Introduction to Psychology Course Introduction to Psychology Cognition, Language, Creativity, and Intelligence Prof. BARAKAT Summer Term

Cognition: Definition of Terms Cognition: Mentally processing information (images, concepts, etc.); thinking Concept: Generalized idea representing a category of related objects or events Language: Words or symbols, and rules for combining them, which are used for thinking and communication On test- “cognition” includes thinking, problem-solving, reasoning and daydreaming On test- definition of concept On test-Thinking involves the manipulation of three basic forms of thought, which are images, concepts, and language.

More Types of Mental Images Created imagery : Imagery that has been assembled or invented rather than remembered (example: people’s faces, picturing a work of art prior to creating it) Kinesthetic imagery : Created from muscular sensations (help us to think about movements and actions). Especially important in music, sports, dance and martial arts On test- value of kinesthetic imagery

Concept Formation Concept formation: Process of classifying information into meaningful categories Positive instance: Object or event that belongs to the concept class Negative instance: Object or event that does not belong to the concept class

Oversimplified concepts based on gender or ethnicity Social Stereotypes Oversimplified concepts based on gender or ethnicity Can you bring to mind any social stereotypes that exist in our dominant culture? How about in your own experience? What are they? On test- social stereotypes

Types of Concept Formations Conjunctive concept (“and” concepts): Class of objects that are defined by the presence of two or more features (e.g., rabbit is white and furry) Relational concept: Based on how an object relates to something else or how its features relate to one another (e.g., larger, north) Disjunctive concept (“either/or”): Objects that have at least one of several possible features; either-or concept (strike in baseball)

More Concept Issues and Terms Prototypes: Ideal model used as a prime example of a concept Denotative meaning: Exact dictionary definition of a word or concept; its objective meaning Connotative meaning: Emotional or personal meaning of a concept e.g.: vehicle; reflect from the perspective of prototype, denotative and connotative meaning On test- prototypes are ideals or models of prime examples of concepts. What is your prototypical ideal of a bird? A robin or an ostrich (a robin most likely) On test- denotative and connotative meaning of concept (example: home- explore both the dictionary and emotional meanings of this word)

Semantics: Study of meanings in language and words Bilingualism: the ability to speak two languages Creates more flexibility and problem-solving strategies Creates better general language skills Creates better ability to control one’s attention On test- definition of semantics= the study of meanings in language. Often has a lot to do with context, for example, the word “shot” in relation to marksmanship, bartending, medicine, golf, and photography On test- benefits of bilingualism

Heuristics Heuristics: Strategy for identifying and evaluating problem solutions. Heuristics are particularly used to rapidly come to a solution that is hoped to be close to the best possible answer, or 'optimal solution'. Heuristics are "rules of thumb", educated guesses, intuitive judgments or simply common sense. A heuristic is a general way of solving a problem. Example: trial and error Representativeness heuristic: Giving a choice greater weight if it seems to be representative of what we already know Random search strategy: All possibilities are tried, more or less randomly

Problem Solving Mechanical solution: Achieved by trial and error or by a fixed procedure Algorithm: Learned set of rules that always leads to a correct solution of a problem (think math) General solution: States the requirements for success but not in enough detail for further action

Insight Insight: Sudden mental reorganization of a problem that makes the solution obvious Involves three abilities: Selective encoding: Selecting information that is relevant to a problem while ignoring distractions Selective combination: Connecting seemingly unrelated bits of useful information Selective comparison: Comparing new problems with old information or with problems already solved (Sternberg & Davidson, 1982)

What are the barriers to problem solving? On test- the common mental barriers to problem solving are cultural barriers, emotional barriers, and perceptual barriers

Barriers to Problem Solving Emotional barriers: Inhibition and fear of making a fool of oneself or of making a mistake Cultural barriers: Belief that fantasy is a waste, and feelings and humor have no place in problem solving

Barriers to Problem Solving (cont.) Learned barriers: Taboos; staying with conventional uses Perceptual barriers: Habits leading to a failure to identify important elements of a problem

Fixations Tendency to repeat wrong solutions or faulty responses and to “fixate” on them, or to become blind to alternatives Functional fixedness: Inability to see new uses (functions) for familiar objects or for things that were used in a particular way On test- definition of functional fixedness

Creativity: How to “Rate” Creative Thoughts Fluency: Total number of suggestions you can make Flexibility: Number of times you shift from one class of possible uses to another Originality: How novel or unusual your solutions are Think of how you have been creative in your life. Discuss with neighbor!

