Introduction: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
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Cognition refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining,
and using knowledge.
Thinking involves manipulating internal, mental representations of
information in order to draw inferences and conclusions. Thinking often
involves the manipulation of two kinds of mental representations: mental
images and concepts.
Most research has been done on visual mental images. We seem to treat
mental images much as we do actual visual images or physical objects.
Thinking also involves the use of concepts. Formal concepts are defined
by logical rules. Natural concepts are likely to have fuzzy rather than rigid
boundaries. We determine membership in natural concepts by
comparing an object with our prototype for the natural concept or by
comparing it to exemplars that we have stored in memory.
Solving Problems and Making Decisions
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Problem solving refers to thinking and behavior directed toward attaining
a goal that is not readily available.
Strategies commonly used in problem solving include trial and error,
algorithms, and heuristics. Heuristics include breaking a problem into a
series of sub goals and working backward from the goal. Sometimes
problems are resolved through insight or intuition.
Functional fixedness and mental set are two common obstacles to
problem solving.
Decision-making models include the single-feature model, the additive
model, and the elimination by aspects model. Different strategies may be
most helpful in different situations.
When making risky decisions, we often use the availability heuristic and
the representativeness heuristic to help us estimate the likelihood of
events.
Language and Thought
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Language is a system for combining arbitrary symbols to produce an
infinite number of meaningful statements.
Language has the following characteristics: Meaning is conveyed by
arbitrary symbols whose meaning is shared by speakers of the same
language; language is a rule-based system; language is generative; and
language involves displacement. Language influences thinking by
affecting our perceptions of others.
Animals communicate with members of their own species, sometimes in a
complex fashion. Some can also be taught to communicate with humans.
Bonobos and dolphins seem to have demonstrated an elementary grasp
of the rules of syntax. Animal cognition is an active field of research in
comparative psychology.
cognition, p. 291 – The mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and
using knowledge
thinking, p. 291- The manipulation of mental representations of information in
order to draw inferences and conclusions
mental image, p. 291 – A mental representation of objects or events that are not
physically present
concept, p. 292 – A mental category of objects or ideas based on properties
they share
formal concept, p. 294 – A mental category that is formed by learning the rules
or features that define it
natural concept, p. 294 – A mental category that is formed as a result of
everyday experience
prototype, p. 294 – the most typical instance of a particular concept
exemplars, p. 294 – Individual instances of a concept or category, held in
memory
problem solving, p. 295 – Thinking and behavior directed toward attaining a
goal that is not readily available
trial and error, p. 296 – A problem-solving strategy that involves attempting
different solutions and eliminating those that do not work
algorithm, p. 296 – A problem-solving strategy that involves following a specific
rule, procedure, or method that inevitably produces the correct solution
heuristic, p. 296 – A problem solving strategy that involves following a general
rule of thumb to reduce the number of possible solutions
insight, p. 297 – The sudden realization of how a problem can be solved
intuition, p. 297 – coming to a conclusion or making a judgement without
conscious awareness of the thought processes involved
functional fixedness, p. 298 – The tendency to view objects as functioning only in
their usual or customary way
mental set, p. 298 – the tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that
have worked in the past
availability heuristic, p. 300 – a strategy in which the likelihood of an event is
estimated on the basis of how readily available other instances of the event are
in memory
representativeness heuristic, p. 301 – a strategy in which the likelihood of an
event is estimated by comparing how similar it is to the prototype of the event
language, p. 303 – a system for combining arbitrary symbols to produce an
infinite number of meaningful statements
linguistic relativity hypothesis, p. 304 – the hypothesis that differences among
languages cause differences in the thoughts of their speakers
animal cognition, p. 307 – the study of animal learning, memory, thinking, and
language; comparative cognition
KEY QUESTIONS:
7.1 INTRODUCTION: THINKING, LANGUAGE, AND INTELLIGENCE
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What are some of the basic characteristics of mental images?
o A mental image is a mental representation of objects or events that
are not physically present
o We rely on them to accomplish some cognitive task
o Not strictly limited to visual “pictures” but rather can form images
that involve senses other than vision (taste, smell)
How do we manipulate mental images?
o We manipulate mental images just as we manipulate actual
objects
o However, our mental images are not identical to the actual images
rather they are MEMORIES of visual images so they are subject to
potential error
What are concepts, and how are they formed?
o A concept is a mental category we have formed to group objects,
events, or situations that share similar features or characteristics.
o Makes it easier to communicate, remember information, and learn
new information
o Concepts are formed by learning RULES or FEATURES that define the
particular concept
 Formal concept – a mental category that is formed by
learning the rules or features that define it
 Natural concept – concept formed as a result of everyday
experience rather than by logically determining whether an
object or event fits a specific set of rules.
7.2 SOLVING PROBLEMS AND MAKING DECISIONS
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What are some advantages and disadvantages of each problem-solving
strategy?
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TRIAL AND ERROR: A PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
 Trying a variety of solutions and eliminating those that don’t
work
 Works when there is a limited range of possible solutions
 Con: can be very time consuming if large range of possible
answers
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ALGORITHMS: GUARANTEED TO WORK
 Algorithm: procedure or method that, when followed step by step,
always produces the correct solution.
 Not always practical
 May work eventually but could take a very long time
 Pro: Guaranteed to work eventually
HEURISTICS: RULES OF THUMB
 Heuristic: general rule of thumb strategy that may or may not work
 Simplify problem solving because it reduces the number of possible
solutions
 Serves an adaptive purpose by allowing the use of patterns of
information to solve problems quickly and accurately
 Subgoals – common heuristic involves breaking things down
into a series of subgoals; solving each sub problem moves
you closer to solving the larger problem
 Working backward – starting with the end point you can
determine steps necessary to reach final goal
 Flexibility – recognize that a particular strategy is unlikely to
yield a solution and switch to a different approach
INSIGHT AND INTUITION
 Insight – solution appears as a sudden realization or flash after
mulling it over
 Usually not aware of thought processes that lead to insight
 Intuition – coming to a conclusion or making a judgment without
conscious awareness of the though process involved
 2 stage model:
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GUIDING STAGE: you perceive a pattern in the
information you’re considering but not consciously;
based on your expertise and your memories
 INTEGRATIVE STAGE: representation of the pattern
becomes conscious (hypothesis) and conscious
analytic processes take over.
 Intuitive hunch – new idea that integrates new
information with existing knowledge stored in
long-term memory
What is insight, and how does intuition work?
o See Above
How can functional fixedness and mental set interfere with problem solving?
o Functional fixedness: view objects as functioning only in the usual or
customary way.
 Prevents us from seeing the full range of ways an item can be used
o Mental set: tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that
have worked in the past
 Also obscures our ability to see other solutions
 Blocks insight in areas in which you are already knowledgeable or
well trained
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7.2.3 DECISION-MAKING STRATEGIES
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What are the single-feature model, the additive model, and the elimination by
aspects model of decision making?
Under what conditions is each strategy most appropriate?
How do we use the availability and representativeness heuristics to help us
estimate the likelihood of an event?