Introduction to Cognition

Cognition The mental activities associated with

thinking, knowing, and remembering

ThinkingThinking: process in which the brain uses information from the senses, emotions, and memory to create and manipulate mental representations.

Often used interchangeably

Concepts

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. Enables us to chunk large amounts of

information – don’t need to treat every new piece of information as unique.• Chairs• Holidays• Political ideologies• Psychologists

Concepts Category Hierarchies – We

organize concepts into category hierarchies

Development of Concepts: Definitions PrototypesPrototypes

•Mental image or best example of a category

Effects of Prototypes on Memory Once we place an item in a

category, our memory later shifts towards the category prototype

Solving Problems Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

Heuristic A rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us

to make judgments and solve problems efficiently (speedier but error-prone)

Insight A sudden and novel realization of the solution

to a problem

Algorithm or Heuristic?

S P L O Y O C H Y G Trial and Error Computers The quadratic formula Competing from home on the Wheel

of Fortune

Common Heuristic Strategies Getting through a maze

Should I wear a rain jacket? Math problems from textbook

Term papers, large exams Designing an airplane

Obstacles… In the Thompson family there are 5

brothers, and each brother has one sister. If you count Mrs. Thompson, how many females are there in the Thompson family?

Fifteen percent of people in Topeka have unlisted phone numbers. You select 200 names at random from the Topeka phone book. How many of these people can be expected to have unlisted phone numbers?

Irrelevant information = obstacle to problem solving

Without lifting your pencil from the paper, draw no more than 4 lines that will cross through all 9 dots.

Unnecessary constraints (self-imposed limitations) = obstacle to problem solving.

Real world examples?

Obstacles to Problem Solving Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s perceptions• Seinfeld Example

Fixation The inability to see a problem from a

new perspective• Mental Set• Functional Fixedness

Fixation Mental Set

A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially a way that has been successful in the past but may not be helpful in solving a new problem

Given this sequence, name the next 3 letters:

O T T F . . .

Two-String Problem You must tie together 2 strings dangling

from the ceiling without pulling them down. But when you grab the end of one string and pull it toward the other one, you find that you cannot quite reach the other string. The only objects available to you in the room are on the floor in the corner: a ping-pong ball, five screws, a screwdriver, a glass of water, and a paper bag. How can you reach both strings at once and tie them together?

Fixation Functional Fixedness

The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions.

(The function of an object becomes fixed)

Learned – children show no signs

Using and Misusing Heuristics Heuristics: Cognitive Rules of Thumb

Representative Heuristic A rule of thumb for judging the

likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

Deaths per 100 million All accidents vs. Strokes (55,000) vs. (102,000) Asthma vs. Electrocution (920) vs. (500) Homicide vs. Diabetes (9,200) vs. (19,000) Appendicitis vs. Lightning (440) vs. (52) Car accidents vs. Cancer of digestive system (27,000) vs. (46,400) Drowning vs. Leukemia (3,600) vs. (7,100)

The FBI classifies crime in the U.S. into 2 categories – violent crimes, such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault, and property crimes, such as burglary, larceny, or car theft.

1. What percentage of crime would you estimate are violent rather than property crimes?

2. What percentage of accused felons plead insanity?3. What percentage of these are acquitted?4. What percentage of convictions for felony crimes are

obtained through trial instead of plea bargaining?

Using and Misusing Heuristics Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

If instances come to mind, we presume such events are common

Using and Misusing Heuristics Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic

Starting with an implicitly suggested reference point (the "anchor") and make adjustments to it to reach their estimate

AKA framing