Essentials of Psychology,
by Saul Kassin
CHAPTER 7:
Thought, Language, and Intelligence
©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Thought, Language, and Intelligence
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Concepts
Solving Problems
Making Judgments
Language
The Relationship Between Thought and Language
Intelligence Tests
The Nature of Intelligence
The Great Debates
Education
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Concepts
• Concept
– A mental grouping of persons, ideas, events,
or objects that share common properties
• Prototype
– A “typical” member of a category, one that
has most of the defining features of that
category
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Concepts
A Semantic Network
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Representing the Problem
• Image
– A mental representation of visual
information
• Mental Models
– Intuitive theories about the way things work
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Representing the Problem
Mental-Rotation Tasks
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Imagine a Capital letter T.
Rotate it 90 degrees to the right.
Put a triangle to the left of the figure, pointing to the right.
Rotate the figure 90 degrees to the right.
Which of these figures is the correct one?
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Generating Solutions
• Trial and Error
– A problem-solving strategy in which several
solutions are attempted until one is found
that works
• Algorithm
– A problem-solving procedure that is
guaranteed to produce a solution
• Heuristic
– A mental shortcut that allows one to make
judgments that are quick but often in error
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Generating Solutions
Tower of Hanoi Problem
• The task is to move three rings from peg A to peg C.
• Only the top ring on a peg may be moved.
• A larger ring cannot be placed above a smaller one.
Hint:
It helps to
break the
task into
subgoals.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Generating Solutions
The Cheap-Necklace Problem
• Make a necklace for 15¢ or less.
• It costs 2¢ to open a link; 3¢ to close a
link.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Generating Solutions
The Nine-Dot Problem
• Connect all 9 dots.
• Use only 4 lines.
• Do not lift your pencil
from the page after
you begin drawing.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Generating Solutions
Duncker's Candle Problem
• Using only the objects
shown in the picture,
mount the candle to
the wall.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Solution to the Cheap-Necklace Problem
• Using all four chains is not necessary to solve the problem.
• Solving this problem may require an incubation period
followed by insight into the solution.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Solution to the Nine-Dot Problem
• People do not realize
that they their lines
can be drawn outside
the box.
• Failure to solve this
problem is often due
to representation
failure.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
Solution to Duncker's Candle Problem
• The thumbtack box
can also be used as
a shelf.
• Failure to solve this
problem is often
due to functional
fixedness.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems
“Blind Spots” in Problem Solving
• Functional Fixedness
– Tendency to think of objects only in terms of
their usual functions
• Confirmation Bias
– Inclination to search only for evidence that
will verify one’s beliefs
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Making Judgments
The Rules of Formal Logic
• Syllogistic Reasoning
– Syllogism
• A logical problem in which the goal is to
determine the validity of a conclusion given two
or more premises
• Conditional Reasoning
– This is another common type of problem derived from
formal logic and takes the form of “if-then” statements.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Making Judgments
Biases in Judgment
• Representativeness Heuristic
– Tendency to estimate the likelihood of an event in
terms of how typical it seems
• Availability Heuristic
– Tendency to estimate the likelihood of an event in
terms of how easily instances of it can be recalled
• Anchoring Effect
– The tendency to use the initial value as a reference
point in making a new numerical estimate
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Solving Problems and Making Judgments
Steps in Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking
 The process of
solving problems and
making decisions
through careful
evaluation of
evidence
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Language
Characteristics of Human Language
• Semanticity
– The property of language that accounts for the
communication of meaning
– Phonemes
• Basic, distinct sounds of a spoken language
– Morphemes
• The smallest meaningful units of a language
– Phrase
• A group of words that act as a unit to convey meaning
– Sentence
• An organized sequence of words
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Language
Characteristics of Human Language
• Generativity
– The property of language that accounts for the
capacity to use a limited number of words to
produce an infinite variety of expressions
– Syntax
• Rules of grammar that govern the arrangement
of words in a sentence
• Displacement
– The property of language that accounts for the
capacity to communicate about matters that are not
in the here-and-now
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Language
Characteristics of Human Language
• Emergence of Language
– Developmental Sequence
• Babbling
– Spontaneous vocalizations of basic speech sounds
which infants begin at about four months of age
• Telegraphic Speech
– Early short form of speech in which the child omits
unnecessary words, e.g., “More juice”.
