ch. 7 language + intelligence Flashcards
cognition
mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge
thinking
manipulating mental representations of information to draw inferences and conclusions
mental images
mental representation of objects/events that aren’t physically present (not only visual senses)
concepts
mental category formed to group objects/events that share similar features
formal concept
concepts formed by learning the rules/features of a particular concept
natural concept
concepts formed by everyday experience, the rules of the concept aren’t clearly defined
prototype
the best instance of a particular concept
prototype theory of classifications
objects are put into concepts by comparing them to the prototype (rather than seeing if it fits the rules)
exemplars
memories of individual instances of a concept, an object is compared to multiple items not just the prototype
problem-solving
thinking/behavior directed towards a not readily available goal
trail and error
try a variety of solutions to eliminate those that don’t work, good for limited range of possible solutions
algorithm
step-by-step procedure that always produces the correct solution (eg math formulas)
heuristic
general rule-of-thumb strategy that only might work, lowers the number of possible solutions (eg break a problem into subgoals, or work backwards from a goal)
insight
a solution arrives in a sudden realization, rarely due to the conscious manipulation of concepts
intuition
coming to a conclusion without conscious awareness of the thought process involved
2 stage model of intuition
intuition includes the guiding stage (unconscious perception of a pattern of information) and an integrative stage (the representation of the pattern become conscious)
intuitive hunch
new idea integrates new information with existing knowledge from long term memory
functional fixedness
interferes with problem-solving, only view objects as functioning in the usual way, prevents seeing full range of objects use
mental set
interferes with problem-solving, the tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that worked before
single-feature model
base decisions on a single feature to simplify the choice among many alternatives, good for minor decisions
additive model
generate a list of important factors, then rate each alternative on an arbitrary scale, add up scores- highest is the winner
elimination-by-aspects model
evaluate all alternatives 1 characteristic at a time and eliminate the choices without that characteristic
availability heuristic
estimate the likelihood of an event based on other instances of the event in memory
representativeness heuristic
estimate events likelihood by comparing how similar it its essential features are to that events prototype
language
system for combining arbitrary symbols to produce meaningful statements
belief-bias effect
obstacle to logical thinking, people only accept evidence that conforms to their beliefs
confirmation-bias effect
obstacle to logical thinking, search for information that confirms a belief
fallacy of positive instances
obstacle to logical thinking, the tendency to remember uncommon events (coincidences) that confirm beliefs
overestimation effect
obstacle to logical thinking, overestimation of the rarity of an event
symbols
sounds, written words, formalized gestures (ASL) required for language, meaning is shared by others who speak the same language
syntax
set or rules for combining words, unaware of rules but its clear when their violated
generative
an infinite number of new phrases can be generated
displacement
can communicate meaningfully about ideas/objects not physically present
whortan hypothesis
linguistic relativity hypothesis, differences among languages cause different thought processes
bilingualism
fluency in 2 or more languages, cognitive benefits (eg attention control, taking perspectives of others in social situations)
animal cognition
comparative cognition, study aspects of animal behavior (eg can acquire some language aspects)
intelligence
capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment
Alfred Binet
test for French government focused on elementary mental abilities (eg memory and attention) that you didn’t learn in school
mental age
mental level differs from a childs chronological age
Lewis Terman
Standford-Binet Intelligence Test: intelligence quotient (IQ), mental age/chronological age * 100, spread by the army alpha (written) and beta (oral) tests
David Wechsler
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), combined scores of performance score (nonverbal subjects) and verbal score, believe intelligence involved many mental abilities
achievement tests
measure knowledge in a particular area
aptitude test
assess capacity to benefit from education, predict ability to learn certain types of information
3 requirements of a scientifically acceptable test
standardization, reliability, validity
standardization
tests are given to a large number of subjects of a particular group, the scores of the group determine the standards/norm (usually normal curve)
reliability
consistently produces similar scores on different occasions
validity
test measures what its supposed to
Charles Spearman
general mental capacity is the core of many different mental abilities, g factor
general intelligence (g factor)
responsible for overall performance on tests of mental ability, intelligence is a single measure of general cognitive ability, therefore IQ is accurate
Louis L. Thurstone
intelligence is 7 primary mental abilities, the g factor is the overall average of the 7 and is less important
Howard Gardner
different mental abilities biologically distinct and controlled by different brain regions, (like Thurstone) mental abilities independent of each other, therefore can’t be measured as 1 intelligence, an intelligence is the ability to solve problems or create products
Robert Sternberg
intelligence is a broad quality, triarchic theory of intelligence
triarchic theory of intelligence
successful intelligence involves analytic (learn to solve problems, creative (deal with new situation by drawing existing skills), and practical (adapt to environment) intelligence
heritability
percent variation in a population due to heredity, accepted heritability estimate is 50% (50% of differences in IQ scores are due to genetics)
Flynn Effect
the general improvement in average IQ scores in different cultures/countries, showed importance of environment on IQ
Claude Steele’s stereotype threat
members of a group that are aware of a negative stereotype about their group will fear they will be judged in terms of that stereotype or confirm that stereotype
stereotype lift
awareness of positive expectations can improve task performance
