Mental Representations PDF

Mental Representations - By Pavio - The theory suggests that when information is encoded in both systems—verbally and - How knowle...

Mental Representations - By Pavio - The theory suggests that when information is encoded in both systems—verbally and - How knowledge is stored and represented in visually—memory and understanding are our minds through a mental picture, words, enhanced because the two systems provide or abstract propositions multiple pathways for recall and - Standard laboratory experiments comprehension. - Neuropsychological studies(measures - Both pictorial (analog) and verbal codes are how the brain works) used for mental representations but are Communicating knowledge processed differently - Images vs words - Rapid sequences of pictures and words are - Both represent ideas, some more remembered differently easily represented through images, - Pictures are recalled more easily in any order others in words. But neither are full - Words are easily recalled in proper order representations of reality. - Images and symbols have a limited capacity - Images - Verbal tasks interfere with other - Analogous(comparable) to reality even verbal tasks when incomplete - Visual imagery interferes with other - Feature concrete and observable visual tasks attributes and features simultaneously - Visual imagery does not interfere with - No rules for scanning a picture verbal tasks - Words - Some concepts are in images, others - Symbolic representation using are verbal arbitrary relationship(apple, Propositional Theory mansanas, ping guo are different - By Anderson and Bower symbolic representations of apple - Underneath words and images we have basic - Subject to application of rules; PROPOSITIONS sequential representation - Propositions are underlying meaning of (completeness, grammar, context) conceptual relationships Mental Imagery - Example: we can say: - By product of imagination - The dog eats the bread - Representations of - And aso ay kumakain ng - Sensations (mostly visual) tinapay - Past experiences - Dog (action) bread - Fantasies or made-up scenarios - Both images and verbal statements are Dual Code Theory mentally represented in terms of their deep 1  meanings (as propositions) not as specific - Meaning of relationships = Mental images (pictorials) or verbal statements Representations *words) - Abstract - Mental representations are stored What did it Prove? as propositional codes—abstract concepts or statements that convey meaning, without requiring either a visual or verbal form. - - When we experience images or words, these are EPIPHONEMA - secondary and derivative phenomena that occur as a result of - Reed and Johnsen demonstrated that visual more basic cognitive processes images often lack sufficient details for direct - Propositional Formula: (Relationship comparisons of part-whole relationships. It between objects), (subject element) (object means that our visual images are not that element) accurate, that we cannot call up a precise analogical mental image. What does this exercise prove? - Our mental images are not exact representations of stimuli. That verbal codes can override image codes · · ─────── · · ─────── · · Declarative and Procedural Knowledge Dual Code Theory vs Propositional Theory - Declarative: - Dual Code Theory: - “What” - Pictorial + verbal code = mental - Factual Information representation - Concepts and categories, semantic - Concrete and models, schematic representations Salient(noticeable/important) - Procedural - Propositional Theory: - “How” - Steps and processes 2  - Implementations - Based on prototypes Declarative Knowledge - Evolve naturally - Concept: - Exemplars - Fundamental units of ideas used in - Use of multiple prototypes or understanding the world typical representatives - Definitions, characteristics, features - Feature Based + Prototype - Contextual and dynamic - Theory Based Categorization - Categories: - Implicit theories and general - Group of concepts or items that share ideas to understand concepts common features - Draws from personal - Relatively stable experiences - How to Categorize? - View of a concept are more - Feature based categories complex and abstract - Grouping depends on necessary DEFINING FEATURES - Exclusive and rigid - Difficult to specify necessary features, violation of defining features does not change the concept, typicality effects - Prototype categories Semantic Networds Model - Grouping based on - Mental representations are networks of CHARACTERISTIC information FEATURES or similarity to - Collins and Quillians Network Model prominent figures or - Knowledge is represented as NODES prototype in hierarchical tree diagram - Less exclusive - The connections betweemn the nodes - Theoretical or concrete are labeled RELATIONSHIPS - Classical Concepts: - Easily defined - Based on defining features - Arbitrary and used for labelling - Fuzzy concepts 3  - Arbitrarily Symbolic: Language creates an arbitrary relationship between a symbol and what it represents(tangible and non-tangible like ideas, a process, a relationship) - Two Principles of Word MEanings - Conventionality: Meaning of words are determined by peoples agreement - Contrast: Two different words, represent two things that are at least slightly different Procedural Knowledge - Structured at Multiple Lebels: Structure of - Classical and Operant Conditioning language can be analysed at more than one - Nonn-associative Knowledge level - Habituation(the diminishing of an - Words: innate response to a frequently repeated stimulus.) - Phonemes: smalles unit of - Priming speech sound(Like ta) - Links within a knowledge network - Morphemes: smallest unit of meaning (recharge = re + · · ─────── · · ─────── · · charge which is 2 morphemes) - Phrases Language - Sentences All human languages are communication systems, - Discourses but not all communication systems are languages - Generative, Productive: Within the limites of Language a linguistic structure, language users can - A structured system of communication using produce novel utterances. The possibilities sounds or symbols that enables expression for creating new utterances are virtually - To construct a mental representation of a limitles situaltion that enables us to undertand the - Dynamic: Language evolves situation and communicate about it Communication Language and Cognition - Process of exchanging information through Does language shape thoughts or does thoughts shape mediums language? Characteristics of Language - Sapir-whorf Hypothesis - Communicative: Language permits us to - Linguistic relativity: assertion that communicate with one or more people who speakers of different languages have share our language different cognitive systems and that 4  these different cognitive systems - Perform on tests of nonberball influence the ways in which people intelligence that require recognition thing about the world of verbal patterns. - Ones language determines how one - Age: perceives the world, organizzes - The earlier in life a second language is information, and thinks learned, the more fluent the speaker - Thoughts and behavior are will become determined by language(linguistic - The mastery of native like determinism) pronunciation often seems to depend - Thoughts and behavior are influenced on early acquisition, but individual by language differences are great - Language affects perception(example: - Bahrick and colleagues disagree labels - mental representations) - Vocabulary and fluency is acquired - Language affects memory(example: just as well in older participants eye witness testimony) Relativity or Universality? Today, many psychologists believe in a synthesis: Language has some influence on thought but not nearly so extreme an influence as Sapir Whorf believed. It is probably the case that language and thought interact with each other throught the live - Single System Hypothesis:If a bilingual span speaker of English and Spanish hears the word "house", the concept of a house might Bilingualism be activated in their mind, and either the - Early research argued that learning two English word "house" or the Spanish word languages was harmful "casa" could be used to refer to it. - Dual system hypothesis: Imagine a bilingual - Problems with early research person is asked to translate the word "tree" - Lower class bilinguals were compared from English to Spanish ("árbol"). According to middle class monolinguals to this hypothesis, they use different - Iq and achievement tests were usually systems for each language. The act of translating requires accessing and switching in the monolinguists language between these separate systems. - Bilinguals: - Acquire more expertied in their own - Suppose a bilingual person has brain damage language in a particular part of the brain. According to - Are sensitive to subtle aspects of the dual system hypothesis, the individual language would show different degrees of impairment 5  in the two languages. The single system view begin to share some vocabulary that is would suggest roughly equal impairment in superimposed onto each group’s the two languages language - Whether one or two systems are used depends - No native speakers on when and how the second language was - Dialect learned - A regional variety of a language - Balanced bilingals( two languages from birth) distinguished by features such as showed more interference than dominant vocabulary, syntac, and pronunciation bilinguals - Many of the words we choose are a - Dominant bilinguals may use two result of the dialect we use linguistic systems - Sometimes different dialects are - Balanced bilinguals may use only one, assigned different social statuses which potentially leads to the - Slips of the Tongue interference between the two - Inadvertent linguistic errors in what languages we say - Learning a second language increases - Freudian slips: unconscious the gray matter in the left inferior processing that has psychological parietal cortex(positively correlated significance(repressed emotions) with proficiency) - We have a mental plan of what we are - Negative correlation: age of going to say but the plan could be acquisition and the density in the left disrupted when our mechanism for inferior parietal cortex(the higher the speech production does not cooperate age of acquisition, the less density) with our cognitive - This area of the brain benefits - Errors result from intrusions by other from the learning of a second thoughts or by stimuli in the language and the earlier the environment such as background learning occurs, the better it is noise. for both brain density and overall proficiency. LAnguage Mixture and Change - Pidgin - When people of two different language groups are in prolonged contact with one another, the language users of the two groups 6  my mystery lectures(you have missed all my history