that reading to children increases their
vocabulary.
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Thinking and Language
Development of Grammar
• The first things children say are usually brief, but they have a
grammar.
• Most children who are nearing two years old will begin to use twoword sentences.
• Two-word sentences usually show understanding of grammar.
• Children make language errors because of overregularization.
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Thinking and Language
Click on the image to play the Interactive.
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Thinking and Language
Reading Check
Sequence
In what order do children learn language?
Answer: They begin by crying, cooing, and babbling,
then learn to use words, and finally develop an
understanding of grammar.
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Bilingualism
• To speak two languages fluently is to be bilingual.
• In general, learning a second language during childhood is easier
than learning it later in life.
• The bilingual population of the United States is growing.
• Many people in other countries speak two or more languages.
• Most psychologists believe that bilingualism is good for children’s
cognitive development.
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Thinking and Language
Reading Check
Make Generalizations
What are some advantages to bilingualism?
Answer: increased cognitive flexibility in children,
improved mastery over child’s native language
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Thinking and Language
Cultural Diversity and Psychology
Disappearing Languages
By the year 2100 about half of the world’s 7,000 or so languages are likely to
have disappeared. As a result, information about cultures, their history, the
environment, and the different ways that people think will also disappear.
• Languages die as the few
remaining people who speak them
die.
• When a language is lost, so is an
entire culture.
• Languages are disappearing most
rapidly in five regions.
• Different ways of thinking and
different ways of using language
are also lost.
• Two of the regions are the upper
Pacific Coast and the Southwest.
• Many countries are working to save
or revive dying languages.
• One reason languages die out is
because of the influence of
“predator” languages.
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Thinking and Language
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Thinking Critically
• What are three reasons why languages are dying?
• Do you think that the English language reveals unique
features of our culture? If so, what are they?
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Thinking and Language
Lab: Applying What You’ve Learned
Children, Thinking, and Language
Help new parents understand how their child will think, solve problems,
and use language in these processes.
1. Introduction
2. Conducting Your Research
• You will create a pamphlet
designed to help parents
understand how their children think
and solve problems and the
importance of language in this
process.
• Focus on concerns parents have
about how well their children will
acquire language and use
language to think.
• Focus on steps parents can take to
ensure their children develop
language skills.
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Thinking and Language
Lab (con’t.)
3. Sharing Your Expertise
4. Making the Pamphlet
• Share your expertise with your
group members.
• Your pamphlet must have five
sections, one for each topic, plus a
cover with a title, your name, and a
graphic or illustration.
• Include the following:
• Name of your topic
• Important terms and concepts
related to your topic
• How your topic is important
• Examples of how your topic works
• Each section must include:
• Three to five sentences or bullet
points
• At least two terms related to the
topic
• An example
• A graphic or illustration
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Thinking and Language
Lab (con’t.)
5. Exchange Pamphlets
6. Discussion
• Exchange pamphlets with another
group.
• Hold a group discussion about:
• Review the new pamphlet.
• The topics, examples, and
illustrations
• Note information you did not
include in your own pamphlet.
• Look at the examples and
illustrations.
• Overall success of lab
• How parents might use the
information
• Challenges in problem-solving
• How language might change during
your lifetime
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Thinking and Language
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