last class in review
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Last Class in Review. STM LTM Encoding Rehearsal: Maintenance: repetition, rote rehearsal Elaborative: associate with personal experiences or old memories Aids in retrieval Mnemonic devices: acronyms, rhymes, method of loci Theories of why we forget Decay = use it or lose it - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Last Class in Review• STM LTM
– Encoding• Rehearsal:
– Maintenance: repetition, rote rehearsal– Elaborative: associate with personal experiences or old
memories» Aids in retrieval
• Mnemonic devices: acronyms, rhymes, method of loci
• Theories of why we forget1. Decay = use it or lose it2. Replacement = new memories push out old memories3. Interference:
• Retroactive (affects things in the past), • Proactive (affects things subsequently)
4. Cue-dependent = not encoded well = bad retrieval cues5. Amnesia = brain injury, disease, psychogenic
Learning Objectives• Cognition:
1. What are the distinctions among a concept, prototype, proposition, schema, and mental image?
2. What is the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning?
3. What is the difference between an algorithm and a heuristic?
4. What are the barriers to reasoning rationally?5. What are the availability heuristic, the hindsight
bias, and the confirmation bias?
Elements of cognitionConceptMental category that groups objects, relations, activities, abstractions, or qualities having common properties
General ideas that allow us to categorize stimuli
Prototype: best or most typical example of a category
chapter 7
Chair
Elements of cognitionPropositionsRepresent the relationship of concepts to one another to express a single idea
Cognitive Schemas• Mental models of the world, that link together propositions and concepts
• An integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations that defines the properties of an object or event
• Organizes information and aids in retrieval
• Scripts – like how to behave in a restaurant
Cognitive Schema: Script
• To get a haircut. I make an appointment with the hairdresser. Drive to the salon. Tell the receptionist I am there and wait until I am called. Get my hair washed and conditioned. The hairdresser combs and cuts my hair. The hairdresser puts gel in my hair and dries it. I pay for the haircut. I drive home.
Elements of cognitionMental ImageA mental representation that resembles what it represents
Occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present
• Indirect measurement:
• How long it takes a person to rotate an image
Your turn“To get a hamburger, go to a fast-food restaurant and wait in line behind the counter. When it is your turn, tell the person by the cash register that you want a hamburger. He/she will tell you how much it costs. Give him/her enough money. In a few minutes someone behind the counter will give you a hamburger.” This kind of mental representation is best described as a:1. Concept
2. Proposition
3. Schema
4. Image
chapter 7
ReasoningThe drawing of conclusions or inferences from observations,
facts, or assumptions
Formal ReasoningInformation needed to draw a conclusion is availableThere is a right and wrong answer
1. Algorithms2. Formal Logic
• Deductive reasoning• Inductive reasoning
Informal ReasoningNo clear cut answer or correct solution
• Heuristics• Dialectical Reasoning
chapter 7
Formal ReasoningInformation needed to draw a conclusion is availableYou must find the right (or best) answer
Algorithms:A set of instructions for accomplishing a task that produces a solutionDon’t need to understand how/why it works
- recipe for baking bread- how to solve a math problem- how to calculate molarity (chemistry)
Formal Logic:Deductive reasoning: provide complete support for a conclusionInductive reasoning: provide some, but not complete support for a conclusion
chapter 7
Deductive ReasoningA tool of formal logic in which a conclusion necessarily follows from a set of premises.
chapter 7
Examples:
• All dogs are mammals. All mammals have kidneys. Therefore all dogs have kidneys.
• Since all squares are rectangles, and all rectangles have four sides, all squares must have four sides.
• All apples are fruit. All fruit grows on trees. Therefore all apples grow on trees.
Inductive ReasoningA tool of formal logic in which a conclusion probably follows from a set of premises.
chapter 7
Examples:
• All swans we have seen have been white; therefore all swans are white.
• I always hang pictures on nails; therefore all pictures hang on nails
ReasoningInformal ReasoningNo clear cut answer or correct solution
Heuristics: A rule of thumb that suggests a course of action or guides problem solving but does not guarantee an optimal solutionMental shortcut; allows us to solve problems and make decisions more quicklyDialectical Reasoning: Comparing, contrasting, weighing and evaluating opposing points of view to determine the best solution
chapter 7
HeuristicsWell known:Anchoring and adjustment Availability heuristic Representativeness heuristic
Less well known:Affect heuristic Contagion heuristic Effort heuristic Familiarity heuristicFluency heuristic Gaze heuristic Peak-end rule Recognition heuristic Scarcity heuristic Similarity heuristic Simulation heuristic Social proof Take-the-best heuristic
Dialectical ReasoningA process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared, with a view to determining the best solution or resolving differences
chapter 7
Trial JuryProsecution
Eye Witness
DNA
Murder Weapon with defendants fingerprints
Defense
Alibi
Claim DNA was contaminated
It was his knife so of course it would have his fingerprints
Reflective judgmentSkills Question assumptions Evaluate and integrate evidence Relate evidence to theory or opinion Consider alternative interpretations Reach defensible conclusions Reassess conclusions in face of new evidence
chapter 7
Barriers to rational reasoning
Affect HeuristicAvailability HeuristicAvoiding lossFairness biasThe confirmation biasThe hindsight biasMental setsCognitive dissonance
chapter 7
Exaggerating the improbable
Affect HeuristicThe tendency to consult emotions instead of estimating probabilities objectively
• Your current feeling or emotion influences your decision
Availability heuristicThe tendency to judge the probability of an event by how easy it is to think of examples.
chapter 7
The hindsight bias:“I knew it all along” effect
The tendency to overestimate one’s ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known.
