Chapter Introduction

Thinking, language, and
intelligence are often studied
under the larger topic of
cognition (mental activities
involved in acquiring, storing,
retrieving, and using
knowledge).
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Thinking


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Cognitive
building blocks
Thinking
processes are
distributed
throughout the
brain, especially
the frontal lobe.
Thinking—Three Components
(Mental Image)
1.
Mental Image:
mental
representation of a
previously stored
sensory experience,
including visual,
auditory, etc.
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Thinking—Three Components
(Concepts)
2.
Concepts: mental representation of a
group or category that shares similar
characteristics
–
How do we learn concepts?
a.
b.
c.
Artificial concepts--formed by logical, specific rules
Natural concepts/prototypes--formed by everyday
life experiences
Hierarchies--group concepts into subcategories
within broader categories
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Thinking—Three Components
An Example of Hierarchies
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Thinking—Three Components
(Language)
3. Language: form of communication using
sounds and symbols combined according
to specified rules
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Thinking—Problem Solving
•
Step 1: Preparation--identifying, separating,
and defining
•
Step 2: Production--generating possible
solutions (hypotheses) by using algorithms
and heuristics
•
Step 3: Evaluation--judging hypotheses in
Step 2 against the criteria in Step 1
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Problem Solving
Heuristics vs. algorithms


Heuristics: general problem solving strategies
that are often useful but not always effective
(in football: control line of scrimmage, avoid
turnovers, in chess: control center of board.)
Algorithms: step by step procedures
guaranteed to solve a specific problem
(recipe to bake a cake, formula to solve for
area of triangle)
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Examples of Heuristics


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1. Means-end analysis: breaking problem
down into series of sub-problems.
2. Analogies: using past experience as model
for current problem-solving
Research on use of analogies (past
experience) contradictory.
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When is past experience harmful?

Dunker (1945) Make a lamp problem.
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Thinking—Five Key Barriers to
Problem Solving

2. Functional Fixedness:
thinking of an object as
only functioning in its
usual way

Can you use these supplies
to mount the candle on the
wall so that it can be lit in a
normal way without toppling
over?
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Thinking—Five Key Barriers to
Problem Solving
(Functional Fixedness Continued)

To overcome functional
fixedness, think of the
matchbox, tacks, and
candle all functioning
in new ways.
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When is past experience harmful?

Mental set: retaining a old successful
problem-solving procedure even though it is
not effective in its current context. Water jar
example here!
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Experimental testing for mental set: Luchin’s (1942)
water jar problem:
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Thinking—Five Key Barriers to
Problem Solving


1. Mental Set:
persistence in using
strategies that have
worked in the past
Using no more than four
lines, can you connect all
nine dots without lifting
your pencil from the
paper?
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Thinking—Five Key Barriers to
Problem Solving (Mental Sets Continued)

To overcome
a mental set
you must
“think outside
the box”—
literally!
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When is past experience helpful to problem solving?


1. Gick & Holyoak (1980) studies of problems
solving with and without past experience
2. Chi’s (1985) studies of expertise and
problem solving
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Problem solving in Physics professors vs. students:
Problem categorization
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Problem solving in Physics professors vs. students:
Problem categorization
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Problem solving in Physics professors vs. students:
Problem categorization
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Framing Effects in Problem solving











Imagine that the U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an
unusual…
disease which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative
programs
have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimate
of the consequences of the program is as follows:
If Program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.
If Program B is adopted, there is a 1/3 probability that 600
people will be saved and a 2/3 probability that no people will
be saved.
Which of the two programs would you favor?
Imagine the identical situation with the following choices:
If program C is adopted, 400 people will die.
If program D is adopted, there is a 1/3 probability that nobody
will die, and a 2/3
probability that 600 people will die.
Which of the two programs would you favor?
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
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Thinking—Five Key Barriers to
Problem Solving

3. Confirmation Bias: preferring information
that confirms preexisting positions or beliefs,
while ignoring contradictory evidence

