Chapter 8 Summary PDF

Chapter 8 Summary How People Think Cognitive psychology is the study of the mental processes associated with thinking. (knowing, remembering, solving problems, making judgements and communicating.) Thinking requires basic building blocks called mental representations t...

Chapter 8 Summary How People Think Cognitive psychology is the study of the mental processes associated with thinking. (knowing, remembering, solving problems, making judgements and communicating.) Thinking requires basic building blocks called mental representations that are organized into concepts. Most people recognize those concepts through prototypes. The concepts are also organized into hierarchies starting from superordinate to sub-ordinate categories. Hierarchical Structure of Concepts Prototypes Concepts Mental Representations Approaches to problem solving People use their thinking to solve ill-defined and well defined problems People use many approaches to solve problems; trial and error, algorithms. People also use insight to help them solve problems. Insight is spontaneous and is thought to be attained through unconscious mental processes Problem-Solving Algorithms A systematic, step-by- step procedure for solving problems. Trial and Error Insight A method involving A spontaneous repeated attempts and understanding or learning from mistakes. realization achieved unconsciously. Experience as both a help and Hindrance to Problem Solving Previous experience can provide mental sets (helpful framework for solving new problems) Although, mental sets generally help people solve problems effectively, they sometimes get in the way of making creative solutions.  When previous experience prevents problem solving, people must restructure their understanding of the problem How to approach problem solving when previous experience hinders creativity? Stick to mental Restructure sets understanding Rely on previous Reevaluate the problem experience for quick and to find creative efficient problem solutions. solving. Forming Judgements and Making Decisions Judgements are conclusions drawn from evidence that lead to decisions, choices that influence behaviour. Although people prefer to have multiple options when making a decision, too many options interfere with proper decision making According to the idea of bounded rationality, decision making is constrained by limitations in human thinking, the availability of information and time Dual-process theories suggest that people use two types of thinking to make judgements and decisions: the controlled system (slow, effortful, rational) and the automatic system (fast and fairly effortless) Effortful Effortless Decision-Making Decision-Making Slow Processing Fast Processing Controlled System Automatic System Comparing cognitive systems in decision-making. Intuitive Thinking with Heuristics People often make judgements and decisions quickly using mental shortcuts known as Heuristics. Heuristics help people to make efficient decisions but sometimes they lead people astray. The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut for determining how frequent or likely something is based on how well it is prototypical of some category.  The availability heuristic is a strategy that people use to determine the frequency or probability of something based on how quickly it comes to mind. Can Mislead by Can Mislead by Stereotypes Recency Prototype-based Memory-based Judgments Judgments Representativeness Availability Heuristic Heuristic Heuristics aid decisions but can mislead. How Emotion Guides Reason Affective reactions describe a basic feeling that is central to emotions, moods and attitudes. (good for me -bad for me) Affective reactions are mostly useful in judgement and decision making. People without affective reactions have difficulty making good decisions. The disadvantage of using affect to guide thinking is that affect can be manipulated without our awareness. Ex. Advertisers & Researchers Should I trust my feelings? Affective Reactions Manipulated Affect Enhance decision-making Mislead judgments Sticky Beliefs that Bias Thinking Since people work hard to develop their beliefs about the world, they are deeply committed to their beliefs once they are formed, even when confronted with disconfirming evidence of those beliefs. Belief perseverance is caused partly, by confirmation bias, which is the tendency to assign more credibility to evidence that supports existing beliefs. Confirmation bias leads to widespread problems in society  The Cycle of Belief Perseverance Form Beliefs Encounter Confirmation Disconfirming Bias Evidence Reinforce Dismiss Beliefs Evidence The Power of Framing to Influence Thinking When people are uncertain, they are usually swayed by the way an issue or given set of choices is framed. A problem framed in terms of potential losses leads to riskier decisions compared to problems framed by potential gains. People are usually drawn to choices that are framed as the default or status quo. Framing affects decisions by shifting the decision maker's reference point against which losses or gains are judged. Framing also influences decisions by implicity communicating what other people recommend as the best decision to make. Gain vs. Loss Loss Framing Gain Framing Encourages riskier choices Promotes safer decisions Overconfidence Humans are usually unaware of the limitations to their own thinking and overestimate the accuracy of their knowledge or judgements. An example of overconfidence is hindsight bias (thought that we knew it all along) One can overcome hindsight bias by forcing people to consider reasons for other possible outcomes. People are overconfident because they find difficulty judging their own knowledge. Overconfidence also makes people more appealing to others.  Overconfidence Pros Cons Poor decision- Social appeal making Confidence in Hindsight bias decisions Difficulty in self- assessment Language: A tool for thinking Language is a shared system of symbols and rule that govern how to use and combine those symbols to communicate. Language is made up of parts that can be flexibly arranged. At the most basic level, language is made up of phonemes, which are combined into morphemes. Morphemes are combined into words, which are combined into phrases and sentences. Language includes a set of rules, called grammar, that govern how parts of language are combined to make meaning. Syntaz refers to specific grammatical rules that govern how sentences are formed. Pragmatics guide the practical aspects of using language to communicate. (eg. Taking turns, gestures) The Structure of Language Pragmatics Phonemes Syntax Morphemes Grammar Words Sentences Phrases How Language Influences Thought All human languages share certain properties, but they differ, sometimes dramatically, in their vocabulary and grammar.  