Thought and Language Chapter 11

Thinking Definition: altering info stored in memory to create new info The manipulation of symbols

Building Blocks Images and symbols: mental pictures or representations allow us to use concrete forms to represent complex and abstract ideas pie chart Statue of Liberty United States– Uncle Sam

Building Blocks Concepts: Prototypes: category for classifying objects, people, and experiences can help us to create hierarchies of thought Prototypes: a mental model containing the most typical features of a concept ----i.e. bird ( feathers, wings, etc. )

Kinds of Thinking Convergent: to reach a goal Process to find the best solution to a problem Divergent: free flow of ideas to explore possible solutions Brainstorm! Metacognition: Understanding thought processes Thinking about a strategy

Problem Solving Strategies Algorithms: a step by step method of problem solving that guarantees a correct solution Heuristics: rule of thumb that simplify problem solving but does not guarantee a solution

Obstacles to Problem Solving functional fixedness mental sets (habits) confirmation bias/ assumptions Irrelevant or misleading Information (bad intel)

Inference Inductive Thinking Deductive Thinking moves from specific details and observations (typically of nature) to the more general underlying principles or process that explains them typically moves from general truths to specific conclusions. It opens with an expansive explanation (statements known or believed to be true) and continues with predictions for specific observations supporting it.

Building Blocks of Thoughts Language: A system of communication that combines sounds, gestures, or symbols to share ideas

“PARTS” Phonemes: The basic sounds Distinguish one word from another Bat, cat, hat, mat, rat, vat…

“PARTS” Morphemes: The smallest, meaningful units of speech, such as simple words prefixes, suffixes, or syllabic sounds that can be grouped together to create words Work (1) vs. work*ing (2)

“Parts” Syntax: the rules for arranging words into grammatical sentences Semantics: assigning meaning to words I.e. does the word power imply something positive, negative, or neutral