chapter 9 Flashcards
cognition
all mental activities assoicated with thinking, knowing, remebering, and communication
metacognition
cognition about our cognition; keeping track of and evaluating and our mental processes
concepts
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
-similar to schema
prototype
mental image or best example of a category
-matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories
-helps make decisions
algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
-very time consuming
-step by step procedure
-ex: walk and look through every shelf to find an octopus
heuristics
a simple thinking strategy-a mental shortcut-that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently
-more speedier, but also more error prone
insight
a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrats with strategy-based solutions
-not strategy-based solution but rather a sudden flash of inspiration that solves a problem
-Aha moment!
confirmation bias
tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
-predisposes us to verify rather than challenge our hypothesis
-ex: someone does something bad and seeing the good in it
mental set
tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
-example of fixation
intuition
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
-use unconscious knowledge
representative heuristic
judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information
-based on streotypes
availability heuristic
judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events as common
overconfidence
tendency to be more confident that correct- to overestimate accuracy of our beliefs and judgements
belief preseverance
clinging to one’s initial beliefs after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
-pay attention to info we agree to and ignore evidence that proves that the belief is wrong
Framing
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments
intuition is what?
-implicit knowledge
-adaptive, enabling quick reactions
-huge (constantly affect our judgements
creativity
the ability to produce new and valuable ideas
-supported by: ability to learn, intelligence, and working memory
convergent thinking
narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
-1 solution
divergent thinking
expands the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions
-multiple solutions
Robert Sternberg proposed
5 ingredients to creativity:
1. Expertise (well developed knowledge; min. of 10 years)
2. imaginative thinking (divergent thinker)
3. Venturesome personality (determined personality; wants new experiences; challenges)
4. Intrinsic motivation (motivated by what you want to do)
5. creative environment (open office format, bean bags, free snacks)
Why do we think animals have cognitive skills?
-animals use concepts, numbers, and tools
-transmit learning from one generation to the next
-show insight, self-awareness, altruism, cooperation, and grief
Language
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
-used to transmit knowledge from one generation to the next
Phonemes
the smallest distinctive sound units in a language
-ex: sounding out words
Morpheme
smallest language units that carry meaning
-combine two or more phonemes
-few morpheme are phonemes
Grammar
language’s set of rules that enable people to communicate
semantics
deriving meaning from sounds
syntax
ordering words into sentences
Productive language: Babbling stage
-begins at 4 months
-spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language
Productive language: One-word stage
-from about age 1 to 2
-child speaks mostly in single words
Productive language: two-word stage
-beginning at about age 2
-a child speaks mostly in two-word statements
-use telegraphic speech
telegraphic speech
-child speaks like a telegram using mostly nouns and verbs
-ex: “go car”
Receptive language
infants ability to understand what is said to them begins around 4 months
production language
infants ability to produce words begins around 10 months
Critical periods
childhood is a critical period for mastering certain aspects of language
deafness and language developement
-children born to hearing, nonsigning parents typically do not experience language during their early years
-natively deaf children who learn signing after age 9 do not learn sign language, master basic words, or become as fluent as native singers
-late learners show less right hemisphere brain activity in areas related to sign language
aphasia
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding)
Broca’s area
-frontal lobe, left hemisphere
-helps control language expression by directing the muscle movements involved in speech
wernicke’s area
-controls language reception
-brain area involved in language comprehension and expression
-in left temporal lobe
animal language processing
-some have the basic language skill
-can learn difference between words and nonwords
-sound different alarm cries for different predators
Linguistic determinism
whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think
-people think differently in different languages
-bilingual parents often switch languages to express emotions
-bilingual children exhibit enhanced social skills by being better able to shift to understand another’s perspective
linguistic relativism
the idea that language influences the way we think
