Thinking & Intelligence

Fact or Fiction? In general, people underestimate how much they really know. It takes less compelling evidence to change our beliefs than it did to create them in the first place. Only human beings seem capable of insight (the sudden realization of a problem’s solution) In general, people with high intelligence scores are more creative than people with low intelligence scores. Among the intellectually challenged, males outnumber females by near 50%. As adopted children grow older, their intelligence scores become more similar to those of their biological parents than to those of their adoptive parents. The SAT is a much better predictor of the college performance of white students than it is of blacks.

What is a Problem? “A problem arises when a living organism has a goal, but does not know how this goal is to be reached.” Duncker

What is Thinking? Thinking is the mental expression of a problem or situation- If the brain is the computer then the thinking is the program-

Types of thinking…. Convergent Thinking Divergent Thinking

Unscramble…. SPLOYOCHYG

Homo Sapiens= Wise humans Why are we so smart? Images & Concepts Reasoning Problem Solving Form Judgments Think Creatively

We think in images… 97% of all people have visual images of thought. 92% have auditory images of thought. 50% Have images of touch, taste, smell & pain.

Images Help us Understand verbal instructions Help us think about our goals Help us choose what clothes to wear Help us arrange furniture

You are in a park….

We think in Concepts (mental groups) Human brain has a built-in capacity to group objects, events and people with similar characteristics… Does it sounds like schema? (Piaget) Prototype: A typical best example of a concept…. Simple concepts: Tree Floor covering Dinosaur Job Athlete President Car Flower Book Ball House Store

Concept Map

We run into trouble when… Our information doesn’t match our concept

Reasoning Drawing conclusions based on information Sources of Error……… Mood Belief perseverance Passive learning Confirmation bias

Which parent will you award custody to? Imagine that you serve on the jury of an only-child custody case following a relatively messy divorce. The facts of the case are complicated by ambiguous economic, social and emotional considerations and you decide to base your decision entirely on the following few observations. Parent A, who has an average income, average health, average working hours, a reasonable relationship with the child and a relatively stable social life. Or Parent B, who has an above income, minor health problems, lots of work-related travel, a very close relationship with the child and an extremely active social life.

Reasoning.. Sources of strength Mindfulness= “Flexible state of mind in which we are actively engaged in the present.” Langer Recognizing that there is sometimes more than one good answer.

Problem Solving… Trial & Error (until something works!) Rote (learned set of rules) Insight (sudden realization) Feeling of knowing (tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon) Deep understanding of a problem (Dunker) Heuristics (rule of thumb) Representative heuristics Algorithm (step-by-step procedure: guarantees a solution) Framing (how information is presented) Overconfidence (vs. accuracy)

Imagine that a rare tropical disease has entered the US Imagine that a rare tropical disease has entered the US. It is expected to kill 600 people. Two plans to combat the disease exist. If plan A is adopted, 200 people will be saved. If plan B is adopted, the chances are one in three that all 600 will be saved but two in three that no one will be saved. Which plan would you choose? Now consider… If plan C is chosen 400 people will definitely die; If Plan D is chosen, the chances are one in three that no one will die, but two in three that all 600 will die. Which plan would you choose?

What is the difference? Plan A & B represent lives SAVED Plan C & D represent lives LOST

Barriers to problem solving Mental set Human intuition (there are limits) Implicit assumptions (Rules) Functional fixedness Belief perseverance (especially if we have made our belief public) Political correctness Faulty concepts Cultural barriers

Limits of Human Intuition…. A man bought a horse for $60 and sold it for $70 He then bought the same horse back for $80 And again sold it for $90 How much did he make?

Draw four continuous lines connecting all the dots without lifting your pen from the paper.

Creativity= A way of problem solving that generates unique and valuable contributions Fluency= # of ideas Flexibility= Shift from one idea to another Originality=How unusual/novel are ideas

What makes a person creative? Small positive relationship between IQ and creativity. Open to new experiences. Challenges assumptions. New ideas from existing knowledge.

Imagine…….. Imagine that you have created an animal that lives on another planet. Draw a picture of what that animal might look like.

Brainstorming Define the problem broadly What information do you have? What don’t you know? Allow time for processing Seek varied input Take some risk ALL ideas are worthwhile!

Is there a link between creativity and psychiatric illness?

Famous People with “Known” mental illness… Nancy Anderson (University of Iowa) studied 30 successful creative writers. 80% had mania- in control group, she found less than 1% Kay Redfield studied 47 British writers-painters-sculptor’s at the Royal Academy- 38% treated for Bi Polar disorder Bi Polar and Clanging”? “Imagine the worst Systematic, sympathetic Quite pathetic, apologetic, paramedic Your heart is prosthetic” Blue October