Thinking and Language

AP EXAMCognition (8–10%)In this unit students learn how humans convert sensory input into kinds ofinformation. They examine how humans learn, remember, and retrieve information.This part of the course also addresses problem solving, language, and creativity.AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:• Compare and contrast various cognitive processes:— effortful versus automatic processing;— deep versus shallow processing;— focused versus divided attention.• Describe and differentiate psychological and physiological systems of memory(e.g., short-term memory, procedural memory).• Outline the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and constructionof memories.• Describe strategies for memory improvement.• Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitateacquisition, development, and use of language.• Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence theireffectiveness.• List the characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.• Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky, Hermann Ebbinghaus, Wolfgang Köhler, Elizabeth Loftus, George A. Miller).

Cognition

• The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

• In general, cognition = thinking.

Thinking and Concepts

• Concepts – mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people– Concept of “Mom”

vs “Dad” vs “Lobster”

• Prototype – a mental image or best example of a concept

Problem Solving

Unscramble...

S P L O Y O C H Y G

Algorithm – a methodical, logical procedure that guarantees solving a problem.• all 907,208 combinations

Heuristic – a simple thinking strategy ; a shortcut; speedier than algorithms but subject to error• throw out all YY combinations• other heuristics?

Algorithms• A rule that

guarantees the right solution to a problem.

• Uses a formula or systematic method to try all possible solutions.

• They work, but are sometimes impractical.

Heuristics

• A rule of thumb that generally, but not always, can be used to make a judgment to solve a problem.

• It is fast, but is prone to error

• Two major types of heuristics…– Representativeness– Availability

One day, as you walk through the commons, you find this key.How would you use an algorithm to find the lock to which this key belongs?What about a heuristic?

The Ugly, Unwanted Sweatshirt

• Solve this problem: I need to know what store my sister purchased this Christmas gift from so I can return it.

• Note: There are no price tags or bar codes. I do know, however, that it is a new sweatshirt.

• Provide examples of 1 algorithm and 3 heuristics that could be used to solve the problem.

Barriers to Problem Solving

Confirmation Bias

• Looking for evidence to confirm our beliefs and ignoring evidence that contradicts them.

• i.e. – fans of a college sports team refuse to believe that their team is not the best team in the nation (they use stats, other info to support their belief & ignore losses in the playoffs)

Fixation• The inability to see

a problem from a fresh perspective

• How would you arrange 6 matchsticks (or pencils) to create 4 equilateral triangles?

• 2 types of fixation…

Mental Sets

• a.k.a. rigidity• The tendency to fall

into established thought patterns or to use similar solutions to solve future problems.

• A hunter tracking a bear shoots and misses, travels 1 mile due south, shoots and misses, travels one mile due east, shoots and misses, travels one mile due north, and is now exactly where he started. What color is the bear?

Functional Fixedness

• The inability to see a new use for an object.

Think of as many uses as you can for a ……

The Candle-Mounting Problem

• Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?

The Candle-Mounting Problem

• Solving this problem requires recognizing that a box need not always serve as a container

Using and Misusing Heuristics

Representativeness Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes.

• E.G. - thinking everyone from BCHS is a redneck/hunter, or someone with glasses is nerdy, or a blonde is not smart.

•If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence.•She was an economics major at Harvard University.

Who went to Harvard?

Dan is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (but he looks like he did).

Availability Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on the availability of information in memory.

Which city has the highest murder rate?

New York, NY

Philadelphia, PA

The crime rate of Philadelphia, PA is much higher than that of New York City. Click here for the 2005 stats.

However, we often hear more about crimes committed in NYC in the news .

Read each question and decide the choice you think is correct.

Which of the following is the more frequent cause of death in the World?

1. all accidents or strokes?2. electrocution or asthma?3. homicide or diabetes?4. motor vehicle (car, truck, bus) accidents or colon cancer?5. leukaemia or drowning?

Which country has the larger population?6. Morocco or Saudi Arabia?7. Australia or Myanmar?8. Vietnam or South Africa ?9. Libya or Sri Lanka?10. Tanzania or Iraq?

Which city has the higher murder rate (per capita)?11. San Juan or Detroit ?12. Chicago or Baltimore?13. Manhattan or Gary, IN?14. Boston or New Haven, CT?15. Flint, MI or Dallas ?16. San Francisco or Durham?

Read each question and decide the choice you think is correct.

Which of the following is the more frequent cause of death in the World?

1. all accidents (35.9) or strokes (61.4)?2. asthma (1.7) or electrocution (.07)?3. homicide (5.7) or diabetes (23.6)?4. motor vehicle (car, truck, bus) accidents (15.6) or colon

cancer (20.8)?5. leukaemia (6.2) or drowning (1.4) ?

Which country has the larger population?6. Morocco (31m) or Saudi Arabia (23m)?7. Australia (19m) or Myanmar (42m)?8. Vietnam (80m) or South Africa (44m) ?9. Libya (5m) or Sri Lanka (19m)?10. Tanzania (36m) or Iraq (23m)?

Which city has the higher murder rate (per capita)?11. San Juan PR (665) or Detroit (572) ?12. Chicago (371) or Baltimore (551) ?13. Manhattan(184) or Gary, IN (556) ?14. Boston (216) or New Haven, CT (274)15. Flint, MI (384) or Dallas (315) ?16. San Francisco (170) or Durham (238)?

