©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e) Chapter Introduction Thinking, language, and intelligence are often studied under the

©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Chapter Introduction

Thinking, language, and intelligence are often studied under the larger topic of cognition (mental activities involved in acquiring, storing, retrieving, and using knowledge).


Thinking

Cognitive building blocks

Thinking processes are distributed throughout the brain, especially the frontal lobe.


Thinking—Three Components (Mental Image)

1. Mental Image: mental representation of a previously stored sensory experience, including visual, auditory, etc.


2. Concepts: mental representation of a group or category that shares similar characteristics

– How do we learn concepts? a. Artificial concepts--formed by logical, specific rulesb. Natural concepts/prototypes--formed by everyday

life experiencesc. Hierarchies--group concepts into subcategories

within broader categories

Thinking—Three Components (Concepts)


Thinking—Three Components An Example of Hierarchies


3. Language: form of communication using sounds and symbols combined according to specified rules

Thinking—Three Components (Language)


Thinking—Problem Solving• Step 1: Preparation--identifying, separating, and

defining

• Step 2: Production--generating possible solutions (hypotheses) by using algorithms and heuristics

• Step 3: Evaluation--judging hypotheses in Step 2 against the criteria in Step 1

Problem Solving


Heuristics vs. algorithms

Heuristics: general problem solving strategies that are often useful but not always effective (in football: control line of scrimmage, avoid turnovers, in chess: control center of board.)

Algorithms: step by step procedures guaranteed to solve a specific problem (recipe to bake a cake, formula to solve for area of triangle)


Examples of Heuristics

1. Means-end analysis: breaking problem down into series of sub-problems.

2. Analogies: using past experience as model for current problem-solving

Research on use of analogies (past experience) contradictory.


When is past experience harmful?

Dunker (1945) Make a lamp problem.


Thinking—Five Key Barriers to Problem Solving

2. Functional Fixedness: thinking of an object as only functioning in its usual way

Can you use these supplies to mount the candle on the wall so that it can be lit in a normal way without toppling over?


Thinking—Five Key Barriers to Problem Solving (Functional Fixedness Continued) To overcome

functional fixedness, think of the matchbox, tacks, and candle all functioning in new ways.


When is past experience harmful?

Mental set: retaining a old successful problem-solving procedure even though it is not effective in its current context. Water jar example here!


Experimental testing for mental set: Luchin’s (1942) water jar problem:



1. Mental Set: persistence in using strategies that have worked in the past

Using no more than four lines, can you connect all nine dots without lifting your pencil from the paper?


Thinking—Five Key Barriers to Problem Solving (Mental Sets Continued) To overcome

a mental set you must “think outside the box”— literally!


When is past experience helpful to problem solving?

1. Gick & Holyoak (1980) studies of problems solving with and without past experience

2. Chi’s (1985) studies of expertise and problem solving


Problem solving in Physics professors vs. students: Problem categorization






Framing Effects in Problem solving

Imagine that the U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual…

disease which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs

have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimate of the consequences of the program is as follows:

If Program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved. If Program B is adopted, there is a 1/3 probability that

600 people will be saved and a 2/3 probability that no people will be saved.

Which of the two programs would you favor?

Imagine the identical situation with the following choices: If program C is adopted, 400 people will die. If program D is adopted, there is a 1/3 probability that nobody

will die, and a 2/3 probability that 600 people will die. Which of the two programs would you favor?


3. Confirmation Bias: preferring information that confirms preexisting positions or beliefs, while ignoring contradictory evidence

4. Availability Heuristic: judging the likelihood of an event based on how readily available other instances are in memory




5. Representativeness Heuristic: estimating the probability of something based on how well the circumstances match (or represent) a previous prototype


Reasoning: manipulating mental representations in order to draw conclusions or

derive new knowledge Two types: 1. Syllogistic reasoning: premises –

conclusion 2. Conditional reasoning: if-then statements

used draw conclusions


Syllogistic reasoning

Premise: statement assumed to be true for sake of argument, not necessarily empirically true

Premise: All boys are athletes Premise also usually expresses a

relationship between certain concepts, so boys are related to athletes in that all boys are a member of the category athletes.



Conclusion: to be valid must be necessitated by the premises. Must be only possible conclusion drawn base on relationships expressed in premises.

Conclusion: a valid conclusion cannot just be reasonable or plausible based on premises, it must be necessary.



P1: All boys are athletes P2: All athletes are muscular C: All boys are muscular

Valid: Use Venn Diagrams to determine.



P1: All boys are athletes P2: All muscular people are athletes C: All boys are muscular people

Valid?

See website for more reasoning problems


Conditional reasoning

If: antecedent condition Then: consequent When the antecedent condition is met, the

consequent will occur (no question about it!)

Observation – what condition is actually present

Conclusion: (valid or not valid)


Conditional reasoning

If she has red hair Then she buys new shoes Observation: she has red hair (affirming

antecedent) Conclusion: she buys new shoes (valid?)


If she has red hair Then she buys new shoes Observation: she has not red hair (denying

the antecedent) Conclusion: she buys not new shoes (valid?)


If she has red hair Then she buys new shoes Observation: she buys new shoes (affirming

the consequent) Conclusion: she has red hair (valid?) More conditional reasoning problems at my

website.


