Thinking and language notes (9nc)

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Thinking and language notes (9nc)

• What is cognition?
• What is a schema?
• What is a prototype?
• How we solve problems?
• What is convergent thinking? Divergent thk?
• Obstacles to solving problems?
• What are phonemes and morphemes?
• What is grammar, semantics, syntax?
• Skinners and Chomskys language development
  theories?
• ? What are phonemes and morphemes?
• What is grammar, semantics, syntax?
• Skinners and Chomskys language development
  theories

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Thinking and Languagestolen from appsychology.com
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Cognition

• Another term for thinking, knowing and
  remembering

Does the way we think really matter?
Maybe by studying the way we think, we can
eventually think better.
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Concepts
In order to think about the world, we form..

• A mental grouping of similar objects, events,
  ideas or people.
• Concepts are similar to Piagets idea of.

Schemas
These animals all look different, but they fall
under our concept of dogs.
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Prototypes
We base our concepts on .

• A mental image or best example of a category.

• If a new object is similar to our prototype, we
  are better able to recognize it.

If this was my prototype of a man then what am I?
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How do we solve problems?
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Trial and Error
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Algorithms

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

What are the benefits and detriments of
algorithms?
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Heuristics

• A rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to
  make judgments and solve problems efficiently.

Who would you trust to baby-sit your child?

• A short cut (that can be prone to errors).

Your answer is based on your heuristic of their
appearances.
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Insight

• A sudden and often novel realization of the
  solution to a problem.

• No real strategy involved

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What are some obstacles to problem solving?
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Confirmation Bias

• A tendency to search for information that
  confirms ones preconceptions.

For example, if you believe that during a full
moon there is an increase in admissions to the
emergency room where you work, you will take
notice of admissions during a full moon, but be
inattentive to the moon when admissions occur
during other nights of the month. (Fights during
lunch?)
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Match Problem
Can you arrange these six matches into four
equilateral triangles?
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Match Problem

• Fixation
• The inability to see a problem from a new
  perspective.

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Mental Set

• A tendency to approach a problem in a particular
  way, especially if it has worked in the past.
• May or may not be a good thing.

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Functional Fixedness

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

What are some things I can do with this quarter
(other than spend it)?
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Barriers Functional Fixedness
Functional fixedness unable to think of unusual
or unique uses for objects
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Divergent thinking, Convergent thinking

• Divergent thinking is thinking outside the box.
  It means you are creative in coming up with
  solutions nobody else came up with.
• Convergent thinking is more conforming but just
  as good. Sometimes the standard way is the best.

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Types of Heuristics(That often lead to errors)
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Representativeness Heuristic
Below is Linda. She loves books and hates loud
noises. Is Linda a librarian or a beautician?

• A rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of
  things in terms of how well they match our
  prototype.
• Can cause us to ignore important information.

Chances are, she is a beautician!!!
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Availability Heuristic

• Estimating the likelihood of events based on
  their availability in our memory.

Although diseases kill many more people than
accidents, it has been shown that people will
judge accidents and diseases to be equally fatal.
This is because accidents are more dramatic and
are often written up in the paper or seen on the
news on t.v., and are more available in memory
than diseases.

• If it comes to mind easily (maybe a vivid event)
  we presume it is common.

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Tornadoes we overestimate how many die and how
often they occur
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Overconfidence

• The tendency to be more confident than correct.
• To overestimate the accuracy of your beliefs and
  judgments.

Considering overconfidence who you want to risk
1 million dollars on an audience poll?
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Framing

• The way an issued is posed.
• It can have drastic effects on your decisions and
  judgments.

How do you think framing played a part in the
2008 election?
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Belief Bias

• Democrats support free speech

• The tendency for ones preexisting beliefs to
  distort logical reasoning.
• Sometimes making invalid conclusions valid or
  vice versa.

• Dictators are not Democrats.
• 3. Republicans are not Democrats.

Conclusion Republicans do not support free
speech.
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Belief Perseverance

• Clinging to your initial conceptions after the
  basis on which they were formed has been
  discredited.

