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Chapter Introduction

Section 1: Thinking and Problem Solving

Section 2: Language

Chapter Preview 1

Chapter Objectives · Section 1

Thinking and Problem Solving

Understand that thinking involves changing and reorganizing the information stored in memory to create new or transformed information.

Chapter Preview 2

Chapter Objectives · Section 2

Language

Explain how language and thought are closely related.

Chapter Preview-End

Section 1-Main Idea

Main Idea

Thinking involves changing and reorganizing the information stored in memory to create new or transformed information, such as creative problem-solving strategies.

Section 1-Key Terms

Vocabulary

• thinking

• image

• symbol

• concept

• prototype

• rule

• metacognition

• algorithm

• heuristic

• mental set

• functional fixedness

• creativity

• flexibility

• recombination

• insight

Section 1-Objectives

Objectives

• Identify the units of thought and the kinds of thinking.

• Explain strategies for and obstacles to problem solving.

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 1-Polling Question

A B C D

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Would you consider yourself to be a good writer?

A. Very much so

B. Somewhat

C. Not very much so

D. Not at all

Section 1

Thinking

• Thinking

• Units of thought:

– Image

– Symbol

– Concept

– Prototype

– RuleUsing Imagery

Section 1

Thinking (cont.)

• Units of thought provide an efficient way for people to:

– represent reality.

– manipulate and reorganize it.

– devise new ways of acting.

Section 1

Thinking (cont.)

• Three kinds of thinking:

– Directed/Convergent

– Nondirected

– Metacognition

Directed vs. Nondirected Thinking

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 1

A B C D

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Realizing that a human belongs to a group of organisms different from fungi demonstrates which unit of thought?

A. Symbol

B. Rule

C. Prototype

D. Concept

Section 1

Problem Solving

• One of the main functions of directed thinking is to solve problems.

• Problem solving depends on the use of strategies.

• We tend to use strategies we have used in the past.

Section 1

Problem Solving (cont.)

• Examples of strategies:

– Break down complex problems into smaller ones, or subgoals—intermediate steps toward a solution.

– Work backward from the goal you have set.

– Examine various ways of reaching a desired goal.

Section 1

• Algorithm

– Mathematical and scientific formulas are algorithms.

Problem Solving (cont.)

• Heuristics

– These are experimental strategies that allow a person to solve a problem quickly and easily (and sometimes unwisely).

Types of Heuristics

Section 1

• Obstacles to problem solving, or types of rigidity:

– Becoming stuck in a mental set.

– Functional fixedness

– Making a wrong assumption about a problem.

Problem Solving (cont.)

Connecting the Dots

Overcoming Wrong Assumptions

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 1

A B C D

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How would you most likely solve a mathematical problem?

A. Using heuristics

B. Using subgoals

C. Using algorithms

D. All of the above

Section 1

Creativity

• All problem solving requires some creativity.

• Creativity often requires flexibility and recombination of elements to achieve insight.

A. A

B. B

C. C

Section 1

A B C

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Which do you feel is the most important characteristic of creative thinking?

A. flexibility

B. recombination

C. insight

Section 1-End

Section 2-Main Idea

Main Idea

Language and thought are closely related. Language requires the learning of a set of complex rules and symbols, yet most people have little difficulty learning their native language.

Section 2-Key Terms

Vocabulary

• language

• phoneme

• morpheme

• syntax

• semantics

Section 2-Objectives

Objectives

• Explain the structure of language.

• Describe how children develop language.

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 2-Polling Question

A B C D

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Which language do you think is spoken by the most people?

A. English

B. Spanish

C. French

D. Chinese

Section 2

The Structure of Language

• Language consists of three elements:

– Phonemes

– Morphemes

– Syntax

Phonemes and Morphemes

Section 2

• Semantics places words in a context that make sense.

The Structure of Language (cont.)

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 2

A B C D

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How many morphemes are there in the word unbreakable?

A. 3

B. 7

C. 8

D. 9

Section 2

Language Development

• Theories on language development:

– B.F. Skinner believed that children learn language as a result of operant conditioning.

– Some critics state that children understand language before they speak—and before they receive any reinforcement.

Section 2

Language Development (cont.)

– Children learn the rules of language before they receive any feedback for speaking correctly.

– Some psychologists believe that children learn language through observation, exploration, and imitation.

Section 2

– Innate and environmental factors play a part in how a child learns language.

