Chapter 8: Thinking, Language & Intelligence

Lectures 12,13,&14

Learning Outcomes

• Define thinking and the various concepts involved in thinking.

• Describe how language develops.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify the concepts of intelligence and the in techniques used to measure intelligence.

• Describe the controversy surrounding intelligence testing.

Truth or Fiction?

Only humans can use insight to solve problems.

Crying is an early form of language.

Truth or Fiction?

Young children say things like “Daddy goed away” and “Mommy sitted down” because they do understand rules of grammar.

“Street smarts” are a sign of intelligence.

Truth or Fiction?

Creative people are highly intelligent.

Highly intelligent people are creative.

Truth or Fiction?

Two children can answer exactly the same items on an intelligence test correctly, yet one child can be above average in IQ, and the other can be below average.

Intelligence tests measure many things other than intelligence.

Thinking

1. What is the Nature of Thought?

• -9/11- rational decision making?• What does your mom look like?

– Mental image

• In alphabet what letter comes after N?– L,M,N,O

• How much is 2+2– Did “4” -immediately pop into your mind?

• What is Julia Roberts’s phone number?

2.Thinking

• What is thinking?– Attending to information, using it or– Representing it mentally– Reasoning about it, and– Making judgments and decisions about it– E.g., Making sense of and change the world

3. Mental Images & Concepts

• Mental images- a mental representation that has some of the physical characteristics of an object

• Concept- a symbolic representations of objects; a category, a class, that includes subtypes and/or individual items (musical Instrument, other?)– used to group objects, relations, events, abstractions or

qualities that have common properties, & cannot be measured

• Hierarchies

– Used to organize concepts

Concepts

• Prototypes– Good examples of a category of concept

• Exemplars– Positive and Negative instances

• Overextension

4. Concepts

• Prototypes– Good examples of a category of concept

• Name the first member that comes to your mind:• A bird______• A hero______• A Color______• An animal______• A Motor Vehicle_______

• Exemplars– Positive and Negative instances

• Overextension

5. When a Person Has a Problem?

• When s/he does not have a direct means of attaining a particular goal

What is Problem Solving?

• Using the thoughts and actions to move from the current state to the goal state, in other words achieving a desired goal that is not readily attainable, often by devising strategies to overcome obstacles

6. Organization of Subgoals

• High school senior decides to become a doctor• First, s/he needs to attain more immediate

subgoal:

1). _______

2)._______

3).________

4).________– Identifying important subgoals is not always

easy

7. Trial and Error

• An approach to problem solving in which one

solution after another is tried in no particular

order until the answer is found• Used when we have little or no knowledge

relevant to the problem– Students give examples…

8. Algorithms

• Specific procedure for solving a type of problem– Yield correct answers if the right formula is

used. Any math formula is an example of Alg• Systematic random search (similar to trial and

error)– Each possible solution is tested according to a

particular set of rules

9. Heuristic

• Shortcuts; mental rules of thumb used to solve a problem• Working backwards: Water lilies double the area they cover every 24hours.

At the beginning of the summer there is one water lily on a pond. It takes 60days for the pond to become covered with lilies. On what day is the pond half covered?

• Means-end analysis (subgroups)– Evaluate and reduce difference between the current

situation and goal• Analogies

– Refer to a previous problem to solve a new problem

PLAYVIDEO

Logical reasoning and observation can be used to solve the problem: Play Video Elevator

The Elevator Riddle Solution

10. Factors that Affect Problem Solving

• Expertise– Experts use parallel processing; novices use serial

processing:– how long it will take you to unscramble this word: DNSUO

• Mental Sets– Tendency to use an approach that was previously

successful with similar problem• Insight

– Sudden perception permitting the solution

11. Factors that Affect Problem Solving

• Incubation– Stand back from a problem for a while; solution

may come in a flash of insight• Functional Fixedness

– Tendency to think of an object in terms of its familiar function

12. Heuristics in Decision Making(not covered in class, but will be included in the Quiz)

• Representativeness heuristic– Make judgments about events according to the

population of events that they appear to represent

• Availability heuristic– Estimate of probability is based on examples of

relevant events

13. Heuristics in Decision Making (not covered in class, but will be included in the Quiz)

• Anchoring and adjustment heuristic– First estimate serves as an anchor– With new information we make adjustments

but remain in the proximity of the first estimate

14. Factors that Affect Decision Making

(not covered in class, but will be included in the Quiz)