– Developmental Theories
• Nature-Nurture Debate
– Much evidence exists that humans are biologically
prepared for language.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Can Apes Learn Language?
• Many apes of several species have learned
various different signing systems.
• Is it language?
• This debate continues.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Relationship Between
Thought and Language
The Linguistic-Relativity Hypothesis
– The hypothesis that language determines, or
at least influences, the way we think
– This leads to a prediction that people of
different cultures, who speak different
languages, must think in different ways.
• Evidence indicates that language influences
but does not completely determine thought.
– “Doublespeak” is an example of how language
can influence thought.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Relationship Between
Thought and Language
Words that Distort Memory for Images
• Participants were
shown figures on the
left, with different
labels.
• When asked to redraw
the figures, the new
drawings fit the labels
they had been given.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Relationship Between
Thought and Language
Culture, Language, & Thinking
• The Dani – aboriginal
people of Papua New
Guinea – have only two
words for colors.
– Mola (all colors on the
left) and Mili (all colors
on the right)
• They can distinguish
among the different
colors, however.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence
• The capacity to learn from experience
and adapt successfully to one’s
environment
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Intelligence Tests
The Nature of Intelligence
The Great Debates
Education
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
The Stanford-Binet
• A new type of test, developed by Alfred
Binet in 1904 to screen French school
children for potential academic problems.
• Translated into English and adapted for the
U.S. by Lewis Terman of Stanford
University.
• Mental Age
– The average age of the children who achieve
a certain level of performance
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
The Stanford-Binet
• Intelligence Quotient
– Originally defined as the ratio of mental age
to chronological age, it now represents a
person’s performance relative to same-age
peers.
• Shifts the focus to the rate of development
– Allows children of different ages to be
compared.
Mental Age
IQ=(
Chronological Age
) x 100
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
The Wechsler Scales
• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
– The most widely used IQ test for adults, it
yields separate scores for verbal and
performance subtests
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
Group Aptitude Tests
• Stanford-Binet, Wechsler, and other scales test one
person at a time.
– This is not practical for quick, large-scale assessment.
• During World War I, the U.S. Army developed
two tests that could be group-administered.
– “Alpha” for those who could read English
– “Beta” for all other recruits
• Group tests are now common.
– Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
– American College Test (ACT)
– Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
Are Intelligence Tests Accurate?
• Standardization
– The procedure by which existing norms are used to
interpret an individual’s test score
• Reliability
– The extent to which a test yields consistent results
over time or using alternate forms
– Two types are test-retest and split-half.
• Validity
– The extent to which a test measures what it is
supposed to measure
– Two types are content and criterion.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
Are Intelligence Tests Accurate?
• Standardization
– Involves administering a
test to thousands of
people similar to those
for whom the test was
intended.
– And, determining
average score and
characteristics of
distribution of scores
The average score was set at
100 and test scores are
distributed in a normal bellshaped curve with about 68% of
scores falling between 85 and
115.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
Are Intelligence Tests Accurate?
Distribution of Scores on the SAT
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
Are Intelligence Tests Accurate?
• Reliability
– A reliable test measures a variable(s) consistently.
– Unlike validity, reliability does not address what
is being measured.
– Forms of reliability
• Test-Retest
– The extent to which a test yields consistent results when
readministered at a later time
• Split half
– The degree to which alternate forms of a test yield
similar results
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
Are Intelligence Tests Accurate?
• Validity
– A valid test measures or predicts what it
claims to measure or predict.
– Types of Validity
• Content validity
– The extent to which a test measures what it
is supposed to measure
• Criterion-related validity
– The extent to which a test can predict a
concurrent or future outcome
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Intelligence Tests
Are Intelligence Tests Biased?
Raven's “Culture-Fair” Test
• Person is given a
series of matrices and
must complete each by
selecting the correct
symbol for the
available choices.
• The test is designed to
be free of cultural
bias.
Sample Item
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Nature of Intelligence
General Intelligence (g)
– A broad intellectual-ability factor used to
explain why performances on different
intelligence-test items are often correlated
• Factor Analysis
– A statistical technique used to identify
clusters of test items that correlate with one
another.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Nature of Intelligence
General Intelligence (g)
Spearman’s Theory of Intelligence
• Spearman theorized that
individuals differ in
general intelligence (g).