All Cowboy fans who still believe that this is
their year are suffering from belief perseverance.
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• 1.The belief that the probability of heads is
  higher after a long string of tails
• A. is rational and accurate
• B. is an example of gamblers fallacy
• C. reflects the influence of the representatives
  heuristic.
• D. b and c

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• 2. A heuristic is
• A. a flash of insight
• B. guiding principle or rule of thumb used in
  problem solving
• C. a methodical procedure for trying all possible
  solutions to a problem.
• D. a way of making a compensatory decision.

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• 3. The more confident you are about your
  predictions of upcoming events in your life
• A. the more likely it is that your predictions
  are accurate
• B. the less likely it is that your predictions
  are overconfident
• C. the more likely it is that your predictions
  are overconfident
• D. a and b

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D, B, C
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Language and Thought
Its all about communication!!!
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Language

• Our spoken written or gestured words and the way
  we combine them to communicate meaning.

Believe it or not, this communication is a form
of language!!!
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Phonemes

• In a spoken language, the smallest distinctive
  sound unit.
• Chug has three phonemes, ch, u, g.

How many phonemes does platypus have?
Phones make sound.
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Morphemes

• In a language, the smallest unit that carries
  meaning.
• Can be a word or part of a word (prefix or
  suffix).

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Grammar

• A system of rules in a language that enables us
  to communicate and understand others.

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Semantics

• The set of rules by which we derive meaning in a
  language.
• Adding ed at the end of words means past tense.

The Chinese languages do not have expansive
semantic rules. They usually have totally
different symbols for different tenses.
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Syntax

• The rules for combining words into grammatically
  sensible sentences.
• In English, adjectives come before nouns, but not
  in Spanish!!

Is this the White House of the House White?
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• Which is the smallest unit of meaning in a
  language?
• A. genome
• B. morpheme
• C. phoneme
• D. phonogram

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• Research suggests that bilingualism has a
  negative effect on
• A. language development
• B. cognitive development
• C. metalinguistic awareness
• D. none of the above

The answer was B for the last question.
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Language development

• How many words do you think you know now?

Probably around 80,000.
After age 1 you average about 13 words a day.
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Language Development

• Babbling Stage starting at 3-4 months, the
  infant makes spontaneous sounds. Not limited to
  the phonemes of the infants household language.

• One-word stage 1-2 years old, uses one word to
  communicate big meanings.

• Two word stage at age 2, uses two words to
  communicate meanings- called telegraphic speech.

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How do we explain language development?
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Skinner

• Skinner thought that we can explain language
  development through social learning theory (which
  is?).

The young boy imitates his dad, then gets a
reward.
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ChomskyInborn Universal Grammar

• We acquire language too quickly for it to be
  learned.
• We have this learning box inside our heads that
  enable us to learn any human language.

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Does language influence our thinking?
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Whorfs Linguistic Relativity

• The idea that language determines the way we
  think (not vive versa).

• The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their
  language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the
  past.

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Do people that speak more than one language think
differently depending on their language at that
time?
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Thinking without Language

• We can think in words.
• But more often we think in mental pictures.

In 1977, Reggie Jackson hit 3 HRs against the
Dodgers. He has stated that before each at bat,
he visualizes crushing a home run. Do you think
visualization helps?
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Language is creative

• Do you feel starbucky today?

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Do Animals think?
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Kohlers Chimpanzees

• Kohler exhibited that Chimps can problem solve.