Overconfidence• Our confidence is not a

good indicator of how right we are.

• Belief Perseverance- maintaining a belief even after it has been proven wrong

• Belief Bias- pre-existing beliefs, ideas distort logical reasoning

Belief Bias

• Premise 1: Democrats support free speech

• Premise 2: Dictators are not Democrats

• Conclusion: Dictators do not support free speech

• Premise 1: Robins have feathers

• Premise 2: Chickens are not Robins

• Conclusion: Chickens do not have feathers

If you believe that the conclusion on the left is “more logical” than the one on the right, you are showing some signs of belief bias. They both

have the same logic error.

Framing• 90% of the population will be saved

with this medication…..or• 10% of the population will die despite

this medication.• You should consume more than two

drinks per day….or• You should not consume more than

730 drinks a year.Look at the following question

and think about how the question is worded may effect the way it is answered.

• How can businesses become more socially responsible?

• The way a problem or question is presented can drastically effect the way we view it (and its solution).

Creativity

• the ability to produce novel (new) and valuable ideas

• Components…1. Expertise2. Imaginative Thinking

Skills3. Venturesome Personality4. Intrinsic Motivation5. Creative Environment

Thinking- Insight• Wolfgang Kohler’s experiment on insight by a

chimpanzee

Divergent Thinking Convergent Thinking

• used to solve problems that have multiple solutions

• used to solve problems that have one solution

• its use requires creativity or thinking “outside the box”

• its use requires a narrow focus; the ability to correctly interpret the problem/question

• i.e. – What is the sum of 5 and 6?

• i.e. – How might someone use a brick?

• both are types of

thinking used to solve

problems / answer

questions

Artificial Intelligence

• designing computer systems to simulate human thinking and do intelligent things

• computer neural networks – computer circuits that mimic the brain’s neural cells, performing tasks such as learning to recognize visual patterns

Language

spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we

combine them to communicate meaning

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinevtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Such a cdonition is arppoiately cllaed Typoglycemia.

(Actually, no such research was carried out at Cambridge University. It all started with a letter to the New Scientist magazine from Graham Rawlinson in which he discusses his Ph.D. thesis)

In a puiltacibon of New Scnieitst you could ramdinose all the letetrs, keipeng the first two and last two the same, and reibadailty would hadrly be aftcfeed. My ansaylis did not come to much beucase the thoery at the time was for shape and senqeuce retigcionon. Saberi's work sugsegts we may have some pofrweul palrlael prsooscers at work.The resaon for this is suerly that idnetiyfing coentnt by paarllel prseocsing speeds up regnicoiton. We only need the first and last two letetrs to spot chganes in meniang.

Language can be…..

All languages contain….

Phonemes• The smallest units of

sound in a language.• English has about 44

phonemes.

Morphemes• The smallest unit of

meaningful language.• Can be words like a or

but.• Can also be parts of

words like prefixes or suffixes…”ed” at the end of a word means past tense.

How many phonemes does cat have?

Grammar• The rules of a language…

– Syntax - determines the order of words in a language (attended I school last year)

– Semantics - determines the meanings we derive from morphemes (the singers new song was a hit; they were accidentally hit by a fan).

Is this the White House or the House

White?

Japanese Syntax vs. English Syntax

• English “I am ‘First Name’ ‘Last

Name” Subject (Noun) / Verb /

Name

• Japanese• “Watashi wa ‘Last

Name’ ‘First Name’ des.”

• Subject (noun) / topic marker / Name / Verb

• Translated literally, “I Smith John am.”

Language AcquisitionReceptive vs. Productive LanguageStages of language

development…1.Babbling Stage (4 mos.)2.One Word Stage (12 mos.)3.Two-Word / Telegraphic

Speech Stage (18-24 mos.) syntax conformity begins (i.e. -

adjective before nouns in English)

4.Rapid Development (24+ mos.)– Overgeneralization

How do we learn language?

Operant Learning• B.F. Skinner

(Behaviorism) – association, imitation, reinforcement

• Baby may imitate a parent.

• If they are reinforced they keep saying the word.

• If they are punished, they stop saying the word.

Chomsky’s Theory(Nativist theory)

• We learn language too quickly for it to be through reinforcement and punishment alone.

• Language learning must be in part due to genetic predisposition.– Inborn Universal

Grammar– Language

Acquisition Device

“Genie” – The “Wild Child”

• Update on “Genie” (2008)

Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity

• The idea that language determines the way we think.

• AKA – Linguistic Determinism– The Hopi tribe has

no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past.

Thinking & Language

• Language influences (rather than determines) thought and then thought influences language.

Do animals use language?

Can Apes Really Talk?

Apes gain their vocabulary with great difficulty; children soak up dozens of new words effortlessly. Saying apes can learn language because they can sign words is like

saying humans can fly because they can jump.======================================

======Chimps can make signs or push buttons in sequence to get a reward, but pigeons can peck a sequence of keys

to get grain.======================================

======Apes can certainly use symbols meaningfully but “ Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange--” is a far cry

from the exquisite syntax of a 3 year old. To a child “you tickle and “me tickle” communicate different

ideas; a chimp uses them interchangeably.(Myers, 2004)