Lec. 17 (thinking + language) Flashcards
the MIND portion of the process of thinking (stimulus –> the mind –> response) is covered by what kind of psych?
cognitive psych
the study of mental processes
cognitive psychology
what mental process does cognitive psych cover (5)?
- attention + memory
- CONCEPTS
- problem solving
- decision making
the mind is an _______ ______ (“computer”)
information processor
external information is “recoded” into symbols called what?
mental representations
our mind __________ these mental representations – this is “thinking”
manipulates
we organize CONCEPTS into _______ ________
category hierarchies
hierarchies = outlines = folders of info = ____
schemas
T/F: manipulating concepts is EASIER than minpulating raw data
true
concepts = ________
schemas
fundamental to our ability to THINK and make sense of the world
concepts
concepts influence _______
memory
T/F: if something is INCONSISTENT with a prototype, we are less likely to remember is + are slower to think about
true!
best example of what a category represents (ex: lab for dogs); comes to mind the most quickly
prototype
concepts are organized by __________, which is aka ____________
meaning; semantically
concepts allow your mind to work _______
quickly
problem solving strategies (4):
- trial and error
- algorithms
- heuristics (intuition)
- insight
problem solving strategy: “recipe’ for how to solve a problem
algorithms
problem solving strategy: use of RULES of THUMB; what humans use to solve MOST problems; fastest way to problem solve but can lead to error
heuristics (intuition)
problem solving strategy: “aha” moments
insight
trial and error + algorithms are ________ reasoning and heuristics + insight are _______
formal; informal
formal reasoning is more _____ intensive than informal
labor
exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a solution; computers use these
algorithms
the process of evaluating a conclusion, theory, or course of action on the basis of the BELIEVABILITY of the evidence – not necessarily based on the truth of the evidencd
informal reasoning
time-saving mental short-cuts used in reasoning; use them more bc they’re easy
heuristics
conclusions about whether something belongs in a certain class are based on how SIMILAR it is to other items in that class (ex: there are many many more sale-persons than male librarians)
representativeness heuristic
with representativeness heuristics, you ignore info about ________ ________
base rates
faulty reasoning inferring that a conjunction is more probable, or likely, than just one of its conjuncts
conjunction fallacy
a false belief that random processes will correct themselves; a mistaken belief about sequences of random events. Observing, for example, a long run of “black” on the roulette wheel leads to an expectation that “red” is now more likely to occur on the next trial
gamblers fallacy
example of gamblers fallacy =
flip coins 5 times and get HHHHH –> ppl think that heads is more likely than tails
overlap of two options/events
conjunction
the likelihood or an event in the correctness of a hypothesis is judged by HOW EASY IT IS to think of that event or hypothesis; misperceive LOW-likelihood events as high likelihood bc you see or hear about them a lot; it comes to mind easily; its “available” in your mind
availability heuristic
example of availability heuristic =
shark attacks
the primary means through which we communicate our thoughts to others
language
the smallest unit of sound that affects the meaning of speech
phoneme
the smallest unit of language that has meaning
morphemes
units of language composed of one or more morphemes
words
th, a, b, o, i, h, i, t
phonemes
hit, boy, the, ball
words or morphemes
stages of learning language (3):
1) babbling stage
2) one-word stage
3) two-word stage
stage of learning language: beginning at 4 months, the infant spontaneously utters various sounds, like ah-goo
babbling stage
T/F: babbling is an imitation of adult speech
FALSE (its not!!)
stage of learning language: beginning at or around his/her first birthday, a child starts to speak one word at a time; the word doggy may mean look at the dog out there
one-word stage
stage of learning language: before the 2nd year, two word-sentences
two-word stage
the form of speech now spoken at the two-word stage is called ________ _________
telegraphic speech
behaviorists/operant learning explain language development to be due to ________, _________, and _________
association, imitation, and reinforcement
errors in behaviorist explanation of lang. development (2):
- children generate phrases + sentences they have never heard before (no imitation or association)
- overgeneralization errors (adding s to end of words) doesn’t fit
suggested that the rate of language acquisition is so fast that it cannot be explained through learning principles, and thus most of it is INBORN
Inborn Universal Grammar
who came up with Inborn Universal Grammar
Chomsky
evidence to support Inborn Universal Grammar (2) =
genetic dysphasia + critical periods in lang. dev.
the time during which a given behavior is especially susceptible to, and indeed requires, specific environmental influences to develop normally
critical period
regarding critical periods, children never exposed to any language (spoken or signed) by about age _____ gradually lose their ability to master any language
7
T/F: learning new language gets easier with age
false (gets harder)
impairments in language speaking or understanding
aphasias
types of aphasias (2):
- broca’s aphasia
- wernicke’s aphasia
type of aphasia: can’t express language but can understand
broca’s aphasia
type of aphasia: can speak but not coherently, understanding impaired too
wernicke’s aphasia
brain pathway of language
- visual cortex
- angular gyrus
- wernicke’s area
- broca’s area
- motor cortex
brain pathway of language: receives written words as visual stimulation
visual cortex
brain pathway of language: transforms visual representations into an auditory code
angular gyrus
brain pathway of language: interprets auditory code
wernicke’s area
brain pathway of language: controls speech muscles via the motor cortex
broca’s area
brain pathway of language: word is pronounced
motor cortex
