Chapter 8 Flashcards
Thinking
mental activity/processing information; includes learning, remembering, perceiving, communicating, believing, deciding
Cognitive economy
investing as little mental energy as possible unless its necessary to do more, referred to as fast and frugal thinking
thin slicing
our ability to extract useful information from small bits of behaviour
cognitive bias
systematic error in thinking
what is the representative heuristic and how can it lead to cognitive bias
heuristic that judges the probability of an event by its superficial similarity to a prototype (estimating the likelihood of an event based on past experience). This can lead to overgeneralizations due to our tendency to be poor at considering base rates(base rate neglect). an example of the representative heuristic is stereotyping, demonstrated using thought experiments (what do you think about william)
what is the availability heuristic and how can it lead to cognitive bias
estimating the likelihood of an occurance based on the ease with which it comes to mind, can mislead us as our experiences can be biased
hindsight bias
our tendency to overestimate how accurately we could have predicted something happening once we know the outcome, “I knew it all along” effect.
framing
the way a question is worded can influence the decisions people make.
Top-down processing
filling in the gaps of missing information using experience and background knowledge
bottom up processing
processing from info received, constructing meaning by building up understanding through experience
concept
our general knowledge about objects, actions, and things that share core properties, an example of top-down processing
schema
concepts we’ve stored in memory about how certain actions, objects, and ideas relate to each other, an example of top-down processing
system 1 thinking
rapid and intuitive, below concious awareness
system 2 thinking
slow and analytical, deliberate thinking
framing
the way a question is worded can influence the decisions people make
what is problem solving and what are the 2 approaches?
generating a cognitive strategy to accomplish a goal, the 2 approached are heuristics and algorithms
algorithm aproach to problem solving
step-by-step procedures for solving problems; requires analysis, is slow, rigid and inflexible
heuristic approach to problem solving
mental shortcuts; relying on past experiences/going with our gut
analogies
can solve problems by drawing similarities from 2 different situations
paralysis by analysis/ decision fatigue
brain becomes confused/overwhelmed by excessive information
neuroeconomics
study of how the brain works when making financial decisions, helps us understand why decision making goes wrong sometimes for some people
what are the 3 obstacles to problem solving
salience of surface similarities, mental sets, and functional fixedness
salience of surface similarities
how attention grabbing something is, we tend to focus on the superficial aspects of a problem, and try to solve it the same way we would solve problems with similar characteristics
mental sets
getting stuck following a strategy that has worked in the past, makes it difficult to think of alternative strategies
functional fixedness
we get stuck thinking that an object can only be used for its intended purpose
linguistic determinism
our language defines our thinking
linguistic relativity
view that characteristics of language shape out thought processes but don’t define our thinking
problem solving
generating a cognitive strategy to accomplish a goal
computer analogy of the model of the mind
the brains algorithms are like preprogrammed abilities, brain runs data through “software” program and spits out answers
embodied model of the mind
out thoughts are not simply controlled by our brains, external factors such as our bodies and environments shape out thinking
4 levels of language analysis
1.phonemes
2.morphemes
3.syntax
4.extralinguistic information
phonemes
the sound of language
morphemes
the smallest unit of meaningful speech ex. re, ish, un,
syntax
grammatical rules governing how we compose words into meaningful strings
extralinguistic information
elements of communication that aren’t a part of language but are crucial to interpreting it, ex. facial expressions, tone
semantics
meaning derived from words and sentences
dialect
language variations used by a group of people who share geographical proximity or ethnic background
sound symbolism/onomatopeia
certain speech sounds are associated with particular meanings
ex. quack/ding
one word stage
when children use one word to convey entire thoughts
over-extension
when a child uses a word for too many things, ex. every 4-legged furry animal is a dog
under-extension
when a child doesn’t use a word for enough cases, ex. their family cat is a kitty but not other cats
metalinguistic insight
awareness of how language is structured and used; bilingual kids has higher meta-linguistic insight
homesign
when deaf children make up their own signs when born to hearing parents
Imitation theory of language acquisition
children learn by imitating
generative language
allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created by combining words in different ways
generative/nativist account of language acquisition
Chomsky; children come into the world with some basic knowledge of how language works
language acquisition device
nativist account; hypothetical organ in the brain where knowledge of syntax resides
social pragmatics theory of language acquisition
children use context of conversation to infer its topic
general cognitive processing theory of language acquisition
children’s ability to learn language results from general skills that they apply across a variety of activities; children learn language from the ability to perceive, learn, and recognize patterns
whole word recognition
readin strategy that involves identifying common words based on appearance without having to sound them out
phonetic decomposition
readin strategy that involves sounding out words
anomatopoeia
imitating sounds
high-amplitude sucking procedure
technique used to test sound distinguishing abilities in infants