• Noam Chomsky theorized that infants possess an innate capacity for language.

Language Development (cont.)

Noam Chomsky

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 2

A B C D

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How do you think we learn a language as a young child?

A. Operant conditioning

B. Observation

C. Imitation

D. Exploring

Section 2

How Language Develops

• Four stages of language development:

– Babble

– Single words

– Two words together

– Sentences of several words

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 2

A B C D

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By age two, how many words are in a child’s vocabulary?

A. 0–25

B. 25–50

C. 50–100

D. more than 100

Section 2

Do Animals Learn Language?

• Animals can communicate with each other and some can communicate with humans; however, they do not technically learn language.

A. A

B. B

C. C

Section 2

A B C

0% 0%0%

Do you believe that a gorilla that can “ask” for things with human sign language understands language?

A. Yes

B. No

C. Maybe

Section 2

Gender and Cultural Differences

• Benjamin Whorf argued that language affects our basic perceptions of the physical world.

• Linguistic relativity—language influences thoughts.

• It is difficult to separate culture from language when studying the use of language and the perceptions it influences.

A. A

B. B

C. C

Section 2

Do you think the word pink is a feminine or masculine word?

A. Feminine

B. Masculine

C. Neither

A B C

0% 0%0%

Section 2-End

Figure 1

Using ImageryRotate pairs of images of the patterns below in your mind to make them match. Do the drawings in each pair represent the same object, or are they different objects?

Figure 2-1

Directed vs. Nondirected ThinkingThis problem was devised by psychologist Edward De Bono, who believes that conventional directed thinking is insufficient for solving new and unusual problems. His approach to problem solving requires use of nondirected thinking to generate new ways of looking at the problem situation.

Figure 2-2

Answer:

Directed vs. Nondirected ThinkingThis problem was devised by psychologist Edward De Bono, who believes that conventional directed thinking is insufficient for solving new and unusual problems. His approach to problem solving requires use of nondirected thinking to generate new ways of looking at the problem situation.

Figure 3

Types of HeuristicsHeuristics are mental shortcuts. Although they are not rules that always provide the correct answers, they are strategies that experience has taught us to apply.

Figure 4

Connecting the DotsConnect all nine dots shown by drawing four straight lines without lifting your pencil from the paper or retracing any lines.

Click the mouse button to display the answer.

Figure 5

Overcoming Wrong AssumptionsArrange these six matches so that they form four equilateral triangles.

Click the mouse button to display the answer.

Figure 6

Phonemes and MorphemesThe word fearlessness has nine phonemes and three morphemes.

Profile 1

Noam Chomsky1928–

“[A] human being is a biological organism like

any other. It’s a biological organism with a very

unique intellectual capacity that we are only

barely beginning to understand. I think our

intellectual capacities are very highly structured.”

Concept Trans Menu

Chapter Concepts Transparencies

Algorithms and Heuristics

Flexible Thinking

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Concept Trans 1

Concept Trans 2

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DFS Trans 2

Vocab1

thinking: changing and reorganizing the information stored in memory to create new information

Vocab2

image: a visual, mental representation of an event or object

Vocab3

symbol: an abstract unit of thought that represents an object or quality; anything that stands for or represents something else

Vocab4

concept: a label for a class of objects or events that have a least one attribute in common

Vocab5

prototype: a representative example of a concept

Vocab6

rule: a statement of relation between concepts

Vocab7

metacognition: the awareness of or thinking about one’s own cognitive processes

Vocab8

algorithm: a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem

Vocab9

heuristic: a rule-of-thumb problem-solving strategy

Vocab10

mental set: a habitual strategy or pattern of problem solving

Vocab11

functional fixedness: the inability to imagine new uses for familiar objects

Vocab12

creativity: the capacity to use information and/or abilities in new and original ways

Vocab13

flexibility: the ability to overcome rigidity, to remain open to alternate strategies

Vocab14

recombination: rearranging the elements of a problem to arrive at an original solution

Vocab15

insight: the apparent sudden realization of the solution to a problem

Vocab16

language: the expression of ideas through symbols and sounds that are arranged according to rules

Vocab17

phoneme: an individual sound that is a basic structural element of language

Vocab18

morpheme: the smallest unit of meaning in a given language

Vocab19

syntax: language rules that govern how words can be combined to form meaningful phrases and sentences

Vocab20

semantics: the study of meaning of language

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