Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior

1
Thinking About Psychology The Science of Mind
and Behavior

• Charles T. Blair-Broeker
• Randal M. Ernst

2
Chapter 10

• Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

3
Thinking and Language

• Module 23

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Thinking

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

5
Cognitive Abilities

• All the mental activities associated with
  thinking, knowing and remembering

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Thinking Concepts

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Concept

• A mental grouping based on shared similarity
• Categorizing items in ones environment

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Prototype

• A typical best example incorporating the major
  features of a concept
• The closer a new object is to our concept
  prototype the easier it is to categorize it

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Concept Hierarchy

• A means to keep mental information organized from
  basic concepts to specific ones

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Concept Hierarchy
11
ThinkingProblem Solving

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Algorithms

• A problem solving strategy that guarantees the
  solution to the problem
• Not always the most efficient method

13
Heuristics

• A rule-of-thumb problem solving strategy that
  makes a solution more likely and efficient but
  does not guarantee a solution
• These can be handy shortcuts, or they can get us
  into trouble

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Insight

• The sudden realization of the solution to a
  problem

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ThinkingProblems Solving Problems

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Mental Set

• A tendency to approach a problem in a particular
  way
• The set may or may not be helpful in solving a
  new problem

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Fixation

• A mental set that hinders the solution of a
  problem
• One needs to think beyond the mental set to solve
  the new problem

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Confirmation Bias

• The tendency to focus on information that
  supports ones preconceptions

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Availability Heuristic

• Uses information from our memory to judge the
  likelihood of events
• Can be correct or incorrect

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Overconfidence

• The tendency to be more confident than correct
  when estimating the accuracy of ones beliefs and
  judgments

21
Framing

• The way an issue is worded or presented
• Can influence decisions and judgments

22
Belief Perseverance

• Clinging to ones initial beliefs even after new
  information discredits the basis on which they
  were formed

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Problem Solving and Computers

• Play Cockpit Confusion (1114) Segment 11 from
  Scientific American Frontiers Video Collection
  for Introductory Psychology (2nd edition).

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Language

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Language

• The spoken, written, or gestured words a group
  uses to communicate meaningfully

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Language and the Brain

• Play Language Processing in the Brain (619)
  Segment 8 from The Mind Psychology Teaching
  Modules (2nd edition).

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LanguageBuilding Blocks of Language

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Phoneme

• The smallest distinctive unit of sound of a
  spoken language
• English has about 40 phonemes.
• A young baby produces all the phonemes of all the
  languages of the world.

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Phonemes

• Play Infant Speech Sound Discrimination (403)
  Segment 23 from The Mind Psychology Teaching
  Modules (2nd edition).

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Morpheme

• The smallest unit, in a language, that carries
  meaning
• May be a word or part of a word
• English has about 100,000 morphemes.

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Grammar

• A system of rules governing how one can combine
  morphemes and words and arrange them in sentences
  to communicate with others

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Structure of Language
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LanguageLanguage Acquisition

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Noam Chomsky (1928- )

• Argues that children have a predisposition to
  learn language
• A persons brain is hard wired to learn
  vocabulary and the rules of grammar

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Noam Chomsky Interview

• Insert Chomskys View of Language Development
  Video 21 from Worths Digital Media Archive for
  Psychology.
• Instructions for importing the video file can be
  found in the Readme file on the CD-ROM.

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B.F. Skinner and Language

• Skinner believed language was the result of
  learning through
• Association linking certain sounds with certain
  people
• Imitation
• Rewards or punishments

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Language

• Play Language and Culture (442) Segment 28
  from The Mind Psychology Teaching Modules (2nd
  edition).

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LanguageLanguage Stages

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Language Predisposition

• Play Language Predisposition (344) Segment 24
  from The Mind Psychology Teaching Modules (2nd
  edition).

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Language Acquisition Stages

• Three-step process
• Babbling
• One-Word Stage
• Two-Word Stage

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Babbling

• Babies spontaneously babble phonemes.
• Will babble all the phonemes of the world
• Will begin to babble only the phonemes of the
  childs native tongue at about 1 year of age

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Babbling and Language Development

• Play Talkin Babies (1200) Segment 18 from
  Scientific American Frontiers Video Collection
  for Introductory Psychology (2nd edition).

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One-Word Stage

• Child uses one word to convey a complete thought
  or idea

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Two-Word Stage

• Two word sentences showing an appreciation of the
  rules of grammar

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Grammar Development

• Insert Gleasons Wug Test Video 22 from
  Worths Digital Media Archive for Psychology.
• Instructions for importing the video file can be
  found in the Readme file on the CD-ROM.

46
Overgeneralization

• Child will generalize grammar rules so they apply
  the rules too broadly.
• Example I dugged in the sandbox rather than I
  dug in the sandbox

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Overgeneralization
48
Language Development

• Play Born to Talk (645) Segment 21 from
  Scientific American Frontiers Video Collection
  for Introductory Psychology (2nd edition).

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Thinking and Language Together

• Module 23 Thinking and Language

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Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

• Hypothesis that ones language determines the way
  a person may think
• Proposed by Benjamin Whorf (1897-1941)
• Use of inclusive language

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Language and the Brain

• Play Old Brain, New Tricks (1100) Segment 8
  from Scientific American Frontiers Video
  Collection for Introductory Psychology (2nd
  edition).

52
Animal Language

• Play Animal Language (1439) Segment 27 from
  The Mind Psychology Teaching Modules (2nd
  edition).

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The End