If she has red hair Then she buys new shoes Observation: she buys not new shoes

(denying the consequent) Conclusion: she has not red hair (valid)


Wason Selection Task

Rule: if there is vowel on one side then there is an even number on the other side of the card


Abstract reasoning vs. Social contracts reasoning


Social contracts version of Wason Selection task


Thinking—Creativity

Creativity :ability to produce valued outcomes in a novel way

• Three elements of creativity: • Originality• Fluency• Flexibility




• Divergent Thinking: ability to produce many alternatives or ideas; linked to creativity (e.g., reordering the letters “grevenidt” to form many new words)

• Convergent Thinking: attempting to find one correct answer; linked to conventional, non-creative thinking (e.g., 2 + 2 = ?)




How did you do? Did you think of this creative solution to the 10 coin problem?


Language

What is language: a symbolic rule-based system of communication shared by a community

Question: can one person have language?


Language: Three Building Blocks

1. Phoneme :smallest unit of speech or sound2. Morpheme: smallest meaningful unit of

language3. Grammar: rules specifying how phonemes,

morphemes, words, and phrases should be combined to express thoughts

– Syntax: rules for word order – Semantics: system of using words to create

meaning



Properties of language

1. Arbitrariness: fundamental units of language have arbitrary relationship to what they represent e.g. dog =

2. Generativity = from a set of finite fundamental units, infinite meaning is possible

3. Generational transmission: passed on from one generation to the next


Properties of language

4. Displacement: can communicate about ideas not in here and now

5. Semanticity: meaningfulness drives all communication


Studies in Animal Language

A number of species have been studies: dolphins, parrots, whales, etc

Most studies have involved nonhuman apes: Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos

Why: close relatives of humans, big brains, highly social


History of Ape language studies

Cross-fostering: raising an ape as a human baby

1950’s Keith and Cathy Hayes: Viki project, teaching a chimpanzee to speak. Big disaster.

Beatrix and Alan Gardner: Washoe project, teaching an ape sign language



Francine Patterson and Koko: A gorilla learns sign language

Herb Terrace and Nim Chimpsky



Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and the bonobo Kanzi


What do apes know about language?

Some elementary syntax Some evidence of displacement 100-200 word vocabulary Use is primarily utilitarian, not for sharing

experience; 90% of Kanzi’s utterances are requests/commands

About at level 2.5 child


Language Development

Prelinguistic Stage: crying, cooing, and babbling

Linguistic Stage: single-utterances, telegraphic speech, and learning the rules of grammar


Theories of Language Development Nature Perspective: language is an inborn

capacity that develops primarily by maturation– Chomsky’s language acquisition

device (LAD)

Nurture Perspective: language develops from a complex system of rewards, punishments, and imitation


Animals and Language

Some of the most successful nonhuman animal language studies have used American Sign Language (ASL).


Intelligence

Intelligence: global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment

Intelligence is a hypothetical, abstract construct.


History of Intelligence Testing

1905: Alfred Binet creates test measure intellectual skills of children entering French public school system.

Lewis Terman translates test and brings to Stanford University in CA (Stanford-Binet Test of Intelligence)


History of Intelligence Testing

David Wechsler (1939) creates intelligence test for adults composed of 11 subscales measuring both verbal and non-verbal (or performance) IQ.

Most popular IQ tests today WAIS – adults; WISC – children;

WPPSI – preschool children


WWII: First Group Aptitude Measures

Army Alpha and Beta


What Is Intelligence?

Historical views of intelligence:

1. Single ability or general factor called “g” (Spearman)

2. Multiple abilities (Thurstone and Guilford)

3. Single ability with two types of g, fluid and crystallized intelligence (Cattell)

4. Multiple abilities (Gardner and Sternberg)


Intelligence Models

Gardner Sternberg




Measuring Intelligence

Stanford-Binet and Wechsler most widely used individual intelligence tests. Both tests compute an intelligence quotient (IQ), which compares the deviation of a person’s test score to norms for that person’s age group.

– Original version of Stanford-Binet (IQ = MA/CA x 100)


Measuring Intelligence— The Normal Distribution of IQ Scores


Measuring Intelligence— Sample Wechsler Tests


Measuring Intelligence

Three scientific standards for psychological tests:

1. Standardization--establishes norms and uniform procedures for giving and scoring tests

2. Reliability--measure of the consistency and stability of test scores over time

3. Validity--ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure


The Intelligence Controversy—Extremes in Intelligence

Mental Retardation: IQs of 70 and below

Mental Giftedness: IQs of 135 and above



The Intelligence Controversy: Explaining Differences

• Is it the brain? All mental activity (including intelligence) results from neural activity in the brain.

• Is it genetic or environmental influences? Heredity and environment are important, inseparable factors in intellectual development.


An Example of a Brain Test for Intelligence

Which “leg” of the drawing is longer (a) or (b)? The amount of time individuals require to make a correct choice between quickly flashed items like the ones on this screen may reveal something about their intelligence.


An Example of Genetic Vs. Environmental Influences on Intelligence


The Intelligence Controversy: Are IQ Tests Culturally Biased? • Some ethnic

groups score differently on IQ tests, but there are numerous contributing factors, including stereotype threat.

Documents

©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007 Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e) Chapter Introduction Thinking, language, and intelligence are often studied under the