Cognition Notes - Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

[CHAPTER 7] Thinking, Language, and Intelligence **[Cognition]**: refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge. Cognitive abilities, such as analyzing situations, solving problems, making decisions, and using language, are widely regarded as key dimensions o...

[CHAPTER 7] Thinking, Language, and Intelligence **[Cognition]**: refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge. Cognitive abilities, such as analyzing situations, solving problems, making decisions, and using language, are widely regarded as key dimensions of intelligence. **[Thinking]** involves manipulating mental representations of information in order to draw inferences and conclusions. Two important forms of mental representations are mental images and concepts. A *mental image* is a mental representation of objects or events that are not physically present. We scan a mental image in much the same way we would scan the actual image. Can involve any of the senses. A *concept* is a mental category of objects, events, or situations that share similar features or characteristics. [Formal Concepts]: mental category that is formed by learning the rules or features that define it (geometric shapes) [Natural Concepts]: mental category that is formed as a result of everyday experiences; its boundaries are more "fuzzy" and not clearly defined [Prototypes]: the most typical instance of a particular concept; the "best" example of a category; often when we encounter a new item in a category, we compare it to our existing exemplars to see if it matches that concept. *Exemplars* are our stored memories of individual instances/examples of a concept... they will differ from person to person or culture to culture! **[Problem-Solving Strategies]** Problem Solving: thinking and behavior that is directed toward attaining a goal that is not readily available. \* Trial and Error \* Algorithms \*Heuristics (subgoals/working backwards) [Obstacles to Solving Problems]: *Functional Fixedness*: tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way. *Mental Sets*: tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that have worked in the past (being stuck in a rut); approach things the same way over and over and over... *Break Set*: approaching a problem in a novel, new, workable way; this is when one is demonstrating creativity! **[Decision-Making Strategies]** We make decisions all day long! Most are simple, but some require more thought and have complicated aspects to them that need to be considered. The following are decision-making strategies that help you in making your choice. The last two are used when there is some degree of uncertainty to your decision. -Single-Feature Model -Additive Model -Elimination by Aspects -Availability Heuristic -Representativeness Heuristic [Critical Thinking Section:] Four obstacles to logical thinking can account for much of the persistence of unwarranted beliefs in pseudoscience or other areas. 1. The *belief-bias effect* occurs when people accept only the evidence that conforms to their beliefs, rejecting or ignoring any evidence that does not. 2. *Confirmation bias* is the strong tendency to search for information or evidence that confirms a belief, while making little or no effort to search for information that might disprove the belief. 3. The *fallacy of positive instances* is the tendency to remember uncommon events that seem to confirm our beliefs and to forget events that disconfirm out beliefs. 4. The tendency to overestimate the rarity of events is referred to as the *overestimation effect*. **[Language and Thought]** **Language** is a system for combining random symbols to produce an unlimited number of meaningful statements. Language requires the use of *symbols*, which may be sounds, written words, or formalized gestures. It is a highly structured system that follows specific rules. Every language has its own *syntax*, or rules for combining words. Language is creative, or *generative*, meaning you can generate an infinite number of new and different phrases and sentences. Another important characteristic of human language is *displacement*- the ability to communicate meaningfully about ideas, objects, and activities that are not physically present. The **linguistic relativity hypothesis**, or *Whorfian hypothesis*, argues that differences among languages causes differences in the thoughts of their speakers. - Research *does not* support the Whorf's argument that language *determines* perception and the structure of thought. - Research *does* support the idea that language can *influence* perception and thought. [The Bilingual Mind]: Recent research suggests that bilingualism has many cognitive benefits. Several studies have found that bilingual speakers are better able to control attention and inhibit distracting information than are monolinguals (those fluent in just a single language). Research suggests that bilinguals are better at taking the perspective of others... such as imagining how another person might view a particular situation. Bilingualism can also preserve brain function as we age. Speaking two or more languages fluently seems to build up what researchers call a *cognitive reserve* that can help protect against cognitive decline in late adulthood. [Animal Communication and Cognition:] Animals communicate with one another... In the mid-1980s, researchers began working with bonobo chimpanzees. The bonobo Kanzi learned symbols and also to understand spoken English (Kanzi understands about 500 spoken English words and elementary syntax). Animal language research reflects an active area of psychological research referred to as **animal cognition**, or *comparative cognition*. **[Measuring Intelligence]** The use of mental images and concepts, problem solving and decision-making, and the use of language, all make up aspects of what we call *intelligence*. Intelligence tests attempt to measure general mental abilities rather than accumulated knowledge or aptitude for a specific subject or area. **Alfred Binet** was a French psychologist who, with the help of French psychiatrist Théodore Simon, devised a series of tests to measure different mental abilities. Binet stated that **mental age** was the measure of intelligence in which an individual's mental level is expressed in terms of the average abilities of a given age group. Binet's test was adapted at Stanford Univ. by Lewis Terman (American psychologist) and is now called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. \* WWI (1917) started and US Military needed to quickly screen two million recruits by administering intelligence tests. The *Army Alpha* was administered in writing and the *Army Beta* was administered orally to the recruits and draftees who could not read. [In Focus]: In 1921, Terman identified 1,500 California children with IQ's above 140 and began a longitudinal research study to see how genius-level intelligence would affect the course of their lives. a. These children tended to be socially well adjusted. They were taller, stronger, and healthier than average children and had fewer illnesses and accidents. b. As adults (as a group) their incomes were very high, 2/3's graduated from college, and many became successful professional. c. Personality factors seemed to account for the difference in the level of accomplishment of the 100 most successful and the 100 least successful men. (The most successful were more goal-oriented, had greater perseverance, and had greater self-confidence.) d. IQ scores reliably predict academic success, but success in school is no guarantee of success beyond school American psychologist **David Wechsler** developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) - first published in 1955. He believed that intelligence involved a variety of different mental abilities. The 4^th^ edition of WAIS (WAIS-IV) is the most commonly administered intelligence test. [WAIS] had two advantages over the Stanford-Binet Scale: \(1) it was specifically designed for adults, rather than for children, and [What Makes a Good Test?] \***Achievement** vs. \***Aptitude** Three basic requirements of good test design are **standardization**, **reliability**, and **validity**.