• Framing effect– Context in which information is presented affects

decision making• Overconfidence

– Unaware of flimsiness of assumptions– Work to bring about results that fit our judgments– Forget information counter to our judgment– Self-fulfilling prophecies

15. Class Discussion on The Paradox of Choice

• Do you believe the more options you have the better?

• Do you find that too much choice can be frustrating?

• Satisficers- “good enough”• Maximizers- “the best possible choice”• “Paradox of Choice” might be responsible for cultural shift in

the average age when people are settling into jobs and marriage??

• Responsible for depression in modern countries?

Language,Lecture 13

1. Communication by Nonhumans

• What capability most reliably sets humans apart from all other species?

• African Grey Parrots (Discuss Video) – Did Alex speak English? What is the difference

between Alex’s usage of language and human usage?

• Apes (Washoe, Sarah, Lana, Nim & Kanzi)– Genetically show some ability to use language– Use of symbols to communicate

2. Apes

• Allen & Beatrix Gardner (1969)- Washoe used sign language beginning 1y.o. -160 signs

• David Premack (1983) –Sarah mastered notion of similarity and difference, half and whole

• Yerkes Primate Research Center (80s)-Lana computer controlled language training “Give apple which is orange)

• Kanzi-1300 utterances, 200 geometric symbols• However, Herbert Terrace (1981)-Nim responded

according to CC not rules of the language

3.Communication in Other Animals

• Whales and dolphins- “in basket,” “under basket”• Dogs• Other• “My father was poor but honest” (quoted in Restak, 1988, p.202)

4. Language

• A means of Communicating of thoughts and feelings, using a system of socially shared but arbitrary symbols (sounds, signs, or written symbols) arranged according to rules of grammar.

5. Structure of Language

• Psycholinguistics-how language is acquired, produced, and used…

• Phonemes-the smallest units of sound in a spoken language

• Morphemes- the smallest units of meaning

• Syntax- specifies the rules for arranging and combining words to form phrases and sentences

• Semantics- the meaning derived from morphemes, words, and sentences

• Pragmatics- characteristics of spoken language, such as intonation

and gestures, that indicate social meaning of utterances.

6. Properties of Language

• Infinite creativity– Capacity to create rather than imitate

sentences• Displacement

– Capacity to communicate in another time or place

7. Language and Cognition

• Language is not necessary for thinking• Concepts can be understood without knowing the

word for the concept (e.g. roundness)

8. Language and Culture

• Linguistic-relativity hypothesis (Whorf (1956))– Language structures the way we perceive the

world• Criticism of linguistic-relativity hypothesis

– Images and abstract logical propositions may be used as units of thought

– Range of concepts represent priority of the language not cognitive limitation

9. Bilingualism

• In other countries the majority of citizens speak two or more language

• Advantages of being bilingual:– Metalinguistic skills, the capacity to think about lang.– Ability to learn about the other culture in depth

• Disadvantages:– Decreased efficiency memory tasks involving words – But develop compensatory strategies, though respond

more slowly

• Lose accent – younger than 10 or 11 y. o.

