Myers PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 10Thinking and Language ThinkingCognitionmental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating Cognitive Psychologistsstudy these mental activitiesconcept formationproblem solvingdecision makingjudgment formationThinkingConcept mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or peoplePrototypemental image or best example of a categorymatching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)ThinkingAlgorithmmethodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problemcontrasts with the usually speedierbut also more error-prone-use of heuristicsThinkingHeuristicsimple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficientlyusually speedier than algorithms more error-prone than algorithmsThinkingUnscrambleS P L O Y O C H Y GAlgorithmall 907,208 combinationsHeuristicthrow out all YY combinationsother heuristics?ThinkingInsightsudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problemcontrasts with strategy-based solutionsConfirmation Biastendency to search for information that confirms ones preconceptionsFixationinability to see a problem from a new perspectiveimpediment to problem solvingThe Matchstick ProblemHow would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles? The Three-Jugs Problem Using jugs A, B, and C, with the capacities shown, how would you measure out the volumes indicated? The Candle-Mounting ProblemUsing these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board? ThinkingMental Settendency to approach a problem in a particular wayespecially a way that has been successful in the past but may or may not be helpful in solving a new problemThinkingFunctional Fixednesstendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functionsimpediment to problem solvingThe Matchstick ProblemSolution to the matchstick problemThe Three-Jugs Problem Solution: a) All seven problems can be solved by the equation shown in (a): B - A - 2C = desired volume. b) But simpler solutions exist for problems 6 and 7, such as A - C for problem 6. The Candle-Mounting ProblemSolving this problem requires recognizing that a box need not always serve as a containerHeuristicsRepresentativeness Heuristicjudging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypesmay lead one to ignore other relevant informationHeuristicsAvailability Heuristicestimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memoryif instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are commonExample: airplane crashThinkingOverconfidencetendency to be more confident than correct tendency to overestimate the accuracy of ones beliefs and judgmentsThinkingFramingthe way an issue is posedhow an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgmentsExample: What is the best way to market ground beef-as 25% fat or 75% lean?ThinkingBelief Biasthe tendency for ones preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoningsometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid or valid conclusions seem invalidBelief Perseveranceclinging to ones initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discreditedArtificial IntelligenceArtificial Intelligencedesigning and programming computer systemsto do intelligent things to simulate human thought processes intuitive reasoninglearningunderstanding languageArtificial IntelligenceComputer Neural Networkscomputer circuits that mimic the brains interconnected neural cellsperforming taskslearning to recognize visual patternslearning to recognize smellsLanguageLanguageour spoken, written, or gestured works and the way we combine them to communicate meaningPhonemein a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unitLanguageMorphemein a language, the smallest unit that carries meaningmay be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)Grammara system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with and understand othersLanguageSemanticsthe set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given languagealso, the study of meaningSyntaxthe rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given languageLanguageWe are all born to recognize speech sounds from all the worlds languages1009080706050403020100Percentage ableto discriminateHindi tsHindi-speakingadults6-8 months8-10months10-12monthsEnglish-speakingadultsInfants from English-speaking homesLanguageBabbling Stagebeginning at 3 to 4 monthsthe stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household languageOne-Word Stagefrom about age 1 to 2the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single wordsLanguageTwo-Word Stagebeginning about age 2the stage in speech development during which a child speaks in mostly two-word statementsTelegraphic Speechearly speech stage in which the child speaks like a telegram-“go car”-using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting “auxiliary” wordsLanguageSummary of Language DevelopmentMonth(approximate)Stage410122424+Babbles many speech sounds.Babbling reveals households language.One-word stage.Two-world, telegraphic speech.Language develops rapidly intocomplete sentences.LanguageGenes design the mechanisms for a language, and experience activates them as it modifies the brainLanguageNew language learning gets harder with age1009080706050Native3-78-10 11-1517-39Percentage correct ongrammar testAge at schoolLanguageLinguistic DeterminismWhorf”s hypothesis that language determines the way we thinkLanguageThe interplay of thought and languageAnimal Thinking and LanguageThe straight-line part of the dance points in the direction of a nectar source, relative to the sunDirection ofnectar sourceAnimal Thinking and LanguageGestured CommunicationAnimal Thinking and LanguageIs this really language?