• To explain why
correlations among tests
are not perfect, he
theorized that each test
score is also affected by
the specific ability being
tested (S).
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Nature of Intelligence
Gardner's “Frames of Mind”
• Multiple Intelligences
– Gardner’s theory that there are seven types of
intelligence:
• Linguistic intelligence, Logical-mathematical
intelligence, Spatial intelligence, Musical intelligence,
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, Interpersonal
intelligence, and Intrapersonal intelligence
• Gardner based his theory on evidence such as the
existence of prodigies, people who are highly precocious
in a specific domain of endeavor, and idiot savants,
people who are mentally retarded but are
extraordinarily talented in some ways.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Nature of Intelligence
Gardner's “Frames of Mind”
Types of Multiple Intelligences
• Linguistic Intelligence
– Verbal ability, consists of the skills involved in
speaking, listening, reading, and writing
• Logical-mathematical Intelligence
– Abstract reasoning ability, consists of the skills
necessary for solving puzzles and programming
computers
• Spatial Intelligence
– Visual ability, consists of the skills involved in
orienting oneself in space and navigation
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Nature of Intelligence
Gardner's “Frames of Mind”
Types of Multiple Intelligences
• Musical Intelligence
– Ability to appreciate the tonal qualities of sound,
consists of the skills necessary to compose and play an
instrument
• Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence
– Ability to control gross and fine body movements
• Interpersonal Intelligence
– Ability to understand others, social skills
• Intrapersonal Intelligence
– Ability to understand oneself, self-insight
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Nature of Intelligence
Sternberg's Triarchic Theory
• Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
– Sternberg’s theory that there are three kinds
of intelligence: analytic, creative, and
practical.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
Nature and Nurture
Nature's Influence on IQ Scores
• The greater the genetic
similarity between two
individuals, the more
similar are their IQ
scores.
– This suggests a genetic
component to
intelligence.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
Nature and Nurture
Nurture's Influence on IQ Scores
• All other things being
equal, two individuals
raised together will
have more similar IQ
scores than those
raised apart.
– This is evidence that
the environment shapes
intelligence in
important ways.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
Nature and Nurture
How Environments Magnify Genetic Influences
• Some theorize that genes predispose children toward
varying success rates in school.
• Early academic experiences guide the children into
different environments.
• These environments can multiply the influence of genes.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
Nature and Nurture
Head Start Programs
– A preschool intellectual-enrichment program
for children born of poor families
– Serves hundreds of thousands of families across
the U.S. each year
– Alumni score about 10 points higher on IQ
tests, are more confident, are less likely to
repeat grades, and are more likely to graduate
from high school compared to their peers.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
The Racial Gap
Explaining Group Differences
• Within a group with all
treated exactly the
same, differences may
reflect genetics.
• When one group differs
from another, the
differences between the
groups may reflect
environmental
differences.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
The Racial Gap
Education: The Great Equalizer
• Cognitive test scores
from grades 8 – 16
• Initial gap between
black and white
students was narrowed
significantly by the
end of college
• Education has a vital
equalizing role
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
Cultural Influences
• Asian American students get higher grades and
SAT math scores, are more likely to graduate from
college, and are more likely to win various
scholarships compared to their peers.
• However, research shows that their tests scores are
about average.
• Americans, relative to those in Asian countries,
may set lower standards and place less value on
educational pursuits.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
The Great Debates
Gender Differences
Verbal, Mathematical, and Spatial Abilities
• Girls outscore boys on verbal abilities and
reading.
• Girls are better at arithmetic in grade
school, but boys surpass them by junior
high school.
• Males outperform females on spatial tasks.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Education
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
– The idea that a
person’s expectation
can lead to its own
fulfillment (as in the
effect of teacher
expectations on student
performance)
Three-Step Model
• Teachers with low
expectations of some
students may settle for
lower performance from
these students.
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Education
Stereotype Threat
• If students are told a test is
important, they may
respond by performing
either better or worse,
according to group
stereotypes.
– African American students
are aware of negative
stereotypes
– Vulnerability to stereotype
undermines performance
Stereotype Threat Effect
on Test Performance
Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing