Transcript Psychology
Module 23 Thinking and Language Cognitive Abilities All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing and remembering CUE: THINKING How do we define concept, and why is a concept useful? Concept A mental grouping based on shared similarity Categorizing items in one’s environment CUE: GROUP or CATEGORY Concept Example: Male Female Pat from Saturday Night Live did not easily fit into either group! Concept Can you think of any other examples of concepts? Prototype A typical best example incorporating the major features of a concept CUE: Typical or best example Example of a Prototype Give me one characteristic of a bird. Prototype of a Bird Birds fly Birds have wings Birds lay eggs Birds have feathers Prototype of a Bird Do chickens have these characteristics? Is a chicken a bird? What about penguins? Concept Hierarchy Keeps mental information organized from basic concepts to specific ones CUE: flowchart Concept Hierarchy Create your own concept hierarchy Problem solving What are algorithms and heuristics, and how do they help us solve problems? Algorithms A problem solving strategy that guarantees the solution to the problem Not always the fastest way Algorithms CUE: STRATEGY TO SOLVE A PROBLEM Examples: L x W = height Go down every aisle in the grocery store to find apples Heuristics A rule-of-thumb problem solving strategy that makes a solution more likely and efficient but does not guarantee a solution CUE: MENTAL SHORTCUT Insight The sudden realization of the solution to a problem CUE: AHA! Mental Set A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way The set may or may not be helpful in solving a new problem How can fixation, the confirmation bias, heuristics, overconfidence, framing, and belief perseverance influence our ability to solve problems? Fixation A mental set that hinders the solution of a problem Freudian term, Coming soon! CUE: CAN’T GET OVER IT Confirmation Bias The tendency to focus on information that supports one’s preconceptions CUE: ONLY SEE WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE Everyone up! You have to make a decision between two choices. st • If you pick the 1 choice, go to the LEFT nd • If you pick the 2 choice, go to the RIGHT Everyone up! Which causes more deaths? All accidents or strokes Leukemia or drowning Homicide or diabetes Everyone up! Which city has higher crime rates? Detroit, MI or Gary, IN New Haven, CT or Boston, MA Answers Sit down if you got the wrong answer… Answers Strokes > accidents Leukemia > drowning Diabetes > homicide Gary> Detroit New Haven > Boston Availability Heuristic We remember stories that stand out, and we might make the wrong choice Availability Heuristic Uses information from our memory to judge the likelihood of events Can be correct or incorrect CUE: STICKS IN MEMORY Overconfidence The tendency to be more confident than correct when estimating the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments CUE: ALL THAT! NOT! Framing The way an issue is worded or presented CUE: presentation Belief Perseverance Clinging to one’s initial beliefs even after new information discredits the basis on which they were formed CUE: CAN’T LET IT GO Language The spoken, written, or gestured words a group uses to communicate meaningfully CUE: WORDS Phoneme The smallest distinctive unit of sound of a spoken language CUE: SMALLEST SOUND Phoneme English has about 40 phonemes. A young baby produces all the phonemes of all the languages of the world. Morpheme The smallest unit, in a language, that carries meaning CUE: SMALLEST MEANING Morpheme May be a word or part of a word English has about 100,000 morphemes. Grammar A system of rules governing how one can combine morphemes and words and arrange them in sentences to communicate with others COMMUNICATION RULES Noam Chomsky Argues that children have a predisposition to learn language CUE: HARD WIRED FOR LANGUAGE B.F. Skinner and Language Skinner believed language was the result of learning CUE: LEARN LANGAUGE B.F. Skinner and Language Skinner believed language was the result of learning through: Association : linking certain sounds with certain people Imitation Rewards or punishments Language Acquisition Stages Three-step process: Babbling One-Word Stage Two-Word Stage Babbling Babies spontaneously babble phonemes. Will babble all the phonemes of the world Will begin to babble only the phonemes of the child’s native tongue at about 1 year of age One-Word Stage Child uses one word to convey a complete thought or idea CUE: 1 WORD Two-Word Stage Two word sentences showing an appreciation of the rules of grammar CUE: 2 WORDS Overgeneralization Child will generalize grammar rules so they apply the rules too broadly. CUE: OVER DO IT Overgeneralization UP CLOSE Do animals have language? Page 448 Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis Hypothesis that one’s language determines the way a person may think Proposed by Benjamin Whorf (1897-1941) Use of inclusive language