Module 14 Thought & Language

FORMING CONCEPTS Concept a way to group or classify objects, events, animals, or people based on some features, traits, or characteristics that they all share in common Exemplar model form a concept of an object, event, animal, or person by defining or making a mental list of the essential characteristics of a particular thing

FORMING CONCEPTS (CONT.) Prototype theory form a concept by creating a mental image that is based on the average characteristics of an object Functions of concepts organize information group things into categories an thus better organize and store information in memory avoid relearning can be used to classify and categorize things, you can easily classify new things without having to relearn what that thing is

SOLVING PROBLEMS Problem solving involves searching for some rule, plan, or strategy that results in our reaching a certain goal that is currently out of reach Different ways of thinking algorithms are fixed set of rules that, if followed correctly, will eventually lead to a solution

SOLVING PROBLEMS (CONT.) Different ways of thinking Heuristics rules of thumb, or clever and creative mental shortcuts, that reduce the number of operations and allow one to solve problems more easily and quickly Availability heuristic says that we rely on information that is more prominent or easily recalled and overlook other information that is available but less prominent or notable

SOLVING PROBLEMS (CONT.) Different ways of thinking Artificial intelligence means of programming machines (computers, robots) to imitate human thinking and problem-solving abilities Three strategies for solving problems changing one’s mental set functional fixedness refers to a mental set that is characterized by the inability to see an object as having a function different from its usual one

SOLVING PROBLEMS (CONT.) Using analogies a strategy for finding a similarity between the new situation and an old, familiar situation Forming subgoals a strategy that involves breaking down the overall problem into separate parts that, when completed in order, will result in a solution

THINKING CREATIVELY How is creativity defined? Creative thinking combination of flexibility in thinking and reorganization of understanding to produce innovative ideas and new or novel solutions Creative individual someone who regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions that make an impact on his or her society

THINKING CREATIVELY (CONT.) How is creativity defined? Psychometric approach uses objective problem-solving tasks to measure creativity, focuses on the distinction between two kinds of thinking—convergent and divergent Convergent thinking means beginning with a problem and coming up with a single correct solution Divergent thinking means beginning with a problem and coming up with many different solutions

THINKING CREATIVELY (CONT.) How is creativity defined? Case study approach analyzes creative persons in great depth and thus provides insight into their development, personality, motivation, and problems Cognitive approach tries to build a bridge between the objective measures of the psychometric approach and the subjective descriptions provided by case studies cognitive approach identifies and measures cognitive mechanisms that are used during creative thinking

LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES Four rules of language Phonology specifies how we make the meaningful sounds that are used by a particular language phonemes basic sounds of consonants and vowels Morphology system that we use to group phonemes into meaningful combinations of sound and words morphene smallest meaningful combination of sounds in a language

LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.) Four rules of language Syntax, or grammar set of rules that specifies how we combine words to form meaningful phrases and sentences Semantics specifies the meaning of words or phrases when they appear in various sentences or contexts

LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.) Understanding language Chomsky’s theory of language Norm Chomsky says that all languages share a common universal grammar and that children inherit a mental program to learn this universal grammar

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LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.) Understanding language Mental grammar allows us to combine nouns, verbs, and objects in an endless variety of meaningful sentences innate brain program makes learning the general rules of grammar relatively easy

LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.) Different structure, same meaning Surface structure refers to the actual wording of a sentence, as it is spoken Deep structure refers to an underlying meaning that is not spoken but is present in the mind of the listener Transformational rules procedures by which we convert our ideas from surface structures into deep structures and from deep structures back into surface ones

ACQUIRING LANGUAGE Language stages refers to all infants going through four different periods or stages—babbling, single words, two-word combinations, and sentences begins about 6 months, is the first stage in acquiring language single word second stage in acquiring language, which occurs at about 1 year of age

ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.) Language stages single word (cont.) parentese (motherese) way of speaking to young children in which the adult speaks in a slower and higher than normal voice, emphasizes and stretches our each word, uses very simple sentences, and repeats words and phrases two-word combinations represents the third stage in acquiring language, occurs at about 2 years of age

ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.) Language stages sentences represents the fourth stage of acquiring language, occurs at about 4 years of age Telegraphic speech distinctive pattern of speaking in which the child omits articles (the), prepositions (in, out), and parts of verbs

ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.) What are innate factors? genetically programmed physiological and neurological features that facilitate our making speech sounds and acquiring language skills Innate physiological factors special adapted vocal apparatus (larynx and pharynx) that allows us to make sounds and form words Innate neurological features left hemisphere of the brain is prewired to acquire and use language, whether spoken or signed

ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.) What are innate factors? Innate developmental factors critical language period time from infancy to adolescence when language is easiest to learn more difficult to learn anytime after adolescence

ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.) What are environmental factors? refer to interactions children have with parents, peers, teachers, and others who provide feedback that rewards and encourages language development, as well as provides opportunities for children to observe, imitate, and practice language skills Social cognitive learning emphasizes the acquisition of language skills through social interactions, which give children a chance to observe, imitate, and practice the sounds, words, and sentences they hear from their parents or caregivers

REASON, THOUGHT & LANGUAGE Two kinds of reasoning Reasoning means thinking, is a mental process that involves using and applying knowledge to solve problems, make plans or decisions, and achieve goals Deductive reasoning begins with making a general assumption that you know or believe to be true and then drawing specific conclusions based on this assumption

REASON, THOUGHT & LANGUAGE (CONT.) Two kinds of reasoning Inductive reasoning making particular observations that you then use to draw a broader conclusion Theory of Linguistic Relativity states that differences among languages result in similar differences in how people think and perceive the world