• Inclination to see events that have occurred as more predictable than they were before they took place– Politics, games, medicine, relationships– “Hindsight is 20/20”– “We’re all Monday morning quarterbacks”
chapter 7
The confirmation biasThe tendency to pay attention only to information that confirms one’s own beliefs
– avoid information and interpretations that contradict our beliefs
chapter 7
5, 7, 9
Goal: To find the rule to which these numbers conform
Mental SetTendency to solve problems using procedures that worked before on similar problems
- finding patterns in events
• Why are mental sets good?– Make learning and problem solving more efficient
• Why can mental sets be bad?– Not helpful when problem calls for new approach
chapter 7
The nine-dot problemConnect all 9 dots.Use only 4 lines.Do not lift your pencil from the page after you begin drawing.
chapter 7
Cognitive DissonanceA state of tension produced when a person holds two contradictory cognitions or when a person’s belief is inconsistent with his/her behavior
chapter 7
When are you more likely to try and reduce cognitive dissonance?
1. When you need to justify a choice or decision you freely made
• Postdecision dissonance: second guessing a decision after it is made
» “buyers remorse”
2. When you need to justify behavior that conflicts with your view of yourself
3. When you need to justify the effort put into a decision or choice
• Justification of Effort: Hard work makes goal more attractive, even if once we attain the goal we realize it really wasn’t that good to begin with
chapter 7
Last Class in Review• Elements of Cognition
– Concept: mental category of commonalities• Prototype: most typical example of category/concept
– Propositions: connect concepts together, represent relationships– Cognitive Schema: mental network of concepts, scripts– Mental Image: experience that resembles a perception from any sense mode, but
the stimuli is not currently present• Reasoning
– Formal reasoning• Algorithms: set of rules or instructions used to solve a problem• Deductive (must be true) vs. Inductive reasoning (possibly true)
– Informal reasoning• Heuristics: rules of thumb• Dialectical reasoning: trial jury, voting, debates
– Barriers to reasoning• Affect & Availability Heuristic• Loss aversion, Fairness, Hindsight, Confirmation bias• Mental Set• Cognitive Dissonance
Learning Objectives
• Intelligence:1.What are the three components of the Triarchic
theory of intelligence?2.What evidence is there that intelligence is
influenced by both genetics and the environment?• Group Exercise – Cognitive Dissonance
Defining intelligenceIntelligenceAn inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, act purposefully, or adapt to changes in the environment
g factorA general intellectual ability assumed by many theorists to underlie specific mental abilities and talents
chapter 7
The Invention of IQ tests
• 1904 – French Ministry of Education asked Alfred Binet to find a way to identify children who were slow learners so they could be given remedial work
• Mental age (MA) and Intelligence Quotient (IQ)• MA = level of intellectual development relative to other kids• IQ = MA divided by chronological age times 100
» Now we use norms and tables to compute IQ
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale• Established norms for American children
•Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)• General IQ, plus scores for specific types of abilities
chapter 7
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
The skills and knowledge needed for success in life, according to one’s own definition of success, within one’s own sociocultural context
chapter 7
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
Three aspects of Intelligence:
1. Componential Intelligence (analytic)Comparing, analyzing, and evaluatingThis type of process correlates best with IQMetacognition: Knowledge or awareness of one’s own cognitive processes
2. Experiential Intelligence (creative)Inventing solution to new problemsTransfer skills to new situationsHow you deal with novel (new) situations
3. Contextual Intelligence (practical)Applying the things you know to everyday contextsTacit knowledge: strategies for success that aren’t explicitly taught
chapter 7
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
The ability to identify your own and other people’s emotions accurately, express your emotions clearly, and manage emotions in self and others
Appears to be biologically based (Damasio, 1994)
chapter 7
Intelligence: Nature or Nurture?
• Heritability: A statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in a trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individual within a group– Genetic studies
• Children and adolescents = 0.50• Adults = 0.60-0.80
– Adoption and Twin Studies• Score similarity: Identical twins > Fraternal twins• Adopted children’s scores correlate better with biological
parents
Intelligence: Nature or Nurture?
• What environmental influences can reduce mental ability?– Poor prenatal care– Malnutrition– Exposure to toxins– Stressful family circumstances
• What environmental influences can raise mental ability?– Healthy, stimulating environment
• Remember neurogenesis and stem cells?