2 Flashcards
Michael Chandler
aging = bigger ability to carry out long term plans for their futures.
Controlled and Automatic Processing
C: is effortful and relies on a limited capacity system
A: seems effortless.
Cognitive Control
the ability to direct thought in accord with one’s intentions.
Executive Function
the brain’s ability to control and manage the mental processing of information
Dysexecutive Syndrome
impairments in the ability to control and direct mental activities
2 Types of Problem solving
- Formal PS skills: math.
- Ill-defined problems: messy roommates
Algorithm
a PS strategy that always leads to a solution.
Heuristics
a shortcut thinking strategy. - working backwards, for making sub-goals involves dividing a larger problem into smaller ones, and searching for analogies, which involves recalling similar problems that you have encountered.
George de Mestral
Velcro
Problems in PS
mental set: tendency to use PS strategies that have worked in the past.
Functional Fixedness:
A tenancy to view objects as having only one function
Confirmation Bias
tendency to look for information that meets our expectations.
Decision Making
evaluating and choosing from among options.
Representativeness Heuristic: eng v law
the assumption that individuals share characteristics of the category of which they are a member. - often ignores other relative data. Amos Tversky,a dn Danny Kahnman: lawyers v engineers.
Availability Heuristic:
refers to the likelihood that we will judge an event as more common if it is easier to think about. Judging easily-recalled events as more common. -relies on more recent memories.
Rational Decision Making
logic and probability. Choosing a new phone. What do you take into consideration? - tend to be based on assumptions.
Bounded Rationality 3
the fact that in many situations, our ability to make clear rational decisions is limited or “bounded” by things like:
1.lack of information
2.time constraints
3.emotions attached to aspects of the problem we are trying to solve.
Emotion based decision making:
Danny Kahnman - people often rely heavily on emotions and on gut instinct.
Tversky and Kahnman: outbreak: saves v kills lingo
save 200/kill 400, or 1/3 live, 2/3 die. People chose life over death, even if the answers/results were the same.
Meta cognition
thinking about one’s own thoughts. -in frontal cortex, and hippocampus. - damage can cause amnesia(memory difficulty) Self-ref: thinking about own identities, our influence on others, and self worth. Theory of Mind: awareness of others thoughts devs around 2-3 y/o. + thinking of what others are thinking by watching their actions or hearing about said actions. Lying starts at around age 3. But is universal around age 5.
How we define intelligence4 plus limitations
❖“ability to learn(from experience)”, “think abstractly” “carry out a plan” “creative solutions to novel situations”
• Limitations
– Most rely on situational descriptions, or abstract concepts
– Testing paradigms generally do not match conceptual definition
❑Predetermined responses, pattern recognition, memory
– Treated as a stable trait, but tests are constantly altered
❑Paradox: Intelligence is stable, but people are getting smarter?
Galton
influenced by Darwin’s natural selection
• “Hereditary Genius”: “innate” tendencies in talented families
– No relationship to environment
– physiological measurements of discrimination – Eugenics, origin of genetic approach
• “Survival of the fittest”
– “fit” referred to physiology (NOT relationship to
environment)
Reinforced racist/sexist concepts of intelligence
First psychometric approach (i.e. direct measurement)
Intelligence History:
Biased philosophical background
2. Binet: create an assessment of school success (“learning potential”)
• Valid measure
– Mental Age: operationalization of reasoning, comprehension, and judgment
• First standardized approach
– Comparison to achievement group
• functional measures
– Aptitude Test: probability of achievement given a specific operationalized goal; competency.
❑Predictive
– Achievement Test: measuring success of learning on a specific task; ability.
❑Assessment
Terman: Stanford-Binet
Binet’s test to measure “inherited intelligence” • extended to adults
– Repurposing a test for a different goal (see validity) 4. Stern: Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
• mathematically standardized descriptor – allow for comparison across groups
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory:
- Internal: Analytic: mental components used in solving a problem
• well-defined problems with one conclusive answer –Academic settings, logic (mathematic deductions) - External: Creative: the ability to transfer knowledge
-Manipulate information in unique/novel situations
-you need analytical to find ways to be creative
-Practical skills to make something and to justify your work
-Wisdom to know what you’re creating in factual and real - Experiential: Practical: ability to make use of contextual
• Everyday tasks that have multiple solutions –environment, experience, common sense
• Tacit Knowledge: inferred strategies for “success” – action oriented knowledge
❑Limitation: related to school-related cognitive functions such as reading, writing, test-taking, homework completion
-tacit knowledge: the ability to make use of what is going on in your environment.
-practical ways to think of idea and a way to understand what is happening in your environment
-tacit knowledge: how you work with other individuals.
Theoretical Issues:
❖How do we define intelligence? • Operationalization
• Histology
❖How do we measure intelligence? • Psychometric Approach
❖What are the different kinds of Psychometrics we use? • “g”
• Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory • WAIS
❖What are the limitations of psychometrics? • Nature and Nurture
Validity
❖The extent to which a test measures what it’s
supposed to
• Content Validity refers to criterion (the construct you are interested in)
– Achievement tests
• Predictive Validity refers to future behaviour (success)
– Aptitude Tests
Cautions:
▪ Correlation is not causation
▪ restricted ranges
▪ assumes stability
subjective operationalizations
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
Vocab available for objects and concepts in a lang influences how speakers of that language think about them. Language influences thinking. The more words we have available to us related to a single concept, the more complex and detailed our thoughts are about that idea or object.
