Thursday, October 22
• Objective: Compare and contrast learning
theories
Thinking
Cognitive Abilities
• All the mental activities associated with
thinking, knowing and remembering
Thinking: Concepts
Concept
• Mental grouping based on shared
similarity
• Categorizing items in one’s environment
Prototype
• 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
Concept Hierarchy
• A means to keep mental information
organized from basic concepts to
specific ones
Concept Hierarchy
Thinking:
Problem Solving
Algorithms
• Problem-solving strategy that
guarantees the solution to the problem
• Not always the most efficient method
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
• Ex: “i before e, except after c”
Insight
• Sudden realization of the solution to a
problem
• “Aha” experience
Thinking:
Problems Solving
Problems
Mental Set
• Tendency to approach a problem in a
particular way
• The set may or may not be helpful in
solving a new problem
Fixation
• Mental set that hinders the solution of a
problem
• One needs to think beyond the mental
set to solve the new problem
Functional Fixedness
• Tendency to think of things only in
terms of their usual functions
Functional Fixedness
Can you think of a way to use these
materials to mount the candle on a
bulletin board?
Functional Fixedness
Confirmation Bias
• Tendency to focus on information that
supports preconceptions
Availability Heuristic
• Estimating the likelihood of events
based on their availability in memory
• Can be correct or incorrect
• Activity: Availability Heuristic
Overconfidence
• When confidence is greater than
accuracy
Framing
• How an issue is worded or presented
• Can influence decisions and judgments
Friday, October 23
• Objective: Define intelligence and methods
of measuring intelligence
Intelligence and
Intelligence Testing
The Nature of
Intelligence
Intelligence
• Ability to learn from experience, solve
problems, and use knowledge to adapt
to a new situation
• Is intelligence one thing or are there
multiple intelligences?
The Nature of
Intelligence:
Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner (1943- )
• Author of a contemporary theory of
multiple intelligences consisting of eight
separate kinds of intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Gardner’s Types of Intelligence
Charles Spearman (1863-1945)
• Theorized that a general intelligence
factor (g) underlies other, more specific
aspects of intelligence
General Intelligence (g)
• Factor that Spearman believed underlies
specific mental abilities
The Nature of
Intelligence:
Emotional
Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence
• Ability to perceive, express, understand,
and regulate emotions
• People high in emotional intelligence
are more in touch with their feelings and
the feelings of others.
Intelligence Testing
Wednesday, October 28th
Intelligence Testing:
Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet (1857-1911)
• Developer of the first
test to classify
children’s abilities using
the concept of mental
age
• Assumed children’s
intellectual abilities
grew every year
Mental Age
• Chronological age that corresponds to
the difficulty of the questions a child
can answer
• An average 8-year-old child should have
the mental age of 8 years.
Chronological Age
• The actual age of a person
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
• Number that results from dividing
mental age by chronological age and
multiplying by 100
• IQ = (MA/CA) X 100
• A score of 100 would be considered
average
• Formula has been replaced with modern
versions
Intelligence Testing:
David Wechsler
David Wechsler (1896-1981)
• Developed the Wechsler
intelligence scales which
included:
– Different tests for different
age groups
– Separate verbal and
nonverbal scores
– Subtests and subtest scores
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test
Test Construction:
Achievement and
Aptitude Tests
Achievement Tests
• Tests that attempt to measure what the
test-taker has accomplished
• i.e. classroom tests at the end of a unit
Aptitude Tests
• Tests that attempt to predict the testtaker’s future performance
• Examples: ACT and SAT
Test Construction:
Reliability and
Validity
Test Reliability
• Extent to which a test yields consistent
results
Test Validity
• Extent to which a test measures or
predicts what it is suppose to
• Does an achievement test accurately
measure accomplishments?
• Does an aptitude test accurately measure
the person’s future performance?
• One needs to know the purpose of the
test