Lecture 8: Language and Problem Solving PDF

Lecture 8 Language and Problem Solving Language - Communication system relying on patterns and rules of symbols - Language is arbitrary → symbols don’t always reflect the object - Language levels: - Phonemes → smallest units of sounds we can make (th, s, ure)...

Lecture 8 Language and Problem Solving Language - Communication system relying on patterns and rules of symbols - Language is arbitrary → symbols don’t always reflect the object - Language levels: - Phonemes → smallest units of sounds we can make (th, s, ure) - Related to sound and pronunciation - Morphemes → smallest units of meaning combining phonemes (re-, -ing) - Related to meaning and structure - Syntax → sentence and grammar rules (subject-verb-object) - Extralinguistic information → non-verbal and context cues adding meaning to language (I am refusing this date needs context for meaning) - Dialect → language variation within geographical context Language development - Opposing views: - B.F. Skinner → language learned through operant conditioning - Noam Chomsky → language is biologically determined, and that we’re already wired in the brain to learn languages from birth - Stages: - Prenatal → preference of mother’s voice - Babbling state (6 months) → producing and repeating single syllabi - Comprehension vs production → children comprehend basic language rules before being able to actually produce them - First words (1 year-15 months) → can produce and repeat single syllable words w/ meaning (up, cookie) - Telegraphic speech (2 years) → simple sentences and overgeneralization of sentence rules (want up, goed there) - Conversations (4-6 years) → complex understanding of sentences and vocab Judgement - Cognitive Economy → resources allocated to thinking and decision making (after exhausting decision-making throughout the day, your brain would be tired for a later exam) - Heuristics → mental shortcuts to simplify decisions - Issues are oversimplification (climbing a mountain straight up vs finding a better route) - Representativeness heuristic → judgement based on how representative something is of base rates or our prior stereotypes - Availability heuristic → estimating the likelihood of something happening based on how available the info is (thinking sharks are more dangerous than cows)  - Hindsight bias → overestimating how well we could’ve predicted something after it happened (thinking you knew the killer before the movie ended) - Modes of Thinking (Tversky and Kahneman): - System 1 → fast, automatic, like our brains autopilot (tying your shoe, making a face of disgust when someone’s a bitch) - System 2 → slow, analytical, slow and controlled (looking for someone, forcing yourself to be calm and collected) Problem Solving - Framing → how presentation of information affects decisions (marketing) - Obstacles: - Distraction by irrelevant information → leads to failure to focus - Mental sets → getting caught up in a particular problem solving strategy - Functional fixedness → difficulting perceiving an object being used for something other than what it’s used for - Strategies: - Trial and error - Algorithm → step-by-step problem solving (more systematic than above) - Heuristic → general solution, rule of thumb - Divide and conquer - Insight → sudden recognition of solution, the “A-ha!” moment - Means and analysis → choosing and modifying actions to a series of smaller steps to meet final goal (more planning than divide and conquer)