According to Benjamin Whorf's linguistic determinism hypothesis, different languages can lead to different ways of understanding the world. There is evidence that language can speed up or slow down certain aspects of thinking. For example, how a language describes color can lead speakers of that language to be faster or slower to recognize two colors as different. Language can provide tools for certain types of thinking. When a language lacks specific terms for numbers, or when experimental procedures interfere with the ability to use them, people struggle to reason about exact quantity. Language and Thought Cognitive Tools Linguistic Properties The role of language in The shared and differing providing tools for specific elements of languages thinking tasks. worldwide. Cognitive Speed Linguistic Determinism The influence of language on How language shapes different the speed of cognitive worldviews and processes. understandings. Learning Language : Speech Basics Language acquisition is one of children's most amazing feats. A first step in language acquisition is learning to make sense of speech sounds. By 6 months of age, infants can distinguish speech sounds made in all languages. They also begin practicing speech sounds through babbling. By 8 months of age, infants also track the probabilities with which phonemes co-occur and can use this information to figure out how the complex stream of speech they hear is made up of individual words. Milestones in Language Acquisition 6 months Distinguish speech sounds in all languages 6 months Begin practicing speech sounds through babbling 8 months Track phoneme probabilities in speech 8 months Identify individual words in speech stream Learning to Understand and Produce Words and Sentences Children's abilities to understand and produce words and sentences grow gradually across several years. By about 6-9 months, infants understand some words and can produce single words by their first birthday. Infants use the direction of a speaker's gaze to help decode the meaning of the words they hear. By age 2, children can produce simple, two-word utterances that follow rules of word order. By age 3, children construct more complex sentences and use their growing understanding of grammar to infer the meanings of new words By age 5, children speak much like adults, but they make overregularization errors, in which they overextend grammatical rules to irregular forms of words. (such as saying runned instead of ran) Milestones in Language Development Adult-like Speech Complex Sentences Two-Word Utterances Single Words Word Understanding Is Language Acquisition a Special Kind of Learning? Natural selection appears to have shaped the human capacity for speech. In contrast to chimpanzees, humans have evolved a vocal tract that permits a larger range of sounds. The linguist Noam Chomsky argued that humans are born with an innate language acquisition device that guides language learning with little to no teaching. Possible support for Chomsky's proposal comes from the case of Nicaraguan Sign Language, a complex sign language invented by several generations of deaf children in Nicaragua. Although modern psychologists agree that language is an important part of human nature", they also recognize the critical role of experience and of general learning mechanisms in language acquisition.  Natural Selection Chomsky's Theory Vocal Tract Evolution Innate Device Sound Range Minimal Teaching Language Psychological Perspectives Acquisition Nicaraguan Sign Language Experience Deaf Children General Learning Mechanisms Complex Sign Language Limits on When Language Can Be Learned Most children begin learning language extremely early in life. Some language learning even happens before birth. Early exposure to language is important for language to develop normally. In other words, there is a sensitive period for language learning. Some evidence for a sensitive period in language learning comes from cases of children raised in inhumane environments and deprived of language. Children rescued at earlier ages (before puberty)from such environments are more likely to develop normal language capabilities that those rescued later. Evidence for a sensitive period in language learning comes from deaf children who were delayed in learning ASL and from Immigrants learning English as a second language. In both cases, those who learned language earlier in childhood developed a more sophisticated understanding of grammar than those who learned later. One explanation for the sensitive period in language learning is that language mechanisms are strongest in childhood and gradually weaken over time. Another is that children learn languages better than adults because their cognitive abilities are more limited, forcing them to learn language in a way that leads to greater competence. Early Language Exposure Sensitive Period Language Mechanisms Learning Competence What Is Intelligence? Intelligence can be defined as the ability to think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, reason, plan, solve problems, learn from experience, and acquire new knowledge. Much research over the years has worked to determine the true nature of intelligence. One way to study the nature of intelligence is to examine correlations among various tests of mental abilities. A statistical technique called factor analysis reveals a single general intelligence that underlies performance on many intelligence tests. General intelligence is thought to have at least two components: fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence  Robert Sternberg proposed a broader definition of intelligence that included three major types: analytical, creative and practical intelligence. Inspired by cases of savant syndrome, Howard Gardner proposed a theory of multiple intelligences with eight distinct intelligences. Gardner's Theory Linguistic Intelligence Sternberg's Theory Logical-Mathematical Intelligence Spatial Intelligence Analytical Intelligence Definitions Musical Intelligence Creative Intelligence of Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence Intelligence Practical Intelligence Interpersonal Intelligence Intrapersonal Intelligence Naturalistic Intelligence General Intelligence Fluid Intelligence Crystallized Intelligence Origins of Intelligence Tests For more than a century, scientists have developed intelligence tests to serve a wide range of purposes. Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon measured intelligence with a variety of mental tests that compared a child s mental age and chronological age. Their goals was to identify and further educate intellectually delayed children. Lewis Terman developed the Standord Binet test and used it to calculate IQ (intelligence quotient). Terman intended the test to identify the most intelligent children, who he believd should be prioritized in education. Early intelligence tests were biased and often used in ways that justified prejudice and discrimination against certain groups of people. Development and Impact of Intelligence Tests Development of Intelligence Binet and Tests Simon's Terman's Contribution Stanford-Binet Bias in Early Test Scientists Tests began creating Developed tests for tests to Created a test various measure to calculate IQ Early tests purposes mental age vs. and prioritize were biased chronological education and used to age justify discrimination  Modern Tests of Intelligence and How They are Created Achievement test measure how much knowledge a person has acquired over some period of time. Aptitude tests measure potential to learn. Some tests like the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), measure strengths and weaknesses in functioning. Trustworthy intelligence tests must be standardized, reliable, and valid. Two types of validity are relevant to evaluating intelligence tests. Content validity is a test's ability to sample a specific behaviour or skill of interest. Predictive validity is a test's ability to predict future performance. Intelligence test scores predict future academic and job performance, but not perfectly, indicating that the intelligence measured by a test is only one factor that determines people's future success. Components of Intelligence Testing Achievement Aptitude Tests Tests WAIS Standardization Reliability Validity Content Validity Predictive Validity When and Why Do we Underestimate Intelligence Intelligence tests can underestimate people's intellectual abilities. Anxiety can cause people to underperform on tests. Anxiety includes two major components: emotionality and worry. Worry, not emotionality, causes people to underperform on tests by taxing mental resources. Test takers worry less and perform better if told that their anxiety can actually help them perform well. Negative social stereotypes can lead certain groups of people to experience anxiety in testing situations, reducing their performance. This is called stereotype threat. Understanding stereotype threat can help explain achievement gaps in education. Stereotype threat can be reduced through a values-affirmation writing exercise that reduces worry by focusing test takers on their personal values. Anxiety Impact Test Stereotype Performance Threat Values- Affirmation Differences In Intelligence : The Roles of Nature and Nurture  Nature and nurture interact continuously to shape intelligence. Researchers can explore the relative contributions of nature and nurture in shaping intelligence by studying pairs of related individuals. Studies of twins and other related individuals estimate the heritability of intelligence at about 50%. In other word, differences in genetics only explain roughly half of the differences in intelligence scores. Genomewide complex trait anlysis (GCTA) which compares the DNA sequences of unrelated people, estimates the heritability of intelligence as closer to 20-30% The IQ scores of related individuals become more similar as those individuals age. A possible explanation for this finding is that genetics determines an intellectual's potential, which takes time to develop and become detectable. Another possibility is that genetics shapes the environments that people select for themselves. Study Method Nature vs. Nurture 50 Interaction GCTA Study 20-30 Heritability Percentage Heritability of Intelligence Estimates The Value of Enrichment in Shaping Intelligence Environments can shape intelligence by providing opportunities to stimulate one's thinking processes with new information and new problems to solve. Enriching environment can lead rats to become more skilled at learning mazes, even if they have been selectively bred to be poor learners. Likewise, impoverished environments can lead rats to perform poorly at learning mazes, even if they have been selectively bred to be skilled learners. Children raise in enriching environments tend to develop higher intelligence. The socioeconomic status of a child's family is an important factor in determining how enriching a child's environment is. Understanding of the role of SES in shaping intelligence has led researchers to develop special educational programs that can boost the academic performance of lower-SES children.  Impact of Environment on Intelligence Development Enriching Impoverished Environment Environment Stimulates Hinders learning cognitive growth abilities Socioeconomic Educational Status (SES) Programs Determines Enhance environmental performance for quality lower-SES children Cultivating Intelligence Through Beliefs and Expectations The self-fulfilling prophecy describes a cycle by which other's beliefs or our own can reflect behaviour in ways that brings the belief "to life" and makes it true. One way that beliefs affect intelligence is by changing the way that educators treat their pupils, as had been shown in studies of both rats and children. People's beliefs about intelligence called mindsets, create cycles of behavior that affect intellectual development. Those with a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset about intelligence are more likely to see out challenges and respond resiliently to setbacks.  The Impact of Beliefs on Intelligence Treatment by Educators Beliefs about Growth Mindset Intelligence Response Influence on Resilience to Behavior Setbacks Mindset Development