chapter 7: cognition, language, and intelligence: how do we think?

CHAPTER 7:COGNITION, LANGUAGE, AND

INTELLIGENCE:HOW DO WE THINK?

Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition

© 2010 Cengage Learning

THINKING: HOW WE USE WHAT WE KNOW

• Cognition – way in which we store and use information

• Thinking – use of knowledge to accomplish goal

• Knowledge – information stored in LTM • Mental representation – bits of memory

that represent objects, events, people • Sensory• Meaning



VISUAL IMAGES: HOW GOOD IS THE MENTAL PICTURE?

• Image-scanning experiments• Suggest that visual images may have the same

properties as the actual stimulus• North American map demonstration

• Suggests that an approximate visual image plus some general knowledge is stored

• Mental representation relies on both visual images and verbal knowledge



CONCEPTS: HOW WE ORGANIZE WHAT WE KNOW

• Store mental representations of related objects in same mental category

• Concepts – mental categories containing related bits of knowledge• Organized around meaning of information• Stored in verbal or propositional form• Used to perceive, think about, and deal with world



ORGANIZING CONCEPTS INTO CATEGORIES

• Tend to organize into hierarchical categories

• Superordinate category• Most general level (fruit)

• Basic level category• Used to most often think about world (orange)• First level acquired by children

• Subordinate category• Less general, more specific (naval oranges)



PROBLEM SOLVING: WHERE DOES OUR THINKING GET US?

• Some problems have obvious solutions, others do not

• General problem solving has six stages• Identify problem• Represent problem• Plan a solution• Execute plan• Evaluate plan• Evaluate solution



LANGUAGE: COMMUNICATION, THOUGHT,

AND CULTURE• Humans have well-developed, syntactical

verbal system to represent the world• Much of knowledge represented in

memory as words



HOW HUMANS ACQUIRE LANGUAGE

• Innate view• Born with a language acquisition device or biological

make-up that gives innate knowledge of language syntax• Nurture view

• Language is a means for solving the problem of needing to communicate

• Both play a role—Nature vs. Nurture



COOING AND BABBLING: BABY STEPS TO LEARNING ONE OR MORE

LANGUAGES• Newborn to 1 month – can categorize

vowel sounds• 2 months – cooing

• Vowel sounds like “ooo” and “ah”• 4 months – babbling

• Consonant sounds like “ka ka ka”• 7 months – babbles specific to native

language (phonemes)• 1 year – communication with others



COOING AND BABBLING: BABY STEPS TO LEARNING ONE OR MORE LANGUAGES

(CONT.)

• In bilingual household children acquire both languages at high level of proficiency

• Exposure in elementary school can lead to near-native proficiency; afterward, very difficult



FROM “MAMA” AND “DADA” TO FULL CONVERSATIONS

• First words are objects• Uttering one word sentences (e.g. “Milk!”)

• Overextension – one word symbolizes all similar instances

• Telegraphic speech – two-word sentences convey meaning

• Followed by rapid acquisition• By age 6, large vocabulary and mastery of grammar and

pragmatics



LANGUAGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE

• Lev Vygostsky – Sociocultural Theory• influence of language in the development of culture

• Older and knowledgeable society members pass on culture by engaging in conversations• Pass on values, beliefs, customs

• Children store these dialogues and later use this knowledge to guide behavior



ARE HUMANS THE ONLY ANIMALS TO USE LANGUAGE?

• Some researchers suggest animals have language abilities

• Consider difference between language and communication• Language is a system of communication with set

vocabulary and grammar• Communication can be unstructured



DEFINING AND MEASURING INTELLIGENCE

• What is intelligence?• Abilities allowing a person to adapt to her

or his environment and behave in a goal-directed way

• Precise definition is elusive • Measurement is challenging



ALFRED BINET: MEASURING INTELLIGENCE BY MEASURING

COGNITIVE ABILITIES• Along with Theodore Simon, appointed to

develop measure of intelligence for French school children, place in special education programs

• Intelligence is capacity to find and maintain purpose, adapt and evaluate strategy to reach purpose and adjust, if necessary

• Mental age – how child’s abilities compared to average child of same age



LEWIS TERMAN: THE INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT AND THE STANFORD-BINET

• American revision of Binet and Simon’s work

• Introduced the intelligence quotient/IQ• IQ = (MA/CA) X 100

• MA = Mental Age• CA = Chronological Age

• Average IQ would be 100 where MA = CA



DAVID WECHSLER’S INTELLIGENCE SCALES

• Developed test in response to shortcomings of Stanford-Binet• One number cannot express “intelligence”• Objected to use of mental age for adults

• Test yields scores on subscales measuring different mental abilities

• Average ranges from 85 – 115



WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS

• Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (PDPSI) • 2 1/2 - 7 years

• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition (WISC-III)• 6 -16

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) • over 15



TESTING THE TEST: WHAT MAKES A GOOD INTELLIGENCE TEST?

• Reliability• Test yields consistent measurements for the same

individual over time• Validity

• Test measures what it is designed to measure• Predictive validity

• Test predicts some future behavior• Cultural bias

• Degree to which test is invalid for cultural minority members



THE NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE: THE SEARCH CONTINUES

• E.G. Boring, “intelligence is what the tests test”

• Historically spent more time measuring than defining intelligence

• Does timing alter a person’s performance?



INTELLIGENCE AS A SINGLE FACTOR

• Charles Spearman• One general level of intelligence that

underlies separate mental abilities• Generalized intelligence or “g”

• Determines how well individual functioned on cognitive tasks



HOWARD GARDNER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

• Humans possess many different intelligences

• Intelligence is a biopsychological potential to process information that can be activated in cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of cultural value

• Identified 9 different intelligences• Intelligence profile



GARDNER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

• Linguistic• Spatial• Logical-Mathematical• Musical• Bodily-Kinesthetic• Interpersonal• Intrapersonal• Naturalistic• Existential



ROBERT STERNBERG’S TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE

• Successful intelligence helps us function in our world

• Analytical: ability to use logic to reason through problems

• Practical: ability to adapt to environment; common sense

• Creative: ability to use knowledge of world in novel situations



DANIEL GOLEMAN’S THEORY OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

• Intelligence alone does not guarantee success; must factor in emotional intelligence

• Emotionally intelligent person is confident self-starter, ethical and adaptable – sets goals, works toward them without letting obstacles stop them

• Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test



NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

• Genes or environment?• Natural selection • Today’s question is, “Is the trait mostly

genetic or mostly environmental?”• Best way to study contributions of genes

and environment



GENDER AND INTELLECTUAL ABILITIES: ARE WE REALLY ALL THAT DIFFERENT?

• Many stereotypes about differences in female and male intellectual abilities• These affect self- and other-perception and beliefs about

abilities• Many researchers conclude that men and

women do not differ in “g”• Differences found tend to be small and

vary across cultures

chapter 7: cognition, language, and intelligence: how do we think?

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