Thinking, Language, and Intelligence 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

thinking

A

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

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2
Q

mental images

A

representations that stand in for objects or events and have a picture like quality
used in thought process

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3
Q

kosslyn study

A

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

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4
Q

kosslyn second study

A

ask if frogs have lips and stubby tail, most people visualize frog then rotate image and zoom in

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5
Q

important research thing

A

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

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6
Q

actual image vs mental image brain

A

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

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7
Q

PET scans show

A

areas of visual cortex activated during process of forming image, evidence for role of visual cortex in mental imagery

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8
Q

fMRI scans show

A

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

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9
Q

frontal cortex, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, for fMRI card

A

cognitive control, memory, attention and spatial memory, visual processing

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10
Q

activity for mental vs visual imagery

A

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

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11
Q

overlap

A

not in temporal and occipital regions (memory and vision functions) but more overlap in visual nature of tasks

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12
Q

concepts

A

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

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13
Q

concepts can also

A

contain identification of new objects

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14
Q

formal concepts

A

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

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15
Q

natural concept

A

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

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16
Q

prototype

A

concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept
ex apple for fruit
different prototypes for different exposure, experiences, cultures, places

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17
Q

how do prototypes affect thinking

A

people look at potential examples of a concept and and compare them to the prototype to see how well they match

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18
Q

how identify objects

A

combination of cognitive processes including concepts, prototypes, and mental images

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19
Q

schema

A

mental generalizations about objects, places, events, and people

20
Q

script

A

a kind of schema that involves a familiar sequence of activities

21
Q

problem solving

A

type of thinking that people engage in every day and in many different situations

22
Q

problem solving bold

A

occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways
aspect of decision making

23
Q

decision making

A

identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives

24
Q

mechanical solution

A

aka trial and error
trying one solution after another until finding one that works
can involve solving by rote

25
Q

rote

A

learned set rules

26
Q

types of problem solving

A

trial and error (mechanical solution), algorithm, heuristics, insight

27
Q

algorithm

A

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

28
Q

heuristic

A

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

29
Q

types of heuristics for problem solving

A

representativeness heuristic, availability heuristic, working backwards

30
Q

representativeness heuristic

A

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

31
Q

availability heuristic

A

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

32
Q

tversky and kahneman

A

ask which think is more common, K as first or third letter
69% say first letter but third more common
example of availability heuristic

33
Q

working backward

A

works most of the time

34
Q

subgoals

A

smaller goals within a big goal

makes goal easier to attain

35
Q

insight

A

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

36
Q

functional fixedness

A

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

37
Q

mental set

A

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

38
Q

confirmation bias

A

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

39
Q

framing

A

how a question of problem is worded

affects response or solution`

40
Q

creativity

A

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

41
Q

convergent thinking

A

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

42
Q

divergent thinking

A

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

43
Q

most productive divergent thinking occurs

A

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

44
Q

how to stimulate divergent thinking

A

brainstorming, keeping a journal, free writing, mind or subject mapping

45
Q

problems with problem solving and decision making

A

functional fixedness, mental sets, confirmation bias

46
Q

csikszentmihalyi creativity findings

A
  1. creative people usually have a broad range of knowledge about a lot of subjects and are good at using mental imagery
  2. creative people aren’t afraid to be different—more open to new experiences, tend to have more vivid dreams and daydreams
  3. creative people value their independence
  4. creative people are often unconventional in their work, but not otherwise