10. Language Development

• At the age 17- 80,000 words• From 18 m to 5- 14,000 words, average 9wrds/day• 2-3 m- cooing sounds when along• 20 weeks- mixes various vowels & consonants w/cooing • 6 m- Babbles; utters phonemes of all language• 8 m- focuses on phonemes, rhythm, & intonation of native language• 12m- say single words; mimics sounds; understand some words• 18-20m – uses two word sentences; 50 wrds, overextension• 24m- 270 wrds; acquires suffixes & function wrds in a fixed sequence• 30m – uses telegraphic speech• 36m – begins acquisition of grammar rules; overregulation

11. Language Development

• Prelinguistic vocalizations– Crying, cooing, babbling

• All children babble the same sounds (even deaf children)

– By 9 – 10 months foreign sounds are dropped• First word is spoken about 1 year

12. Development of Grammar

• Holophrase (2nd year)– Single words that express complex meanings– “Cookie” means “this is cookie” “I want cookie” “where is cookie?”

• Telegraphic speech (30mos), understanding syntax– Two-word sentences– Grammatically correct– Sequence of emergence of various two-word

sentences is universal

13. Development of Grammar

• Overextension /underextension (18-20m)– Application of a word, on the basis of some feature, to a broader

rage of objects than is appropriate (“Daddy”)

• Overregulation (36m)– Application of regular grammatical rules to irregular

verbs and nouns• Between 7- to 9-years

– Children realize words can have more than one meaning

14. Nature and Nurture in Language Development

• Learning Theory– Imitation and reinforcement, – Social cognitive perspective

• Parent serve as models

– What is wrong w/these perspectives?• Nativist Approach

– Innate factors cause children to attend to and perceive language in certain ways– neurologically prewired – Do not need instructions or reinforcement, only presence of language

15. Nativist Approach to Language Development

• Language acquisition device (LAD)- Chomsky – Represents the inborn tendency– Prepares nervous system to learn grammar

• Universal grammar• Psycholinguistic theory

– Language acquisition involves interaction of environmental influences and inborn tendency to acquire language

Interactionist perspective similar to Psycholinguistic theory.

Reading to a child is very important for the language development!!!

Banishing Bilingualism

• Preparation: Ask a student in your class who is bilingual to demonstrate their ability.

• For this demonstration, have a student (more if there are more bilingual students) demonstrate their ability in the languages learned. Ask them to talk about when they learned the languages and how it has benefited them. Then present an article found in most libraries titled “Banishing Bilingualism” written by Katz and Kohl (2002). This article discusses efforts to banish bilingualism from education and how some states have moved forward with this. This topic can lead to a lively debate over bilingualism or English only.

IntelligenceLecture 14th

What is Intelligence?

1. Intelligence

• Example, Marilyn Mach and Dr. Jarvik• Did poorly in school: Churchill, Einstein, etc.• IQ? Academic Achievement?

Cognitive & Emotional Intelligence, Nature of Intelligence, and how it is measured. Where does intelligence come from? Gifted & Retarded

2. What is Intelligence?

• American Association of Psychologists (APA) defined intelligence as an individual’s “ability to understand complex ideas,… to adapt effectively to environment, … to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles by taking thought”

• Provides the basis for academic achievements

3. Theories of Intelligence

• Intelligence is made up of a number of mental abilities (factors)

• Spearman’s g factor– General intelligence– s factor represents specific abilities

• Thurstone’s specific factors– Primary mental abilities: verbal comprehension, numerical ability, visual and

spatial abilities, perceptual speed, word fluency, memory & reasoning.

• Are those different ways of assessing g or distinct intelligences?

4. Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Howard Gardner (handout)– Number of different intelligences

• Critics

5. Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

• Robert Sternberg– Analytical

• Academic ability– Creative

• Ability to cope with novel situations and generate multiple solutions to problems

– Practical• “Street smarts”

Some texts: componential, experiential, & naturalistic

6. Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

• Robert Sternberg– Analytical

• Academic ability– Creative

• Ability to cope with novel situations and generate multiple solutions to problems

– Practical• “Street smarts”

Some texts: componential, experiential, & naturalistic

7. Emotional Intelligence

• The ability to apply knowledge about emotions to everyday life, involves an awareness of and an ability to manage one’s own emotions, self-motivation, empathy, and the ability to handle relationships. (EQ)

• Intrapersonal and interpersonal skills (empathy)• Self-insight and self-control (self-motivation) • Allows for coping with stress, depression, and

aggressive behavior

8. Emotional Intelligence

• Managing emotions does not mean suppressing them; not does it mean giving free rein to everyday feeling.

