Thinking About Thinking

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Thinking About Thinking

• Do you ever think without thinking about it?

Can we think about things we dont have words for?
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Can we think about things we dont have words for?

• Whorf Hypothesis says no.
• Growing evidence he was right (he was an
  insurance salesman!)
• Some evidence Cultures vary in how many colors
  they have. Those without a name, dont
  distinguish the colors.

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What do we use for thinking?

• Concepts I may not have ever seen a Miata, but
  knowing its a car is helpful
• Prototypes What makes a car a car?
• Mental images Do we see these?
• Auditory Images I can still hearsmell feel
• Propositions Miatas are expensive.
• All feed into cognitive schemas networks of
  ideas (concepts, beliefs, expectations)

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What is a prototype?

• Are all of the following men bachelors? Are
  some more bachelor-like than others?
• George Clooney
• The Pope
• Elton John

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Thoughtless Thinking

• Subconscious thinking
• Easily brought into consciousness
• Nonconscious thinking Step 1 to aha!
• Mindlessness Excuse me, may I use the copier?

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Thoughtless Thinking

• Subconscious thinking
• Easily brought into consciousness
• multi-tasking
• Cell phone while driving
• Homework while watching tv
• Cooking and talking on the phone
• Is it good for you?

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Thoughtless Thinking

• Multi-tasking
• Is it good for you?
• Stressful
• Error-prone
• Each task takes more time than if performed alone
• Cell phone while driving? Increased risk of
  accident about 3 x in one study
• Applying makeup? Eating? Reading????

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Thoughtless Thinking

• Nonconscious thinking Step 1 to aha!

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Thoughtless Thinking

• Nonconscious thinking Step 1 to aha!
• Mindlessness
• Excuse me, may I use the copier?
• Excuse me, may I use the copier? Because I need
  to make copies.
• Excuse me, may I use the copier? Because Im in a
  rush.
• Which one is most likely to get permission to go
  ahead?

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Conscious, rational thought Thinking (or Not
Thinking) on Purpose

• Algorithms vs Heuristics
• If x then y x therefore y (algorithm follow the
  rules closely enough, and youll get the right
  answer)
• Playing Black Jack when should you take another
  card? (heuristic no sure answer)

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When there is no right answer

• Heuristics, including
• Dialectical reasoning arguing with yourself
• King Kitchener (1994)
• Pre-reflective Its very simple. (There is a
  right answer and I heard it on the news.)
• Quasi-reflective You cant believe anything you
  hear. (There is a right answer and Ive figured
  it out.)
• Reflective Willing to consider lots of
  alternatives, assumptions, evaluate lines of
  reasoning.

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Reflective Thinking Practice

• Should students be charged for parking on campus?
• Why?
• Why not?
• Think of 3 arguments that disagree with your own
  position.

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What is intelligence?

• Make a few notes on your own answer to this
  question.

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Intelligence is what is measured by an
intelligence test.

• Invented in France by Alfred Binet to identify
  children in need of extra help in school.
• Is this how IQ tests are used in the US? What
  is different about the way we use these tests?

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What are we trying to measure when we measure
intelligence?

• Most tests measure a general intelligence
• Gardner says there are many kinds
• Kinesthetic, musical, mathematical
• Others say there is something called emotional
  intelligence
• Do you know anyone who is always saying the wrong
  thing? Choosing the wrong boyfriend?

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How has intelligence been misused?

• Cultural bias in test content makes White, middle
  class test-takers seem more intelligent
• Stereotype threat lowers the scores of
  test-takers who are supposed to do poorly
• Misinterpretation of group differences failing
  to account for affects of environment

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How does the environment affect intelligence?

• Prenatal care poor diet, infection, alcohol and
  other drug use, smoking, secondhand smoke can all
  affect IQ
• Malnourishment As many as 20 points different
  compared to a well-nourished child
• Toxins Lead (from dust, soil, pipes), highway
  exhaust, other air pollution
• Stressful family life Parents with limited work
  skills or mental health problems, single parent
  family, disruptive events in early childhood (4
  points for each stressor)

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Does an intelligence score really tell us
anything?

• Parents in Japan, Taiwan China (vs US)
• Believe math skill comes from hard work
• Have high standards (a B is not good enough)
• Value education for its own sake (vs a way to get
  more money)
• Almost all children in these countries score
  better than the average US student on a math test

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Does an intelligence score really tell us
anything?

• Duckworth Seligman (2005) found self-discipline
  to be a better predictor of high school seniors
  Grade Point Average (GPA) than IQ
• How might IQ affect GPA?
• How might self-discipline affect GPA?

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Intelligence is what is measured by an
intelligence test.

• Could it be that
• hard work, and a
• supportive environment
• have more of an effect on your life achievements
  than your IQ?
• Yes

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No matter how intelligent we might be, we still
trick ourselves into some not-so-good thinking

• Hindsight Bias (I knew it all along!)
• This might be a way of learning from our
  experience. Look back and fix our prediction.

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No matter how intelligent we might be, we still
trick ourselves into some not-so-good thinking

• Confirmation Bias (There is a great deal of
  research to support my view.)
• Eagerly study and remember new information that
  fits our belief
• Minimize the flaws in research that supports our
  view (There were only 12 people in the study,
  but)
• Minimize the strengths of research that
  contradicts our view (Well, sure, thats what
  they found but there were only 12 people in the
  study!

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No matter how intelligent we might be, we still
trick ourselves into some not-so-good thinking
Without lifting your pencil, connect all the dots
with no more than 4 straight lines. A line must
pass through each point.
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No matter how intelligent we might be, we still
trick ourselves into some not-so-good thinking
Mental set We get stuck in seeing things in
certain ways. Who said you couldnt go outside
the square?
Mental set We get stuck in seeing things in
certain ways. Who said you couldnt go outside
the square?
Without lifting your pencil, connect all the dots
with no more than 4 straight lines. A line must
pass through each point.
Without lifting your pencil, connect all the dots
with no more than 4 straight lines. A line must
pass through each point.
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No matter how intelligent we might be, we still
trick ourselves into some not-so-good thinking

• Cognitive Dissonance We get very uncomfortable
  when we disagree with ourselves
• Think of a dissonant chord. How do you feel
  when the chord resolves into something familiar
  and pleasant?
• I wish I hadnt bought that. BUT I did. So I
  will convince myself (and tell everyone else)
  that its the best car, pair of shoes, big
  screen TV there ever was.
• I sold someone a car I knew had a serious problem
  but I am an honest person. Well, if I hadnt
  sold them the car, the next guy down the street
  would have sold them something at least as bad.
• The people in my fraternity made me do terrible,
  painful, ridiculous things but now Im one of
  them. Now I need to convince myself that being
  in this fraternity is a wonderful experience.

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Over the weekend

• Try to catch yourself in some irrational
  thinking!
• Resolving cognitive dissonance
• Stuck in a mental set
• Choosing to pay attention to (or ignore)
  information that supports your belief
• Saying I told you so! or I knew it!