10 thinking and language

8/13/2019 10 Thinking and Language

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Thinking

Cognition

mental activities associated with thinking,

knowing, remembering, and communicating Cognitive Psychologists

study these mental activities

concept formation

problem solving

decision making

judgment formation


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Thinking

Concept

mental grouping of similar objects, events,

ideas, or people

Prototype

mental image or best example of a category

matching new items to the prototype provides aquick and easy method for including items in acategory (as when comparing feathered creaturesto a prototypical bird, such as a robin)


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Thinking

Algorithm

methodical, logical rule or procedurethat guarantees solving a particularproblem

contrasts with the usually speedierbutalso more error-prone--use of heuristics


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Thinking

Heuristic

simple thinking strategy that often

allows us to make judgments andsolve problems efficiently

usually speedier thanalgorithms

more error-prone than algorithms


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Thinking

Unscramble

S P L O Y O C H Y GAlgorithm

all 907,208 combinations

Heuristic throw out all YY combinations

other heuristics?


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Thinking

Insight

sudden and often novel realization of the solution toa problem

contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Confirmation Bias

tendency to search for information that confirmsones preconceptions

Fixation

inability to see a problem from a new perspective

impediment to problem solving


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The Matchstick

Problem

How would youarrange six

matches to formfour equilateraltriangles?

Th Th J


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The Three-Jugs

Problem

Using jugs A,B, and C,

with thecapacitiesshown, howwould you

measure outthe volumesindicated?


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The Candle-Mounting

Problem

Using thesematerials, how

would youmount thecandle on abulletin board?


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Thinking

Mental Set tendency to approach a problem in

a particular way especially a way that has beensuccessful in the past but may or

may not be helpful in solving a newproblem


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Thinking

Functional Fixedness

tendency to think of thingsonly in terms of their usualfunctions

impediment to problem solving


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The Matchstick

Problem

Solution to thematchstick

problem

Th Th J


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The Three-Jugs

Problem

Solution:a) All seven problemscan be solved by the

equation shown in(a): B - A - 2C =desired volume.

b) But simpler

solutions exist forproblems 6 and 7,such as A - C forproblem 6.

C


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The Candle-Mounting

Problem

Solving thisproblemrequiresrecognizing thata box need notalways serve as

a container


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Heuristics

Representativeness Heuristic

judging the likelihood of things interms of how well they seem torepresent, or match, particularprototypes

may lead one to ignore other relevantinformation


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Heuristics

Availability Heuristic

estimating the likelihood of eventsbased on their availability in memory

if instances come readily to mind(perhaps because of their vividness),we presume such events are common

Example: airplane crash


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Thinking

Framing

the way an issue is posedhow an issue is framed can

significantly affect decisions andjudgments

Example: What is the best wayto market ground beef--as 25%fat or 75% lean?


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Thinking

Belief Bias the tendency for ones preexisting beliefs to

distort logical reasoning sometimes by making invalid conclusions

seem valid or valid conclusions seem invalid

Belief Perseverance clinging to ones initial conceptions after the

basis on which they were formed has beendiscredited


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Artificial Intelligence


designing and programmingcomputer systems

to do intelligent things

to simulate human thought processes

intuitive reasoning

learning

understanding language


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Computer Neural Networks

computer circuits that mimic thebrains interconnected neural cells

performing tasks

learning to recognize visual patterns

learning to recognize smells


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Language

Language

our spoken, written, or gesturedworks and the way we combine themto communicate meaning

Phoneme in a spoken language, the smallest

distinctive sound unit


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Language

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 andunderstand others


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Language

We are all born to recognize speech sounds from all theworlds languages

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Percentage able

to discriminate

Hindi ts

Hindi-

speaking

adults6-8

months 8-10months 10-12months English-speakingadultsInfants from English-speaking homes


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Language

Babbling Stage

beginning at 3 to 4 months

the stage of speech development in whichthe infant spontaneously utters varioussounds at first unrelated to the householdlanguage

One-Word Stage from about age 1 to 2

the stage in speech development during

which a child speaks mostly in single words


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Language

Two-Word Stage

beginning about age 2

the stage in speech development duringwhich a child speaks in mostly two-wordstatements

Telegraphic Speech

early speech stage in which the childspeaks like a telegram-go car--usingmostly nouns and verbs and omitting

auxiliary words


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Language

Summary of Language Development

Month

(approximate)

Stage

4

10

12

24

24+

Babbles many speech sounds.

Babbling reveals households

language.

One-word stage.

Two-world, telegraphic speech.

Language develops rapidly into

complete sentences.


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Language

Genesdesign themechanismsfor alanguage,andexperienceactivatesthem as itmodifies thebrain


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Language

New languagelearning gets

harder withage

1009080706050

Native 3-7 8-10 11-15 17-39

Percentage

correct on

grammar

test

Age at school


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Language

Linguistic Determinism

Whorfs hypothesis thatlanguage determines the waywe think


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Language

The interplay

of thoughtand language

Animal Thinking and


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Animal Thinking and

Language

The straight-linepart of the dance

points in thedirection of anectar source,

relative to thesun

Direction ofnectar source

Animal Thinking and


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Animal Thinking and

Language

Gestured Communication

Animal Thinking and


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Animal Thinking and

Language

Is thisreally

language?

10 thinking and language

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