4. Availability Heuristic: judging the
likelihood of an event based on how readily
available other instances are in memory
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Thinking—Five Key Barriers to
Problem Solving

5. Representativeness Heuristic:
estimating the probability of something
based on how well the circumstances
match (or represent) a previous
prototype
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Reasoning: manipulating mental representations in order to
draw conclusions or derive new knowledge



Two types:
1. Syllogistic reasoning: premises –
conclusion
2. Conditional reasoning: if-then statements
used draw conclusions
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Syllogistic reasoning

Premise: statement assumed to be true for
sake of argument, not necessarily empirically
true

Premise: All boys are athletes
Premise also usually expresses a relationship
between certain concepts, so boys are
related to athletes in that all boys are a
member of the category athletes.

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Syllogistic reasoning


Conclusion: to be valid must be necessitated
by the premises. Must be only possible
conclusion drawn base on relationships
expressed in premises.
Conclusion: a valid conclusion cannot just be
reasonable or plausible based on premises, it
must be necessary.
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Syllogistic reasoning

P1: All boys are athletes
P2: All athletes are muscular
C: All boys are muscular

Valid: Use Venn Diagrams to determine.


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Syllogistic reasoning

P1: All boys are athletes
P2: All muscular people are athletes
C: All boys are muscular people

Valid?

See website for more reasoning problems


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Conditional reasoning



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
If: antecedent condition
Then: consequent
When the antecedent condition is met, the
consequent will occur (no question about it!)
Observation – what condition is actually
present
Conclusion: (valid or not valid)
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Conditional reasoning




If she has red hair
Then she buys new shoes
Observation: she has red hair (affirming
antecedent)
Conclusion: she buys new shoes (valid?)
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


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If she has red hair
Then she buys new shoes
Observation: she has not red hair (denying
the antecedent)
Conclusion: she buys not new shoes (valid?)
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


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
If she has red hair
Then she buys new shoes
Observation: she buys new shoes (affirming
the consequent)
Conclusion: she has red hair (valid?)
More conditional reasoning problems at my
website.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)




If she has red hair
Then she buys new shoes
Observation: she buys not new shoes
(denying the consequent)
Conclusion: she has not red hair (valid)
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Wason Selection Task

Rule: if there is vowel on one side then there is an even
number on the other side of the card
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Abstract reasoning vs. Social contracts reasoning
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Social contracts version of Wason
Selection task
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Thinking—Creativity

Creativity :ability to produce valued
outcomes in a novel way
•
Three elements of creativity:
•
•
•
Originality
Fluency
Flexibility
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Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Thinking—Creativity
•
Divergent Thinking: ability to produce
many alternatives or ideas; linked to
creativity (e.g., reordering the letters
“grevenidt” to form many new words)
•
Convergent Thinking: attempting to find
one correct answer; linked to conventional,
non-creative thinking (e.g., 2 + 2 = ?)
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Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Thinking—Creativity

How did you do?
Did you think of
this creative
solution to the 10
coin problem?
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Language


What is language: a symbolic rule-based
system of communication shared by a
community
Question: can one person have language?
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Language: Three Building Blocks
1. Phoneme :smallest unit of speech or sound
2. Morpheme: smallest meaningful unit of
language
3. Grammar: rules specifying how phonemes,
morphemes, words, and phrases should be
combined to express thoughts
– Syntax: rules for word order
– Semantics: system of using words to create
meaning
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©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Properties of language

1. Arbitrariness: fundamental units of
language have arbitrary relationship to what
they represent e.g. dog =

2. Generativity = from a set of finite
fundamental units, infinite meaning is
possible
3. Generational transmission: passed on from
one generation to the next

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Properties of language


4. Displacement: can communicate about
ideas not in here and now
5. Semanticity: meaningfulness drives all
communication
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Studies in Animal Language



A number of species have been studies:
dolphins, parrots, whales, etc
Most studies have involved nonhuman apes:
Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos
Why: close relatives of humans, big brains,
highly social
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History of Ape language studies



Cross-fostering: raising an ape as a human
baby
1950’s Keith and Cathy Hayes: Viki project,
teaching a chimpanzee to speak. Big
disaster.
Beatrix and Alan Gardner: Washoe project,
teaching an ape sign language
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History of Ape language studies


Francine Patterson and
Koko: A gorilla learns sign
language
Herb Terrace and Nim
Chimpsky
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History of Ape language studies

Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and the bonobo
Kanzi
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What do apes know about language?

