Cognition: all the mental actions performed by an organism –Includes the way we create concepts, solve problems, make decisions, and form judgments Human Cognition Examples of Cognition If I say the phrase “gold digger,” what attributes come to mind? (creating concepts) How would you deal with a friend who borrowed $100 and refuses to pay you back? (solving problems) Would you work a potentially hazardous job if it paid $100k per year? (making decisions) What was the first thing you thought when you saw your teacher on the first day of class? (forming judgments)

Concept: a mental categorization of similar entities –Enables us to categorize the world into neatly understand ideas –Similar to “schemas” These animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of “cat”. Human Cognition All of these likely fit in your concept for “ball”. Vehicles?

Prototype: ideal example of a concept –Basically, what one image best represents each concept in your mind? What comes to mind when you think of “bird”? Human Cognition What’s your prototype for “a scientist”? Teacher prototype? Robins are probably better examples than penguins even though both are technically birds. I think of my students!!

Imagine you need to buy spaghetti for dinner. How would you locate it in the grocery store? You could use the following problem solving techniques: Heuristic: a best guess method that often allows us to make decisions and solve problems (speedier but error- prone) –You could take a guess based on the signs in each aisle, but you may guess wrong. Human Cognition Algorithm: a systematic, step-by-step procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem –You could literally go down every aisle in the store and eventually you will find it, but it may take a long time. Computers use algorithms to work Would you use an algorithm or a heuristic to unscramble the following word?: S P L O Y O C H Y G (if you used an algorithm, there are 907,200 possible letter combinations)

Insight: an abrupt and original realization of the answer to a problem Often known as the “aha! moment” or the “light bulb going off in your head” Human Cognition Think of another word that could form a compound word or phrase with each of the following words: PINE CRAB SAUCE APPLE Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes wakes Watson up. Holmes: “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce.” Watson: “I see millions of stars and even if a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there, there might also be life. What does it tell you, Holmes?” Holmes: “Watson, you idiot, somebody has stolen our tent!”

Nazi Germany Heuristic decision making has always been an important part of politics and throughout history, there have been many tricks to convince the crowds. A less known part of the Nazi Party propaganda strategy was in the design of the vote ballots for the Austrian union with Germany in The circle to vote “YES” was considerably larger than the circle to vote “NO“. Due to its size, we unconsciously attribute more importance to the bigger circle and are more drawn towards it. An overwhelming majority of the Austrian population voted for the reunification with Germany. Today, this kind of trickery is banned in political contexts in most countries.

Artificial Intelligence: the science of creating computers to perform processes that imitate human cognition What are computers worse at than humans? –Computers cannot fear, desire, have beliefs or other subjective mental states – YET –Computers do everything one at a time (serially) whereas human brains do many things at once Computer Cognition What can computers do better than humans? –Manipulate huge amounts of data –Retrieving detailed information from memory –Make decisions using specified rules (algorithms) Example: Password hacking programs

Has computer cognition surpassed human cognition? –No real way to qualify it, but in 1996 and 1997 the world’s greatest chess player, Russian Garry Kasparov, played the world’s smartest computer, codenamed “Deep Blue” in a series of chess matches Results – who do you think won? –Kasparov won the first match in 1996, 4 games to 2 games –Deep Blue won the rematch in 1997, 3.5 games to 2.5 games Computer Cognition

Artificial Intelligence Accomplishments –Search engines and the internet have combined to create virtual libraries with unlimited knowledge at your fingertips –Watson, a computer contestant on Jeopardy, dominated Ken Jennings, the longest- reigned human trivia contestant –Self-driving cars that can obey traffic signs and adjust to different traffic conditions already exist –Computer programming has now essentially replicated human imagination via video games and movie special effects Computer Cognition

Do animals think? –Chimps (as well as some other animals) will eventually recognize themselves in front of a mirror and prove it by performing grooming techniques while watching their reflection. –Chimps display insight when they learn to use new tools they find in the wild and will even craft their own. –Cats and dogs can be trained to perform behaviors via operant (rewards) or classical (association) conditioning. Animal Cognition YES.

Can animals become culturally diverse? –During Jane Goodall’s research, she found one group of chimps would slurp ants directly from the stick while another group would pluck each ant off individually. –Some chimps used stone hammers while others used wood hammers. Animal Cognition YES.

Do animals exhibit language? –Monkeys have different alarm cries for predators “Barks” for leopards “Coughs” for eagles “Chuttering” for snakes –Honeybees perform dances that inform other bees of the distance and direction of nearby food –Apes can learn limited sign language, although experts disagree on the validity of these findings The vocabulary they gain takes great difficulty to learn and is very limited They lack any form of syntax (order of words) in their phrases –The equivalent mental age of a human for the world’s smartest animals is 2 years old. Animal Cognition YES.