Thinking, Language, and Intelligence 1 Flashcards
thinking
aka cognition
mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is processing information—organizing it, understanding it, and communicating it to others
includes memory
more than stream of consciousness, also images
mental images
representations that stand in for objects or events and have a picture like quality
used in thought process
kosslyn study
participants look at map of desert island, then start at one place and look for another place
greater physical distance on map between two locations, longer it took participants to scan image for second location
kosslyn second study
ask if frogs have lips and stubby tail, most people visualize frog then rotate image and zoom in
important research thing
tend to engage mental images in our mind much like we engage or interact with physical objects, rotating object in mind takes time not instantaneous
actual image vs mental image brain
actual: info goes from eyes to visual cortex of occipital lobe, processed by other areas of the cortex that compare info to info already in memory
mental: areas of cortex associated with stored knowledge send info to visual cortex, where image is perceived in mind’s eye
PET scans show
areas of visual cortex activated during process of forming image, evidence for role of visual cortex in mental imagery
fMRI scans show
overlap occurs in brain areas activated during visual mental imagery tasks as compared to actual tasks involving visual perception
activity in frontal cortex, temporal lobes, parietal lobes, occipital lobes
frontal cortex, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, for fMRI card
cognitive control, memory, attention and spatial memory, visual processing
activity for mental vs visual imagery
more activity in visual cortex during perception than in imagery, sensory input activates area more strongly than memory input
areas activated during visual imagery subset of those activated during visual perception
most similarity in frontal and parietal regions rather than temporal and occipital regions
overlap
not in temporal and occipital regions (memory and vision functions) but more overlap in visual nature of tasks
concepts
ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities
use concepts to think about objects or events without having to think about all the specific examples of the category
tool in problem solving
concepts can also
contain identification of new objects
formal concepts
rigid/strict definitions
concepts defined by specific rules or features
math full of these, ex square
concept must fit very specific features to be considered true example
natural concept
fuzzy concepts that people form not as a result of a strict set of rules, but rather as the result of experiences with these concepts in the real world
important in helping people understand their surroundings in a less structured manner than school-taught formal concepts, form basis for interpreting those surroundings and the events that may occur in everyday life
prototype
concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept
ex apple for fruit
different prototypes for different exposure, experiences, cultures, places
how do prototypes affect thinking
people look at potential examples of a concept and and compare them to the prototype to see how well they match
how identify objects
combination of cognitive processes including concepts, prototypes, and mental images
schema
mental generalizations about objects, places, events, and people
script
a kind of schema that involves a familiar sequence of activities
problem solving
type of thinking that people engage in every day and in many different situations
problem solving bold
occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways
aspect of decision making
decision making
identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives
mechanical solution
aka trial and error
trying one solution after another until finding one that works
can involve solving by rote
rote
learned set rules
types of problem solving
trial and error (mechanical solution), algorithm, heuristics, insight
algorithm
specific, step by step procedures for solving certain types of problems
will always result in a correct solution if there is one
can be very long and tedious to get right answer
heuristic
rule of thumb
a simple rule that is intended to apply to many situations
mental shortcut
educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down the possible solutions for a problem
types of heuristics for problem solving
representativeness heuristic, availability heuristic, working backwards
representativeness heuristic
used for categorizing objects and simply assumes that any object or person that shares characteristics with the members of a particular category is also a member of that category
can create and sustain stereotypes
availability heuristic
based on estimation of frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to recall relevant information from memory or how easy it is to think of related examples
can create and sustain stereotypes
tversky and kahneman
ask which think is more common, K as first or third letter
69% say first letter but third more common
example of availability heuristic
working backward
works most of the time
subgoals
smaller goals within a big goal
makes goal easier to attain
insight
kohler and sultan the chimp
aha moment, sudden and rapid solution
may be similar problem to one have already seen
usually based on reorganization of information
functional fixedness
problem solving difficulty
involves thinking about objects only in terms of their typical uses
alton brown has a book about multitaskers aka tools that can become kitchen utensils
is a kind of mental set
mental set
the tendency for people to persist in using problem solving patterns that have worked for them in the past
people are hesitant/unable to think of other ways to try to solve the problem
confirmation bias
tendency to search for evidence that fits one’s beliefs while ignoring any evidence to the contrary
similar to mental set except set is a belief rather than a method of solving problems
framing
how a question of problem is worded
affects response or solution`
creativity
coming up with entirely new ways of looking at the problem or unusual, inventive solutions
solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways
can be stimulated
creative people are less prone to common barriers of problem solving
convergent thinking
problem is seen as having only one answer and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to (converge on) that single answer by using previous knowledge and logic
focuses on common features
works well for routine problem solving but may be of little use when more creative solution is needed
divergent thinking
reverse of convergent thinking
person starts at one point and comes up with many different, or divergent, ideas or possibilities based on that point
has been attributed to creativity and intelligence
most productive divergent thinking occurs
when person is doing some task or activity that is more or less automatic because tasks take up some attention processes, leaving remainder for creative thinking
divergent thinkers often make links at level of consciousness just below alert awareness so ideas can flow freely without being censored by higher mental processes
how to stimulate divergent thinking
brainstorming, keeping a journal, free writing, mind or subject mapping
problems with problem solving and decision making
functional fixedness, mental sets, confirmation bias
csikszentmihalyi creativity findings
- creative people usually have a broad range of knowledge about a lot of subjects and are good at using mental imagery
- creative people aren’t afraid to be different—more open to new experiences, tend to have more vivid dreams and daydreams
- creative people value their independence
- creative people are often unconventional in their work, but not otherwise
