9- Language And Thought Flashcards
A. What is thinking?
Making sense of world
A. What do we think in terms of
Concepts and Categories
A. Define Concept
Mental representation of real thing
A. Define Category
How we group these mental representations in our minds
A. Cognitive Processes that we undergo
Categorization (A), Reasoning/ Rationalization (B), Problem Solving (C), and Decision Making (D)
A. How does thinking happen
Integrate Perception and Memory
A. 4 Theories of Thought (How do we process information at categorize it)
- Necessary (must be true to belong) and Sufficient (if true, proves it belongs to category)
- Family Resemblance- similarities, not clone though
- Prototype Theory- compare to “best” member of category
- Exemplar Theory- compare new instance with stored memories of other ones.
A. How are prototypes and exemplars processed?
- Category-specific organization = innate, no need for visual experiences.
- Prototypes: Left, Visual Cortex
- Exemplars: Right, Prefrontal Cortex
A. In what way is brain is “pre-wired” to organize inputs?
Into Living and Non-living things
A. Category-specific deficit
Inability to recognize objects that belong to a SPECIFIC category, but ability to recognize object outside category. (Categories: Names, animals, humans, tools)
Vision or Language for memory?
- Verbal> Visual
-Language Capacity is
central for memory
encoding.
Social Cognition
Make sense of oneself, the world, and our reality
(B). What is Rational Choice Theory? Do we always make decisions by it?
- Making decisions by determining how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, and then multiplying the two.
- We don’t always do this
Commonsense psychology
We are always trying to find meaning
What is the process of “Cognizing” the World (4) (AIJM)
- Attention
- Interpretation
- Judgement
- Memory (encoding)
We are ______ ________ when processing info
Motivated Tacticians
What are three ways we are Motivated Tacticians?
- Manage self-image- self-serving bias
- Conserve effort- heuristics (not algorithm)
- Accuracy- CDC
The first way is Managing Self Image. How do we do that (3)?
- Confirmation bias and Belief perseverance- look for things that agree with beliefs
- Self- serving bias
3rd is Accuracy. Explain it. Give a theory for it.
- JUDGING OTHERS- Info can be used and explained SYSTEMATICALLY
- Covariaton/Attribution theory:
“Jack and Jill”
- Consistency- Often?
- Distinctiveness- Same with all?
- Consensus- Others?
2nd Way we are MT: Conserving Effort. What are four ways we do this? Why?
- Availability heuristics: choose easiest to recall (familiarity)
- Representativeness heuristics- choose one closest to your prototype
- Ignoring base-rate information: choose frequency (1 of 100) over probability (1%)
- Conjunction fallacy- choose 2 events together over a single event
- We place way too much value on OUTCOMES
Framing events
People answer depending on how event is phrased
Sunk-cost fallacy
People decide based on what they invested in it
Ex: Basketball players: $$ vs skill
Optimism bias
People see themselves in optimistic light.
Prospect Theory
People chose risks when wanting to ward off loss (rebate), and avoid rick when want gains (lottery).
What is the Prefrontal Cortex’ Role in Decision Making?
Damage to it = riskier decisions
The values we place on ________ overshadow objective evidence
- outcomes
Conserving effort- ignore probabilities
We feel that avoiding _____ is more important than ______ gains
-avoiding: achieving
(B). T or F: Emotional info strongly influences decision making, and we are aware of it
False: We aren’t always aware of it, but it does
(C) T or F: Problem solving is a process in which new inputs (in this case, problems) are interpreted in terms of old knowledge
True- like organizing knowledge
Ill-defined problem
Not have a clear goal or well-defined solution paths
Well-defined problem
Clear goals and solution paths
What processes do we use to solve problems?
Means-ends analysis
Analogical problem solving
What is this means-ends analysis?
Steps to reduce the differences between the current situation and the desired goal
What’s analogical problem solving?
Solve a problem by fining how a similar problem was solved.
- Tumor and bridge example
All problems are solved in an ____ manner. Even insightful/creative solutions (unconscious).
incremental
(C). What is functional fixedness
Constricts our thinking because we perceive the functions of certain objects as unchanging
What is reasoning?
Organizing info or beliefs in order to reach conclusions.
T or F: Logic is a tool for evaluating reasoning
True
Practical reasoning vs. Theoretical reasoning
P= figuring out what to do, or reasoning directed toward action.
- Means-ends
analysis
is an example
T= (aka discursive reasoning) is reasoning directed toward arriving at a belief.
Cross cultural studies show that competency on reasoning tests depends on ________ rather than _______.
understanding; ability
Belief Bias is
People accept conclusions depending on believably rather than validity.
An example of this belief bias is shown through syllogistic reasoning, which is
Assesses whether a conclusion follows from two statements that are assumed to be true (or is it believability).
Do people find practical or theoretical reasoning more difficult?
Theoretical- evaluating truth of arguments