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Some elementary syntax
Some evidence of displacement
100-200 word vocabulary
Use is primarily utilitarian, not for sharing
experience; 90% of Kanzi’s utterances are
requests/commands
About at level 2.5 child
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Language Development


Prelinguistic Stage:
crying, cooing, and
babbling
Linguistic Stage: singleutterances, telegraphic
speech, and learning the
rules of grammar
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Theories of Language Development

–

Nature Perspective: language is an inborn
capacity that develops primarily by
maturation
Chomsky’s language acquisition
device (LAD)
Nurture Perspective: language develops
from a complex system of rewards,
punishments, and imitation
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Animals and Language

Some of the most
successful
nonhuman animal
language studies
have used
American Sign
Language (ASL).
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Intelligence

Intelligence: global capacity to think
rationally, act purposefully, and deal
effectively with the environment

Intelligence is a
hypothetical,
abstract construct.
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History of Intelligence Testing


1905: Alfred Binet creates test
measure intellectual skills of
children entering French
public school system.
Lewis Terman translates test
and brings to Stanford
University in CA (StanfordBinet Test of Intelligence)
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History of Intelligence Testing



David Wechsler (1939) creates
intelligence test for adults
composed of 11 subscales
measuring both verbal and nonverbal (or performance) IQ.
Most popular IQ tests today
WAIS – adults; WISC – children;
WPPSI – preschool children
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WWII: First Group Aptitude Measures

Army Alpha and Beta
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What Is Intelligence?
Historical views of intelligence:
1. Single ability or general factor called “g”
(Spearman)
2. Multiple abilities (Thurstone and Guilford)
3. Single ability with two types of g, fluid and
crystallized intelligence (Cattell)
4. Multiple abilities (Gardner and Sternberg)
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Intelligence Models

Gardner

Sternberg
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Measuring Intelligence

Stanford-Binet and Wechsler most widely
used individual intelligence tests. Both
tests compute an intelligence quotient
(IQ), which compares the deviation of a
person’s test score to norms for that
person’s age group.
–
Original version of Stanford-Binet
(IQ = MA/CA x 100)
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Measuring Intelligence—
The Normal Distribution of IQ
Scores
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Measuring Intelligence—
Sample Wechsler Tests
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Measuring Intelligence

1.
2.
3.
Three scientific standards for psychological
tests:
Standardization--establishes norms and
uniform procedures for giving and scoring
tests
Reliability--measure of the consistency and
stability of test scores over time
Validity--ability of a test to measure what it
was designed to measure
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The Intelligence Controversy—
Extremes in Intelligence

Mental
Retardation: IQs of
70 and below

Mental Giftedness:
IQs of 135 and
above
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The Intelligence Controversy:
Explaining Differences
•
Is it the brain? All mental activity
(including intelligence) results from
neural activity in the brain.
•
Is it genetic or environmental
influences? Heredity and
environment are important, inseparable
factors in intellectual development.
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An Example of a Brain Test for
Intelligence

Which “leg” of the
drawing is longer (a) or
(b)? The amount of
time individuals require
to make a correct
choice between quickly
flashed items like the
ones on this screen
may reveal something
about their intelligence.
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An Example of Genetic Vs. Environmental
Influences on Intelligence
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The Intelligence Controversy:
Are IQ Tests Culturally Biased?
•
Some ethnic
groups score
differently on IQ
tests, but there are
numerous
contributing
factors, including
stereotype threat.
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