lectures)) - Malapropism: One word is replaced by another that is similar in sound but different in meaning (example: furniture dealers selling naughty pine(knotty pine)) - Insertions of sounds: drownded instead of drowned - Deletion of Sounds: proc instead of processing Language in social contect - Knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it around other people - Study of discourse and conversational skills - Situational determinants of the use of Various kinds of Slips language - Anticipation: Speaker uses a language - Pragmatic skills: element before it is appropriate in the - Established common gound: sentence because it corresponds to an element introduce a topic in order for the that will be needed later in the utterance listener to fully understand (example: an inspiring expression (an expiring - Maintained a topic: or change topic expression)) appropriately. Or interrupt politely - Perseveration: speaker uses a language - Appropriate eye contact: Not too element that was appropriate earlier in the much staring or looking away sentence but that is not appropriate later on - Distinguishing how to talk and (for example: we sat down to a bounteous behave towards different beast(bounteous feast)) communicative partners (formal with - Substitution: speaker substitutes one some, informal with others language element for another (example: after - Characteristics of successful it is too late (before it is too late)) conversations - Reversal: the speaker switches the position of - Cooperative principle two languages (example: flutterby) - Conversational postulates - Spoonerisms: The initial sounds of two - Four maxims of successful conversations words are reversed and make two entirely different words(example: you have hissed all 7  - Maxim of Quantity: contribution is informative as required but also Neuopsyhology of language appropriate - Five Brain regions: - Maxim of quality: contribution should be truthful - Maxim of relation: contributions are relevant to the aims of the conversation - Maxim of manner: avoid obscure expressions, vague utterances, purposeful obfuscation of your point Sex difference in language - The activation of these areas takes place - Differences between what men and women mostly in the left hemisphere, although there talk about is some activation in the right hemisphere - Conversations between men and women are - RH is suspected that it does notplay a sometimes regarded as cross-cultural significant role in word recognition communication - Surgeons sometimes conduct brain surgery - According to Tannen: while patients are awake to map the language - Girls tend to talk about one topic. pathways and try to preserve the language They talk face to face while boys tell capabilities of their patients after surgery. jokes, notice things around the room, - Autism Spectrum Disorder: talk about finding games to play. Boys - Developmental disorder characterized talk in angles with eyes straight ahead. by abnormalities in social behavior, - Tannen suggested that male-female language, and cognition differences in converastional style - Children with autism show largeley centrer on different abnormalities in many areas of the understandings of the goals of brain conversation - About half of the children with - Men view world as a hierarchical autism fail to develop functional social order. Their goal is to negotiate speech for the upper hand, to preserve - Echolalia independence or to avoid failure. - People with autism also have WOmen aim to give support and problems with the semantic confirmation to others, and to reach encoding of language consensus through communication 8 Notes on Decision Making Prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex are involved. Decision Making Concepts Risky decisions show reduced activity in Decision Making: Choosing among these areas in drug abusers. alternatives. Heuristics and Biases Judgment: Evaluating based on criteria. Reasoning: Drawing conclusions from prior 1. Satisficing: information. ○ Settling for "good enough" decisions under bounded rationality. Classical Decision Theory 2. Elimination by Aspects: Economic Model: ○ Focus on attributes sequentially to ○ Fully informed, rational, and filter options. objective decision-makers. 3. Representativeness Heuristic: ○ Aim to maximize value. ○ Judging based on resemblance to Subjective Expected Utility Theory: stereotypes or expectations. ○ Incorporates psychological factors. 4. Availability Heuristic: ○ Maximize pleasure (positive utility) ○ Decisions influenced by easily recalled and minimize pain (negative utility). examples. ○ Subjective Utility: Personal value of ○ Affected by recency, saliency, and outcomes. familiarity. ○ Subjective Probability: Likelihood 5. Anchoring: of outcomes with limited info. ○ Initial reference points influence decisions and adjustments. Group Decision Making 6. Framing Effects: ○ Presentation as gain/loss affects risk Effective Groups: preferences. ○ Small, open communication, aligned mindset, agreed behavior. Biases in Decision Making Groupthink: ○ Premature decision-making due to Illusory Correlation: Perceived but conflict avoidance. nonexistent relationships. ○ Symptoms: Close-mindedness, Hindsight Bias: Overestimating prediction rationalization, dissent suppression, ability post-event. perceived unanimity. Overconfidence: Overvaluing one’s knowledge or skills. Neuroscience and Decision Making 9  Hot-hand