Transcript Document
Thinking and Language
Chapter 9
Thinking and Language Thinking
Cognition
refers to all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
The Thinker,
Rodin
Thinking and Language Thinking Problem Solving
SPLOYOCHYG
Some problems we solve by trail-and-error, and others by using
algorithms
— methodical, step by step procedures that guarantee a solution.
Credit: B 2 M Productions/Digital Vision/Getty Images However, algorithms are time-consuming, and thus we often use
heuristics
— sample thinking strategies that allow us to solve problems efficiently. Heuristics are usually speedier but more error prone.
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Confirmation bias –
our tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore contradictory evidence.
Obstacles to Problem Solving The Matchstick Problem:
How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles?
Fixation –
our inability to see a problem from a new perspective, employing a different
mental set.
Obstacles to Problem Solving The Matchstick Problem:
How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles?
Fixation –
our inability to see a problem from a new perspective, employing a different
mental set.
Obstacles to Problem Solving Fixation –
our inability to see a problem from a new perspective, employing a different
mental set.
Obstacles to Problem Solving The Candle-Mounting Problem:
Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?
Functional Fixedness –
our tendency to think of things only in terms of their
usual
functions.
Obstacles to Problem Solving Functional Fixedness –
our tendency to think of things only in terms of their
usual
functions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=3vQz_YUvcLQ&vq=medium
Thinking and Language Thinking Making Decisions and Forming Judgments
Using and Misusing Heuristics
Amos Tversky Daniel Kahneman Courtesy of Greymayer Award, U. of Louisville
Using and Misusing Heuristics
If you meet a slim, short, man who wears glasses and likes poetry, what do you think his profession would be?
An Ivy league professor of Classics or a truck driver?
The Representativeness Heuristic –
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.
Using and Misusing Heuristics
How many Ivy league schools are there?
10
How many Classics professors are at each school?
4
Of those 40, what proportion are short and slim?
Half
Of those 20, what proportion read poetry?
Half or 10 The Representativeness Heuristic –
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.
Using and Misusing Heuristics
How many truck drivers are there?
400,000
Of those 400,000, what proportion are short and slim?
1 in 5
Of those 80k, what proportion read poetry?
1 in 1,000 or 80 The Representativeness Heuristic –
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.
Using and Misusing Heuristics The Representativeness Heuristic –
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.
Using and Misusing Heuristics
Hypothetically… How many members of (minority) Ethnic Group X are there in the U.S. population?
1.5 million
Of those 1.5 million, what percentage have strong anti-American sentiment? 1/20, or
5% or 75,000 The Representativeness Heuristic –
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.
Using and Misusing Heuristics
Hypothetically… How many members of (majority) Ethnic Group Y are there in the U.S. population?
100,000,000 million
Of those 100 million, what percentage have strong anti-American sentiment? 1/200, or
.5% or 500,000 The Representativeness Heuristic –
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.
Using and Misusing Heuristics
Hypothetically… How many members of Ethnic Group Y are there in the U.S. population?
100,000,000 million
Of those 100 million, what percentage have strong anti-American sentiment? 1/200, or
.5% or 500,000
Randomly chosen person from (majority)
Ethnic Group Y
is
6.7 times
more likely to have strong anti-American sentiment than person from (minority)
Ethnic Group X!
The Representativeness Heuristic –
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.
Using and Misusing Heuristics
Credit: Anynobody
The Availability Heuristic –
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; that is, how readily they come to mind. For example, although flying is much safer than driving, many people insist on driving.
Using and Misusing Heuristics The Availability Heuristic –
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; that is, how readily they come to mind.
Using and Misusing Heuristics
Despite the rarity of dying from a terrorist attack, many Americans list it as the top priority for our government
The Availability Heuristic –
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; that is, how readily they come to mind.
Overconfidence
The Americans were overconfident in invading Vietnam in the 1960s. The Soviets were overconfident in invading Afghanistan in the 1970s.
Our use of
intuitive heuristics
(representative and availability) and our eagerness to confirm the beliefs we already hold (confirmation bias) combine to create
overconfidence
— a tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments. This can create problems, big and small.
Overconfidence
Our use of
intuitive heuristics
(representative and availability) and our eagerness to confirm the beliefs we already hold (confirmation bias) combine to create
overconfidence —
a tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments. This can create problems, big and small.
The Belief Perseverance Phenomenon
Participants read about supposedly new research findings —one supporting use of the death penalty as a deterrent, and the other refuting it. Participants were most impressed with the study that
confirmed their own beliefs
about the death penalty.
Credit: CA Corrections
Belief Perseverance –
our tendency to cling to our initial concepts even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.
Effects of Framing
The way a message is presented can have striking effects: In one study, 9 of 10 college students rated condoms as effective against HIV if they were described as having a “95 percent success rate”…
Framing –
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
Effects of Framing
But only 4 of 10 students rated condoms as effective against HIV if they were described as having a “5 percent” failure rate.
The bottom-line:
The message matters in shaping people’s decisions and judgments.
Framing –
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.