• Goleman (1995)“A life without passion would be a dull wasteland of neutrality, cut off and isolated from the richness of life itself” (p.56)

• We manage our emotions by expressing them in an appropriate manner.

9. Creativity and Intelligence

• Creativity-the ability to produce original, appropriate, & valuable ideas &/or solutions to problems

• Creative people– Do things that are novel and useful– Take risks– Defy limits– Appreciate art and music

• Relationship between intelligence test scores and standard measures of creativity is only moderate.

10. Divergent and Convergent Thinking

• Divergent thinking– Freely associate to elements of problem– Best used in measuring creativity

• Convergent thinking– Thought is limited to present facts– Best used in intelligence testing

• Interrelated

11. Savant Syndrome(Rein Man?)

• An unusual combination of genius and low performance in different areas

• Autistic individuals• The puzzle of savant syndrome is slowly

unraveled

12. Measurement of Intelligence

• Franz Gall (1758-1828)- measuring skull • Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (SBIS)

– Binet-Simon - produced child’s mental age– SBIS adapted for intelligence quotient (IQ)

• IQ reflects relationship between mental and actual age

• (Mental Age / Chronological Age)x100=IQ

13. Measurement of Intelligence

• Wechsler Scales (the latest WAIS-III)• 16 and older (but has for kids as well)• Deviation Score

– Separate subscales• Verbal and performance tasks

– Three IQ scores are obtained: 1. Verbal IQ2. Performance IQ3. Full Scale IQ

14. Approximate Distribution of IQ Scores

15. Differences in Intellectual Functioning

• Socioeconomic and Ethnic Differences– Consideration of social class

• Lower-class U.S. children score 10 – 15 IQ points lower than middle- and upper-class

– Consideration of ethnicity• Impact of social class

– Asian Americans more likely to graduate high school and complete college

16. Do Intelligence Tests Contain Cultural Biases?

• Tests may measure familiarity with dominant middle-class culture:

• Caesar is to salad as______ is to brandy.

a. Churchill b. Napoleon c. Hitler d. Lincoln • Culture-free Intelligence Tests

– Cattel’s Culture-Fair Intelligence Test• European American children outperform African

American children on “culture-free” test

17. Sample Items from Cattell’s Culture-Fair Intelligence Test

18. Gender Differences in Intelligence Tests

• Intelligence tests do not show overall differences in cognitive ability– Girls superior to boys in verbal ability– Boys excel in visual-spatial ability– Boys tend to score higher on math tests

• Group scores represent greater variation within the group than between the groups

Nature and Nurture in Intelligence

Do You Think of Intelligence as an Inherited or a learned

Characteristic?

19. Genetic Influences on Intelligence

• Francis Galton (1822-1911)- heredity • Environmentalists- intelligence product of …..• Kinship studies

– IQ scores of identical twins (MZ) are more alike than for any other pairs

– Moderate correlations between fraternal twins, siblings and parents and their children

– Weak correlations between children and their foster parents and between cousins

20. Genetic Influences on Intelligence

• Twin Studies– IQ scores of MZ twins reared together have

higher correlation than MZ twins reared apart• Being reared together is related to IQ

similarities• Minnesota Center for Twin and Adoption

Research (Bouchard (1997), - reported that various types of twin studies have consistently yielded heritability of .60 to .70 for intelligence

21. Genetic Influences on Intelligence

• Adoption Studies– Stronger relationship between IQ scores of

adopted children and their biological parents than between children and adoptive parents

22. Heritability of Intelligence

• Heritability is between 40% and 60%– About half the difference between your IQ

score and the IQ scores of other people can be explained by heredity

• Environment is also important• Being reared together is related to IQ

similarities

23. Findings of Studies of the Relationship between IQ Scores and Heredity

24. The Complex Web of Factors That Affect Intellectual Functioning