Effect: Belief in streak-based ○ Two types: Deductive and Inductive success. reasoning. Sunk-cost Fallacy: Continued investment in failing ventures. Gamblers’ Fallacy: Misjudging probabilities Deductive Reasoning based on past events. Conjunction Fallacy: Overestimating the Definition: likelihood of combined events. ○ General statements → specific, Decision Making Traps logically certain conclusion. ○ Based on logical propositions. Time Delay Trap: Choosing immediate ○ Example: If p, then q. p. Therefore, q. rewards over long-term consequences. All humans are mortal. Cassie ○ Examples: Credit cards, is human. Therefore, Cassie is procrastination, unhealthy eating. mortal. Reasoning Characteristics: Deductive Reasoning: ○ Conditional Reasoning: ○ From general principles to specific Conclusions depend on conclusions. if-then propositions. Inductive Reasoning: Deductive validity ensures ○ From observations to general theories. logical soundness but not Final Thoughts real-world truth. Example of valid but false Heuristics simplify decisions but can lead to conclusion: errors. If Area 51 is secured, Awareness of biases and fallacies helps then there are aliens. improve decision quality. Area 51 is secured. Therefore, there are Notes on Reasoning aliens. Definition of Reasoning ○ Pragmatic Reasoning Schemas: Rules applied to goals (e.g., Reasoning: Process of drawing conclusions permissions or obligations). from principles or evidence. Prior beliefs and perspective ○ Moves from known to infer or effects influence reasoning. evaluate new conclusions. 10  Example: If driving alone concluding course students are high requires being 18+, seeing achievers. someone driving implies Causal Inferences: they’re at least 18. Common Biases: ○ Inferring causality from observed patterns (e.g., A follows B often → A ○ Foreclosure Effect: Ignoring causes B). alternatives after reaching a ○ Multiple causes are often overlooked. conclusion. Errors in Inductive Reasoning: ○ Confirmation Bias: Seeking evidence that supports, rather than ○ Discounting Error: Stopping after contradicts, existing beliefs. identifying one cause without Enhancing Deductive Reasoning: exploring others. ○ Self-fulfilling Prophecy: ○ Avoid biases and take more time to Expectations shape evaluate alternatives. interactions and confirm ○ Moods can affect reasoning: initial beliefs (e.g., Sad moods: More teacher-student expectations). detail-focused. Happy moods: Less attention to details. Reasoning by Analogy Definition: Inductive Reasoning ○ Observing relationships between pairs Definition: of items to infer other relationships. ○ Example: Cat: Paw :: Horse: Hoof. ○ Specific observations → likely general Everyday Use: conclusions. ○ Never logically certain but probable. ○ Predict future events by linking Applications: current perceptions with memories (e.g., global warming predictions ○ Predicting events and reducing based on past analogies). uncertainty. ○ Example: Observing all students in a course on the dean’s list → 11 Dual-Process Theory of Reasoning Two Systems: ○ Associative System: Based on observed similarities and temporal connections. Quick, intuitive judgments. Biases: Belief Bias Effect: Accepting conclusions aligned with existing beliefs. False Consensus Effect: Assuming others share our opinions. ○ Rule-Based System: Deliberate, symbolic manipulation to evaluate responses (e.g., detecting illogical statements). Complementary Nature: ○ Associative system allows rapid decisions. ○ Rule-based system enables thorough evaluation. Final Thoughts Decisions and reasoning often lack absolute right or wrong answers. Use the best judgment based on available information and context. 12  Problem Solving and Creativity Problems Occurs when present state differs from a goal state Problem Solving Mental Process that involves discovering, analyzing, and solving a problem Problem Solving Cycle 1. Problem Identification - Is there a 4. Organization of Information - How problem? do pieces of information relate to each other? 2. Problem Definition - What is the problem? 5. Resource Allocation - How much of my resources should I invest in 3. Strategy - How can we solve the this problem problem? Problem Solving and Creativity 1  a. Analysis - Deconstructing 6. Monitoring - Is there progress complex problems into made? How are the plans being manageable elements executed? b. Synthesis - Combining 7. Evaluation - Were the results of elements to produce useful the problem-solving satisfactory? information c. Divergent Thinking - Generate various alternative solutions d. Convergent Thinking - Focus on best solution The Nature of Problem Solving Expert problem-solvers engage in global planning and allocate more resources to this phase to avoid frustrations later on Problem solving does not follow the cycle exactly and requires constant back and forth Flexibility is necessary in problem-solving due to the ambiguity of most problems Types of Problems Well-Structured Ill-structured Goals are clear and content specific Goals are not clear and no available (not necessarily easy to solve) path to a solution; difficulties in mental representation Isomorphic Problems - An issue when solving well-structured problems It is difficult to construct mental Strategies on Solving Well-Structured representations of the problem Problems Justification Skills 1. Algorithms Ill structured problems can be Utilize all possible operators represented