thinking and language Flashcards
cognition
the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses
concepts
a verbal or written understanding of abstract thought
prototypes
a mental representation of the idealized form of an object or concept (a mental image or best example of a category)
algorithms
a methodical, logical rule of procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
heuristics
mental shortcuts that allow people to make fast decisions
when you see a person with their hood up in a dark alley, and you decide to subtly walk faster, this is
heuristics
insight
when a solution to a problem presents itself quickly and without warning (in a cartoon when the character can’t find their way out of a situation, but then a lightbulb lights up above their head)
confirmation bias
people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs
fixation
having attachments to people or things that persist from childhood to adulthood
mental set
a tendency to only see solutions that have worked in the past
functional fixedness
a cognitive bias that limits a person to use an object only in the way it’s traditionally used
convergent thinking
a type of thinking that focuses on coming up with the single, well established answer to a problem
divergent thinking
thinking outside the box and tendency to involve the free flow of concepts and spontaneous ideas
representativeness heuristic
occurs when we estimate the probability of an event based on how similar it’s to a known situation (stereotype)
thinking that because someone is wearing a suit and tie and carrying a brief case, that they’re a lawyer because they fit the “typical” lawyer category
representativeness heuristic
availability heuristic
occurs when we judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily we can recall similar events
overconfidence
the tendency to overestimate our knowledge and abilities in a certain area
belief bias
a cognitive bias in which a person judges the conclusion of an argument based on their prior knowledge and existing beliefs rather than on the validity or invalidity of the argument itself
intuition
a hunch or feeling in your gut when something is right or wrong
framing
distorts our decisions and judgments based on how information is presented or “framed”
phonemes
the smallest unit of sound that makes a meaningful difference in language. They correspond to the sounds associated with the letters of the alphabet
these can help us distinguish the difference between “pat”, “bat”, and “hat”
phonemes
morphemes
are the smallest unit of meaning in an language (the word incoming has three morphemes, “in”, “come”, “ing”)
grammar
the study of rules governing the use of an language
semantics
the meaning and interpretation of words, signs, and sentence structure
syntax
the set of rules that describes how words and phrases in a language are arranged into grammatical sentences
receptive language
the ability to understand and comprehend spoken language that you hear or read (a child’s ability to understand the direction of “putting on the coat”)
productive language
the ability to communicate in a language with skills like writing and speaking
babbling stage
children spontaneously utter different sounds
holophrastic stage
the one word stage is the second major phase in the child’s language acquisition process. It comes after the babbling stage and is characterized by the use of single words
telegraphic speech
a form of communication consisting of simple two word long sentences
overgeneralization
a cognitive distortion where a person assumes an experience from one event will apply to other events
operant learning
occurs when behavior changes as a function of its consequences (positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment)
association
a brain connection made between various stimuli, such as words, images, sounds, and emotions
imitation
the process of copying the behavior of another person, group, or object intentionally or unintentionally
reinforcement
the use of providing something or taking it away to achieve a desired behavior
inborn universal grammar
all children are born with an innate ability to acquire, develop, and understand language
critical period
an early stage in life where a child is especially open to specific learning, emotional, or socializing experiences that occur as part of normal development and will not reoccur at a later stage
aphasia
a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension
broca’s area
region of the brain that contains neurons involved in speech function
wernicke’s area
region of the brain that contains motor neurons involved in the comprehension of speech
angular gyrus
the part of the brain associated with complex language functions (reading, writing)
linguistic determinism
the theory that differences in languages and their structures determine how people think and interact with the world around them