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Honeybees seem to communicate
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Apes and Signing
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How Do ChildrenAcquire Language?
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How Children Acquire Language

• Innateness theory of language Children learn
  language mainly by following an inborn program
  for acquiring vocabulary and grammar
• Language acquisition device (LAD) Structure in
  the brain innately programmed with some of the
  fundamental rules of grammar

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How Children Acquire Language

• Early stages of language acquisition include the
  following
• The babbling stage (ba ba ba ba)
• The one-word stage (daddy)
• The two-word stage (Elmo red)
• Telegraphic speech (short, simple sentences) (I
  like ice cream.)
• The naming explosion

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The Rules of Grammar

• Grammar The rules of a language
• Morphemes Meaningful units of language that
  make up words
• Overregularization Applying a grammatical rule
  too widely and thereby creating incorrect
  forms(e.g. using hitted and feets)

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How Children Acquire Language

• Other language skills

Social rules of conversation Abstract words (e.g.
hope, truth)
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What Are theComponents of Thought?
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Concepts

• Concepts Mental representations of categories
  of items or ideas, based on experience
• Natural concepts represent objects and events
• Artificial concepts are defined by rules
• We organize much of our declarative memories into
  concept hierarchies

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Has skin Eats Breathes
Has fins Can swim Has gills
Has wings Can fly Has feathers
Can sing Is yellow
Cant fly Is tall
Can bite Is dangerous
Is pink Is edible
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Schemas and Scripts Help you Know What to Expect

• Schema A knowledge cluster or general
  framework that provides expectations about
  topics, events, objects, people, and situations
  in ones life
• Script A cluster of knowledge about sequences
  of events and actions expected to occur in
  particular settings

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Selecting a Strategy

• Algorithms Problem-solving procedures or
  formulas that guarantee a correct outcome if
  correctly applied
• Heuristics Cognitive strategies used as
  shortcuts to solve complex mental tasks they do
  not guarantee a correct solution

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Heuristics

• Useful heuristics include
• Working backward
• Searching for analogies
• Breaking a big problem into smaller problems

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Working Backwards
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Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Mental set Tendency to respond to a new
  problem in the manner used for a previous problem
• Functional fixedness Inability to perceive a
  newuse for an object associatedwith a different
  purpose

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Unscramble These Words

• nelin
• ensce
• sdlen
• lecam
• slfal
• dlchi
• neque

• raspe
• klsta
• nolem
• dlsco
• hsfle
• naorg
• egsta

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Unscrambled Words

• linen
• scene
• lends
• camel
• falls
• child
• queen

• pears
• talks
• melon
• colds
• shelf
• groan
• gates

The algorithm you used to solve the first column
probably kept you from seeing the multiple
solutions for the words in the second column
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Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Other obstacles include
• Self-imposed limitations
• Lack of interest
• Fatigue
• Drugs (legal and illegal)

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The Nine-Dot Problem
Without lifting your pen from the page, can you
connect all nine dots with only four lines?
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Judging and Making Decisions
Confirmation Bias
Hindsight Bias
Anchoring Bias
Representativeness Bias
Availability Bias
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Judging and Making Decisions
Confirmation Bias

• Ignoring or finding fault with information that
  does not fit our opinions, and seeking
  information with which we agree

Hindsight Bias
Anchoring Bias
Representativeness Bias
Availability Bias
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Judging and Making Decisions
Confirmation Bias

• Tendency, after learning about an event, to
  believe that one could have predicted the event
  in advance

Hindsight Bias
Anchoring Bias
Representativeness Bias
Availability Bias
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Judging and Making Decisions
Confirmation Bias

• Faulty heuristic caused by basing (anchoring) an
  estimate on a completely unrelated quantity

Hindsight Bias
Anchoring Bias
Representativeness Bias
Availability Bias
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Judging and Making Decisions
Confirmation Bias

• Faulty heuristic strategy based on presumption
  that, once a person or event is categorized, it
  shares all features of other members in that
  category

Hindsight Bias
Anchoring Bias
Representativeness Bias
Availability Bias
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Judging and Making Decisions
Confirmation Bias
Hindsight Bias

• Faulty heuristic strategy that estimates
  probabilities based on information that can be
  recalled from personal experience

Anchoring Bias
Representativeness Bias
Availability Bias
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End of Chapter 7
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Chapter 8 Quiz

• Language and Thought

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Dont forget to write your answers on a separate
piece of paper to grade when youre done!

