Language, Thought, and Intelligence Flashcards
Cognitive Psychology
an area of psychology that studies thought and language as well as intelligence
Cognition
is thinking, and it encompasses the processes associated with perception, knowledge, problem solving, judgement, language, and memory
Concepts
files in the brain’s “file cabinet”: categories or groupings of linguistic information, images, ideas, or memories
Natural Concept
concept that you create and develop through your own experiences
Artificial Concept
a concept that is defined by a specific set of characteristics ie concept of a square
Schemata
a mental construct consisting of a cluster of related concepts- work as a method of organizing information efficiently in the brain
Role Schema
makes assumptions about how individuals in certain roles will behave
Event Schema aka Cognitive Script
set of behaviors that can feel like a routine difficult to change
Prototype
best example or representative of a concept ie category of civil disobedience, a prototype could be Rosa Parks
Language
is a communication system that involves using words and systematic rules to organize those words to transmit information from one individual to another; (possibly) uniquely human form of communication; not all communication is language (for example some species communicate through posture, movement, odor, etc)
Lexicon
words in a given language
Phoneme
basic unit of sound; different languages have different phonoemes
Morpheme
smallest units of language that convey some type of meaning
Grammar
set of rules used to convey meaning through the use of lexicon
Semantics
process by which we derive meaning from morphemes and words
Syntax
the way words are organized into sentences
Language Development: Why is it easier for children to learn language than adults?
Skinner: proposed that we learn language through reinforcement
Chompsky: Criticized behavioral approach and asserted that mechanisms for language learning are biologically determined- we are born with a predisposition to learning language, and there is a critical period for language acquisition
What are the problem solving strategies?
trial and error, algorithm, heuristic
Trial and Error
Ex Printer Wont Print) restart printer, restart wifi, check for paper jam etc
Algorithm
step-by-step problem solving formula (consult repair section of instruction manual)
Heuristic
general problem solving framework; work backwards; break task into steps
Mental Set
when you persist in approaching a problem in a way that has worked in the past but is clearly not working now
Functional Fixedness
type of mental set where you cannot perceive an object being used for something other than what it was designed for
Anchoring Bias
a focus on one piece of information when making a decision or solving a problem