Chapter 10 – Thinking and Language Reading Map Thur, Jan 12chapter 9 SG & Cards Thur, Jan – 395 Fri, Jan – 401 Mon, Jan – 417 Tues, Jan 17SG and Cards due (no quiz) Wed, Jan 18review for Final Assessment

Thinking (385) Cognition – mental activities associated with processing, understanding, remembering and communicating Cognitive Psychologists study cognition and the logical/illogical ways we create concepts, solve problems, make decisions and form judgments

Concepts (386) Mental groupings of similar objects, events and people Simplify our thinking and expression

Concepts (386) Concepts are formed by –Definition –Prototypes

Concepts (386) by definition A dog has four legs and hair. by prototype The best example of a dog is a labrador retriever.

Solving Problems (387) We are rational because we can solve problems to cope with new situations.

Methods to Solve Problems (387) 1.Trial and Error – try every possible (puzzle pieces) 2.Algorithm – follow set steps that guarantee a solution (lego instructions) 3.Heuristics – use strategies (finding ketchup) – faster but more errors happen 4.Insight – sudden flashes of inspiration (Eureka!)

Obstacles to Problem Solving (388) Confirmation Bias - Tendency to search for information that confirms our ideas Fixation -Inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective -Past success can help us solve new problems but it might also interfere with finding new solutions

Mental Set (389) Is the tendency to repeat solutions that worked in the past Is a type of fixation A perceptual set predisposes what we perceive. A mental set predisposes how we think.

Functional Fixedness (389) The tendency to see an object’s function as fixed and unchanging.

Making Decisions & Forming Judgments (389) Do we use systematic reasoning? Do we follow our intuition?

Overconfidence (391) Overestimating the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments Overestimating what our performance was, is or will be Being more confident than correct Overconfidence is adaptable

Using and Misusing Heuristics (389_ Representative Heuristic - We judge the likelihood of something in terms of how well it represents a prototype. - We assume the professor is the poetry lover not the truck driver. Availability Heuristic - We base our judgments on the availability of information in our memories. - The faster we can remember something, the more likely we expect it to reoccur.

Risks/What do We Fear? (392) What our ancestors feared. What we can’t control. What is immediate. What is most available to our memory. What are most vivid memories.

Framing (394) Framing is the way we present information. Framing has a huge effect on our thinking. Do you want 75% lean beef or 25% fat beef? Do you wonder if the original price is fair, or are you swayed by the 10% OFF SALE PRICE.

Belief Bias (394) is the tendency to seek confirmation of our hunches or existing beliefs. We more easily see the illogic of conclusions that counter our beliefs. Our beliefs distort our logic and make invalid conclusions seem valid.

Belief Perseverance Phenomenon (396) The tendency to cling to beliefs in the face of contrary evidence. We are more ready to accept evidence that supports our belief (and reject evidence that counters our beliefs). 9 minute clip watch?v=SoCqftOYHX4 watch?v=SoCqftOYHX4

Artificial Intelligence (397) The aim is to design computers to perform operations that mimic human thinking and “do” intelligent things. 2 goals of AI Practical – robots that can sense their environment Theoretical – computers that mimic human thinking Computer neural networks mimic the brain’s interconnected neural units.

Language Structure (401) Phonemes – basic sounds – “ch” – “t” Morphemes – smallest unit of language that has meaning – “s” – “un” - 100,000 morphemes and 616,000 words in English “UN” “DESIR” “ABLE” “S”

Grammar (401) Semantics Rules to give morphemes, words and sentences meaning Ie, adding “ed” makes a verb in the past tense Syntax Rules used to order our sentences. Ie. Adjectives come before the noun

Language Development (402) Children acquire simple then complex language. At 4 months, children discriminate speech sounds, read lips to match sound and babble. Babble is not based on the baby’s home language. Clip ttp:// ttp:// At 10 months the babble reflects the house’s language and the baby loses the ability to recognize and say phonemes from other languages.

Language Development (402) 1 year old word stage 18 months ---- learn a word a day Twin clip - e=relmfu e=relmfu 2 years word stage ---- telegraphic speech (mostly nouns and verbs) ‘want juice” --- use nouns and verbs in correct syntax (order) There is no 3-word stage. Most kids go directly to rather complex longer phrases. Clip on Apraxia of Speech

Explaining Language Development (404) 3 theories of language development Skinner – Operant Conditioning theory Chomsky – inborn universal grammar theory Cognitive Neuroscientists – Statistical Learning theory

Skinner Operant Conditioning Theory of Language (404) We learn language by: Association - of things to words Imitation - of words/syntax modelled by others Reinforcement – rewards for saying words

Chomsky’s Theory of Language (404) Says children have inborn, universal grammar Children learn their environment’s language, however, they acquire untaught words and grammar at too extraordinary of a rate to be explained solely by learning principles – therefore the grammar is considered to be “inborn” Children make over-generalization mistakes – “I hurted myself”

Cognitive Neuroscience Statistical Learning Theory of Language (405) Says that there is a critical period for mastery of grammar (1 to 7 years of age) Says that the mind is a blanker slate than Chomsky claims Language develops through a gradual change of network connections based on experience Second language learned early in life activate the same frontal lobe areas as the first language does

Thinking & Language (409) Linguist Benjamin Whorf - linguistic determinism - language determines the way we think Different languages impose different concepts of reality ---- ie there are lots of English words for angry and lots of Japanese words for sympathy

Thinking Without Language (411) Procedural Memory – we have a mental image of how to do something (turning tap on) but we can’t explain it in words We can mentally practice and improve our performance on tasks. We can mentally imagine a result (1989 Grey Cup)

Thinking without Language Much of our information processing occurs outside of consciousness, beyond language. Processing happens in parallel – functioning automatically – remembered implicitly – only occasionally to surface as words.

Animal Thinking and Language (413) Monkeys can do numbers Monkeys have insight not just conditioned learning – use a stick to reach food Bee dances show the way to honey

The Case of the Apes (415) A chimp’s closest relative is a human not an ape Gardner (1969) taught Washoe the chimp 132 signs by age 4 and 181 by age 32 – “water bird” Koko clip ?v=B5tsSyrTy0g&feature=relat ed ?v=B5tsSyrTy0g&feature=relat ed We think that speech evolved after gestures For apes and humans and chimps communication involves gestures

Can Apes Really Talk? (415) Skeptics say: Not like children who effortlessly soak up language Just behavior and reward Syntax problems Just mimicking their trainers Humans have a perceptual set and interpret ape language how they expect it to be

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