Unit 4:Learning and
Cognition
Chapter 8: Thinking and Language
Warm-Up Review 10/29
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Who was the founder of the Structuralist
historical school of psychology?
What hormone does the thyroid gland
release?
Which stage of sleep does sleep
walking/talking usually occur?
What is Thinking?
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Symbols
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object or act that stands for something else
words
+-=/?{[]}~`!@#$%^&*()
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it only looks like I am cursing you out
mental images
What is Thinking?
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Concepts
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grouping together things that have similar
characteristics
organized in hierarchies
learned through experience
Prototypes
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particular example of a concept
Problem Solving
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Algorithms
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formulas
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systematic search
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a2 + b2 = c2
more complex
every possible outcome has to be tested
Heuristics
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help find a solution to problems - shortcuts
faster than algorithms but not as reliable
Children’s Book Assignment
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Choose One of the Components of
Language
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phonemes, morphemes, syntax,
vocabulary,grammar, etc.
Pick an age group
Write 15 pages with at least a sentence on
each page
Each page must be illustrated
Chapter 8 Vocabulary
thinking
symbol
concept
prototype
algorithm
heuristic
difference reduction
means-end analysis
incubation effect
mental set
functional fixedness
convergent thinking
overregularization
divergent thinking
reasoning
deductive reasoning
confirmation bias
representativeness heuristic
availability heuristic
anchoring heuristic
framing effect
language
phoneme
syntax
semantics
language acquisition device
Warm Up 10/30
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How do you usually solve problems in your
life?
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You are not limited to math problems.
Problem Solving Methods
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Trial and error
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no idea how to reach goal
try as many solutions as possible - hoping one
will work
Difference Reduction
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minimizing the distance between where we are
and our goals
heuristic
making a mess to clean
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http://movies.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70151960&trkid=7882979&t=30+Rock%3A+Ssn+4%3A+Into+t
he+Crevasse
Problem Solving Methods
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Means-End Analysis
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things we do have results
solving each part of a problem could help solve
the whole problem
changing things around to get the desired result
Working Backward
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figuring out what to do by looking at what result
you want
Problem Solving Methods
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Analogies
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looking at problems you have already solved to
come up with a solution to the current problem
Archimedes - ancient Greek scientist
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overflowing bathtub as a way to solve for volume
by the water that is displaced
Problem Solving
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Insight
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sudden understanding
no conscious understanding of how a solution
came to us
“Aha!” “Eureka!”
Incubation Effect
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standing back from a problem while unconscious
thoughts continue to work on it
that’s why taking a break from a difficult problem
might help
Warm Up 11/4
1.
2.
3.
What is the area of your retina that lacks
photoreceptors?
What stage of sleep is referred to as
“paradoxical sleep”?
Which form of learning did Pavlov and his
dogs contribute to?
Problem Solving
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Obstacles
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mental set
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successfully solving a problem in a similar way
Limits creativity
functional fixedness
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object only useful as what it was originally
created for
Problem Solving
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Creativity
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divergent thinking
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free association
not limited by the way things are usually
done\innovation
Reasoning
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deductive reasoning
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conclusion = true if the premise = true
linear
inductive reasoning
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reason with individual cases to reach a general
conclusion
confirmation bias - seek info that will make your
conclusion true
Decision Making and
Judgement
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The framing effect
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word choices influence on decisions
Overconfidence
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unaware of flimsy supporting evidence
pay attention to examples that confirm beliefs
Warm up 11/5
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Are you taking/have you taken a foreign
language course during high school? What
was it?
What are some activities used to teach you
the language?
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Language
phonemes - sounds - consonants and
vowels - put together (phonics)
morphemes - units of meaning - smaller
words - prefixes and suffixes (all made up of
phonemes)
syntax - arrangement of words in a
sentence- grammar - Subject verb object.
semantics - study of meaning
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language and the things it describes - how a
word can have a different meaning when used
as an adjective or a verb. OR how two different
words with different meanings can sound exactly
the same. OR how sentence structure or
expression can change meaning.
Language
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Stages of language development
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crying, cooing, and babbling
words
grammar
Language
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How do we learn?
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heredity
environmental influences
bilingualism