and solved in different ways - a person Guarantees the solution Problem Solving and Creativity 2  ex. a puzzle needs to justify representation and solution of the problem 2. Heuristics Insight Informal speculative strategies AHA! Most of the time are correct Distinctive and seemingly sudden Looking for a classmate on understanding of a problem or of a campus strategy that aids in solving the KINDS OF HEURISTICS problem 1. Generate and Test - Input, then Solving ill structured problem very test, then try again if failed (E.g often involves seeing things in a password) novel way in order to solve the 2. Working Forward - Start at problem beginning, moving one step at a How Does Insight Happen time (e.g research) Theories on how we get insight: 3. Working Backward - Start at end, 1. Early Gestalt View - Thinking of working back to the beginning the problem as a whole and in a state (e.g flight to somewhere, new light; utilizing productive what time will you leave?; strategic thinking and mental restructuring planning works this way (visioning) Extended unconscious leaps in 4. Means-End Analysis - Divide thinking Problem into sub problems; reduce the diff between initial and goal Greatly accelerated mental state per sub problem; less “near- processing sighted” compared (i.e looking Short circuiting of normal forward) (e.g Finding a way that reasoning processes your org members will have free org shirts) 2. Nothing Special View - Extended Ordinary Thinking 3. Neo-Gestalt View - There is something different about insightful problem solving. When doing insight problem, there is a: Problem Solving and Creativity 3  Lower accuracy in predicting success Lower feeling of ‘getting warmer’ when in the process of solving a problem 4. Three Process View - Focuses on mechanisms underlying insight a. Selective Encoding - Which data is relevant to take in and which is not? b. Selective Comparisons - Novel perception of new information by relating it creatively to old information c. Selective Combination - Taking relevant information and using it in a novel way Obstacles & Aids in Problem Solving 1. Mental Set - frame of mind involving an existing model for representing a problem and the procedure for solving that problem 2. Functional Fixedness - Inability to see that something has more than 1 function 3. Negative Transfer - When solving an earlier problem makes it harder to solve a later problem because you are so used to solving the problem in one way and because the new problem is different from old 4. Positive Transfer - an aid in problem-solving, where the solution to an earlier problem makes it easier to solve a new one 5. Intentional Transfer - we set aside content and see how closely their underlying structures match. The opposite phenomenon is transparency, when we see analogies because of the similarity of content Problem Solving and Creativity 4  6. Incubation - setting aside the problem for a while and as time goes by, more recent memories and stimuli become integrated in our minds which help solve the problem Expertise: Expert Problem Solvers 1. Organization of Knowledge Knowledge is based on underlying structural similarities rather than superficial aspects 2. Elaboration of Knowledge - Experts have large, interconnected, organized units of knowledge while novices have small disconnect units of knowledge 3. Reflection on Problem Solving - Experts take a longer time setting up problem: and match with their schemas. They also verbalize as they problem solve What do I know? What more do I need to find out? While a novice doctor will run an extensive set of tests, an expert who immediately recognizes certain patterns, will order a small number of highly targeted tests 4. Automatic Expert Processes Schematization: Rich and organized schemas: quick spreading activation Automatization: consolidation of non-declarative processes Creativity Process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile How does creative insight happen? 1. Unconscious Processing & Incubation continuous mental processing without conscious awareness; ‘marinating’ involves motivation to make a fresh start on the solution process Problem Solving and Creativity 5  foregoing old and ineffective approaches as well as breaking a mental set 📢 Mental Sets 1. Functional Fixedness - inability to realize that something known to have a particular use may also be used for performing other functions 2. Stereotypes - beliefs that members of a social group tend more or less uniformly to have particular types of characteristics 2. Everyday Mechanisms of Creative Problem-Solving Creative and non-creative people use the same mental processes Creative problem solvers are willing to search harder and longer for solutions within constrained circumstances Directed Remembering Recall with limitations and constraints e.g: countries that start with Z Noticing Detecting similarities between problems and revising Contrary Recognition Recognize objects as something else than what they are What does creative problem solving involve? 1. Personal values toward creative production 2. Patience and Persistence in the problem-solving process 3. Ability to think ‘outside the box’ 4. Ability to maximize everyday cognitive mechanisms Problem Solving and Creativity 6  Traits Associated with Creative Individuals 1. Openness to Experience 2. Impulsive 3. Self-Confident 4. Driven 5. Dominant 6. Hostile Problem Solving and Creativity 7