Introduction to Cognition

Cognition The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering Thinking: process in which the brain uses information from the senses, emotions, and memory to create and manipulate mental representations. Often used interchangeably

Concepts A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. Enables us to chunk large amounts of information – don’t need to treat every new piece of information as unique. Chairs Holidays Political ideologies Psychologists

Concepts Category Hierarchies – We organize concepts into category hierarchies Prototypes – Ask students to think of a bird. Most will think of regular WI songbirds. For example a Robin is a prototypical bird, a penguin is not. Another example – think of a vehicle. Most will think of a car or truck, not a dune buggy or airplane.

Development of Concepts: Definitions Prototypes Mental image or best example of a category Definitions Triangle or Rectangle Not vary common – mostly we use prototypes You COULD define a bird as a “feathered biped,” but it is likely you used Prototypical: Bird? (Robin) Chair (wooden table chair) Dog (larger) Door

Effects of Prototypes on Memory Once we place an item in a category, our memory later shifts towards the category prototype

Solving Problems Algorithm Heuristic Insight A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem Heuristic A rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently (speedier but error-prone) Insight A sudden and novel realization of the solution to a problem

Algorithm or Heuristic? S P L O Y O C H Y G Trial and Error Computers The quadratic formula Competing from home on the Wheel of Fortune Unscrambling those letters would require 907,200 possibilites

Common Heuristic Strategies Getting through a maze Should I wear a rain jacket? Math problems from textbook Term papers, large exams Designing an airplane Getting through a maze – working backward Good heuristic to use when the end goal is clearly specified, such as mazes or math problems. Rain jackets and math problems – looking for analogies Terms papers, exams, designing an airplane – break the big problem into smaller problems: subgoals

Obstacles… In the Thompson family there are 5 brothers, and each brother has one sister. If you count Mrs. Thompson, how many females are there in the Thompson family?

Fifteen percent of people in Topeka have unlisted phone numbers Fifteen percent of people in Topeka have unlisted phone numbers. You select 200 names at random from the Topeka phone book. How many of these people can be expected to have unlisted phone numbers? Irrelevant information = obstacle to problem solving

Without lifting your pencil from the paper, draw no more than 4 lines that will cross through all 9 dots.

Unnecessary constraints (self-imposed limitations) = obstacle to problem solving. Real world examples?

Obstacles to Problem Solving Confirmation Bias A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s perceptions Seinfeld Example Fixation The inability to see a problem from a new perspective Mental Set Functional Fixedness Confirmation Bias Inverse 20 questions – they guess specific instances, and I have in mind a general category Example I used in class with the “guess my sequence” Where we go for news confirms what we already think Seinfeld where the guy thinks George and Jerry are gay Secret Santa, if you guess, you will see “signs” that it is true

Fixation Mental Set A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially a way that has been successful in the past but may not be helpful in solving a new problem

Given this sequence, name the next 3 letters: O T T F . . .

Two-String Problem You must tie together 2 strings dangling from the ceiling without pulling them down. But when you grab the end of one string and pull it toward the other one, you find that you cannot quite reach the other string. The only objects available to you in the room are on the floor in the corner: a ping-pong ball, five screws, a screwdriver, a glass of water, and a paper bag. How can you reach both strings at once and tie them together?

Fixation Functional Fixedness Learned – children show no signs The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions. (The function of an object becomes fixed) Learned – children show no signs

Using and Misusing Heuristics Heuristics: Cognitive Rules of Thumb Representative Heuristic A rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes Representativeness –Which is more likely: 1. HHHHHH or 2. HTTHTH if a penny is flipped 6 times? Representativeness compares the example to a prototype. We have a prototype (expectation) that a penny will not land on heads 6 times in a row. If I flip a coin 10 times and it lands on heads every single time, what are the odds it will land on heads again? 50/50 Linda is a bank teller example. Die with 4 green sides and 2 red sides will be rolled. You will be paid if RGRRR or GRGRRR. Which do you choose?

Deaths per 100 million All accidents vs. Strokes Asthma vs. Electrocution (920) vs. (500) Homicide vs. Diabetes (9,200) vs. (19,000) Appendicitis vs. Lightning (440) vs. (52) Car accidents vs. Cancer of digestive system (27,000) vs. (46,400) Drowning vs. Leukemia (3,600) vs. (7,100)

The FBI classifies crime in the U. S The FBI classifies crime in the U.S. into 2 categories – violent crimes, such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault, and property crimes, such as burglary, larceny, or car theft. What percentage of crime would you estimate are violent rather than property crimes? What percentage of accused felons plead insanity? What percentage of these are acquitted? What percentage of convictions for felony crimes are obtained through trial instead of plea bargaining? 12% Less than 1% only a ¼ these are acquitted Less than 10% of convictions are obtained through trial Media reporting is higher for trials, violent crimes, and pleas of insanity.

Using and Misusing Heuristics Availability Heuristic Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory If instances come to mind, we presume such events are common Availability: We overestimate our chances of winning the lottery because we see people winning on the news. Columbine – are you afraid in schools? 9/11 – are you more afraid to fly? Welfare abuse An example comes to mind very quickly is “More available” – my grandpa smoked 3 packs a day for life and was fine. I had bacon for breakfast, blt for lunch, and bacon for dinner – Grumpy Old Men. 1 (or few) cases that are more available does not make it a rule.

Using and Misusing Heuristics Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic Starting with an implicitly suggested reference point (the "anchor") and make adjustments to it to reach their estimate AKA framing Everyone in my family wakes up before 8 am even on weekends, only lazy people sleep past 8. Relying heavily on the model year and odometer when purchasing a used car. Once the anchor is set, it usually wont change. The anchoring and adjustment heuristic was first theorized by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman. In one of their first studies, the two showed that when asked to guess the percentage of African nations which are members of the United Nations, people who were first asked "Was it more or less than 45%?" guessed lower values than those who had been asked if it was more or less than 65%. The pattern has held in other experiments for a wide variety of different subjects of estimation. Others have suggested that anchoring and adjustment affects other kinds of estimates, like perceptions of fair prices and good deals. Cheaper or more expensive here or there makes it a “good deal.” Mississippi River estimates in class