Topic 7 - Language, Cognition and decision making Flashcards
Define thinking.
Manipulating mental representations for a purpose.
What are the 3 ways people think?
Define.
words
mental images - visual representations such as the image of a street or a circle.
mental models - epresentations that describe, explain or predict the way things work.
What is object visualisation?
the process of visually memorising and processing scenes in great detail.
What is spatial visualisation?
a heightened ability to judge distances, relative dimensions and velocities with spatial visualisers.
What is theory of mind?
the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and to others. Ability to recognise that others have beliefs, intentions, feelings and thoughts that are different to your own.
What is a concept vs a category?
Concept: A concept is a mental representation of a class of objects, ideas or events that share common properties.
Categories: are groupings based on common properties.
What are defining features?
qualities that are essential, or necessarily present, in order to classify the object as a member of the category.
Define prototype.
an abstraction across many instances of a category. It represents a typical example of a category of things.
Define exemplar.
a particularly good example of a category e.g. parrot for the category of bird.
How to people categorise objects or situations?
Rapid, implicit categorisation = similarity (prototypes).
Explicit categorisation = defining features.
Define reasoning.
The process by which people generate and evaluate arguments and beliefs.
What is inductive vs deductive reasoning?
Inductive reasoning: reasoning from specific observations to more general populations. Involves inferring a conclusion based on probabilities rather than certainties.
Deductive reasoning: is logical reasoning that draws a conclusion from a set of assumptions or premises that are based on the rules of logic.
Define syllogism.
consists of two premises that lead to a logical conclusion
What is analogical reasoning?
the process by which people understand a novel situation in terms of a familiar one.
What are 3 barriers to problem solving?
Functional fixedness: the tendency for people to ignore other possible functions of an object when they have a fixed function in mind.
Mental set: the tendency to keep using the same problem-solving techniques that have worked in the past.
Confirmation bias: the tendency for people to search for confirmation of what they already believe.
Define weighted utility value (in decision making).
A combined judgement of the importance of an attribute and the extent to which a given option satisfies it.
Define expected utility.
a combined judgement of the weighted utility and the expected probability of obtaining an outcome.
Define heuristics
cognitive shortcuts that allow people to make rapid judgements but can sometimes lead to irrational choices.
What is bounded rationality.
that people are rational within the bounds imposed by their environment, goals and abilities. Thus instead of making optimal judgements, people typically make good enough judgements.
What is analytical vs intuitive decision making?
Analytical decision making: occurs when individuals use their conscious awareness to access and employ symbolically encoded rules in a systematic manner.
Intuitive decision making: occurs when people make judgements about a problem using their ‘gut’, in a rapid, non-conscious way. Quicker than analytical decision making. Relies on non-conscious thought and emotion.
What is connectionism aka?
parallel distributed processing (PDP)
What does connectionism refer to?
The assertion that most cognitive processes occur simultaneously through the action of multiple, activated networks.
Define constraint satisfaction
the tendency to settle on a cognitive solution that satisfies as many constraints as possible in order to achieve the best fit to the data.
Define language.
the system of symbols, sounds, meanings and rules for their combination that constitutes the primary mode of communication among humans.
What theory proposes that language shapes thought?
Whorfian hypothesis of linguistic relativity
What is the difference between phonemes and morphemes?
Phonemes: the smallest units of sound that constitute speech.
Morphemes: the smallest units of meaning in language.
Define syntax.
the rules that govern the placement of words and phrases in a sentence.
Define semantics.
the rules that govern the meanings (rather than the order) of morphemes, words, phrases and sentences.
What is prosody?
the rhythm, stress and beat of how we speak.
What is the critical period of language learning?
First 3 years of life
What is telegraphic speech?
sentences used by young children that leave out all but the essential words
Who are the key players on either side of the nature v nurture debate in language development?
B. F Skinner - Nurture (Behaviourism & conditioning)
Chomsky - Nature
What is universal grammar?
Chomskys proposal.
an innate, shared set of linguistic principles that underlie the grammatical forms found in all cultures.
What is a language acquisition device?
According to Chomsky all humans are born with a LAD = an innate set of neural structures for acquiring language
What part of the brain is specialised for processing grammar?
left frontal lobe
What part of the brain is specialised for processing word meaning?
Left temporal lobe