• 1. Phonemes are
• a) The rules of grammar that dictate letter
  combinations in a language
• b) The smallest unit of sound in a language
• c) The smallest unit of meaning in a language
• d) Semantically the same as morphemes

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• 2. Because it has all the features commonly
  associated with the concept bird, a robin is
  considered a(n)
• a) prototype
• b) heuristic
• c) algorithm
• d) phenotype

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• 3. Compared to convergent thinkers, to solve a
  problem divergent thinkers are more likely to
• a) Process information to arrive at the single
  best answer
• b) Think creatively and generate multiple answers
  
• c) Problem solve in a systematic step-by-step
  fashion
• d) Frequently suffer from functional fixedness

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• 4. Unlike B. F. Skinner, Noam Chomsky believes
  that children
• a) Learn to speak by mimicking the sounds around
  them
• b) Speak more quickly if their parents correct
  their mispronunciations earlier
• c) Are hard-wired for language acquisition
• d) Learn language more quickly if positive
  rewards are given to them

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• 5. Which of the following is a good example of
  functional fixedness?
• a) Failing to use a dime as a screwdriver when
  you have lost your screwdriver
• b) Not being able to solve a physics problem
  because you apply the same rule you always do
• c) Using a blanket as a pillow
• d) Adding water to a cake mix when it calls for
  milk

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• 6. Having been told that Syd is an engineer and
  Fran is an elementary school teacher, when Arnold
  meets the couple for the first time, he assumes
  that Syd is the husband and Fran is the wife,
  rather than the opposite, which is the case.
  This best illustrates
• a) Confirmation bias
• b) The mere exposure effect
• c) The anchoring effect
• d) The representativeness heuristic

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• 7. Which of the following is a holophrase
  one-year-old Amanda is likely to say?
• Mmmmm
• Gaga
• Eat apple
• Bottle

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• 8. Which of the following exemplifies
  retroactive interference?
• After suffering a blow to the head, Jean cannot
  form new memories.
• Elle failed a Spanish test because she studied
  for her Italian test after studying Spanish.
• Lee cannot remember an important date on the
  history exam.
• Gene cannot remember his new locker combination,
  but he remembers the one from last year.

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• According to the nativist theory, language is
  acquired
• By parents reinforcing correct language use
• Using an inborn ability to learn language at a
  certain developmental stage
• Best in the language and culture native to the
  child and parents
• Only if formal language instruction is provided
  in the childs native language

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• In light of their views on language acquisition,
  which theorist would expect apes to progress the
  furthest in language development?
• B. F. Skinner
• Noam Chomsky
• Jean Piaget
• Herb Terrance

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• The linguistic relativity hypothesis predicts
  that
• People should have difficulty thinking about
  things they cannot describe in words
• Language and thought should develop independently
• People in all cultures should think alike,
  despite their language differences
• Language development should consistently lag
  behind cognitive development

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• In cultures that depend on hunting and gathering
  for subsistence, __________ style is more
  adaptive.
• A field dependent
• A risk-averse
• A field independent
• An algorithmic

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• Corey was serving on a jury in a criminal case,
  and the jury reached a unanimous not guilty
  verdict. Several months later, some additional
  evidence came to light that strongly suggested
  that the defendant was, in fact, guilty of the
  crime in question. Corey is still not convinced
  by the new evidence, and claims he wouldnt have
  voted guilty, even if the new information had
  been presented during the trial. In this
  example, Corey is showing evidence of
• The conjunction fallacy
• The availability heuristic
• Belief perseverance
• Mental set

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• Dr. Grath believes that both an innate
  predisposition and a supportive environment
  contribute to language development. Dr. Graths
  views are MOST consistent with those of
• Behavioral theories
• Nativist theories
• Whorfian theories
• Interactionist theories

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• Fast mapping is
• The development of a mental representation of
  ones environment
• The pacing activity associated with genetics,
  allowing for anticipation of motivational events
• The type of play a child engages in at an early
  age
• Mapping words to underlying concepts after only
  one exposure