Thinking Styles Convergent thinking: Lines of thought converge on an answer; conventional thinking Divergent thinking: Many possibilities are developed from one starting point (especially used in creative thought) On test- the most common use of a pencil would require convergent thinking and to derive many uses of a pencil would require divergent thinking

Tests of Creativity

Unusual Uses Test Find as many uses for an object as possible Write all the things you can do with a spatula? Time: 1 minute

Testing and Expanding Creativity: Consequences Test List all the consequences that would follow if a basic change were made in the world ? (What would happen if the resources were distributed equally in the world?)

Testing and Expanding Creativity: Anagrams Test Make as many new words as possible from the letters in a given word RAMBUNCTIOUS

Stages of Creative Thought Orientation: Defining the problem Preparation: Gaining as much information as possible Incubation: The problem, while not appearing to be actively worked on, is still “cooking” in the background Illumination: The “a-ha” experience; rapid insight into the solution Verification: Testing and critically evaluating the solution

Smarter people have a slight tendency to be more creative Creative Personality Smarter people have a slight tendency to be more creative Creative people usually have a greater than average range of knowledge and interests Creative people have openness to experience On test- you would be least likely to look at IQ scores to determine the creativity of an individual

Do you want to become more creative? Psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (sik-sent-me-HALE-yee) suggests: Find something that surprises you daily Try to surprise at least one person daily If something sparks your interest, follow it Make a commitment to doing things well Seek challenges Take time for thinking and relaxing Start doing more of what you really enjoy, and less of what you dislike Try to look at problems from as many viewpoints as you can

Logic and Intuition Intuition: Quick, impulsive thought that does not make use of clear reasoning or formal logic

Intelligence Global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment Consider how intelligence differs among various cultures? Consider how you feel intelligent?

Intelligence What is your operational definition of intelligence? How could this be controversial?

g-Factor General ability factor, or core of general intelligence that involves reasoning, problem-solving ability, knowledge, memory, and successful adaptation to one’s surroundings The relationship of g to intelligence tests may be more readily understood with an analogy. Irregular objects, such as the human body, are said to vary in "size". Yet no single measurement of a human body is obviously preferred to measure its "size". Instead, many and various measurements, such as those taken by a tailor, may be made. All of these measurements will be positively correlated with each other, and if one were to "add up" or combine all of the measurements, the aggregate would give a better description of an individual's size than any single measurement.

End of the First Part

Second Part

Testing Intelligence Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition (SB5): Widely used individual intelligence test, derived directly from Alfred Binet’s first intelligence test; items are age-ranked

Stanford-Binet

“Ages” Chronological age: Person’s age in years Mental age: Average intellectual performance

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Intelligence index; mental age divided by chronological age, then multiplied by 100 Average IQ in the USA is 100 Average IQs in other countries (care to do a research paper?) Does a high IQ guarantee success?

Figure 9.22 Distribution of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test scores for 3,184 children. (Adapted from Terman & Merrill, 1960.) Fig. 9-22, p. 308

Normal (Bell-Shaped) Curve Most scores fall close to the average, and very few are found at the extremes

More IQ Terms Deviation IQ: Scores based on a person’s relative standing in his or her age group; how far above or below average a person’s score is, relative to other scores IQ scores are not very dependable until a child reaches age 6 Terminal decline: Abrupt decline in measured IQ about 5 years before death

Wechsler Tests Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test, 3rd Edition (WAIS-III): Adult intelligence test that rates verbal and performance intelligence and abilities Replaced by WAIS-IV in 2008 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Edition (WISC-IV): Downscaled version of the WAIS-III/IV; for children from 6 years to 16 years, 11 months, 30 days

IQ Research Men and women do not appear to differ in overall intelligence Who has the highest recorded IQ to date? A strong correlation (about .50) exists between IQ and school grades

Intellectual Determinism A desire to know, to excel, and to persevere On test

Intellectual Disability Presence of a developmental disability and an IQ score below 70; a significant impairment of adaptive behavior also figures into the definition Adaptive behavior: Basic skills such as dressing, eating, working, hygiene; necessary for self-care

Table 9-6, p. 310

These youngsters are participants in the Special Olympics — an athletic event for the intellectually disabled. It is often said of the Special Olympics that “everyone is a winner — participants, coaches, and spectators.” p. 310

Familial Intellectual Disability Mild intellectual disability that occurs in homes that have: Inadequate nutrition Intellectual stimulation Medical care Emotional support

Causes of Intellectual Disabilities Consider the causes- what are they?

Organic (Physical) Causes of Intellectual Disabilities Birth injuries: Lack of oxygen during delivery Fetal damage: Prenatal damage from disease, infection, or drug use Metabolic disorders: Affects energy use and production in the body Genetic abnormalities: Such as missing genes, extra genes, or defective genes

Conclusion Many researchers believe that intelligence is a combination of heredity (genes) and environment (upbringing); contributing percentage of each is not known yet

Gardner’s Theory of Intelligence: Some Concepts Multiple intelligences: Theory posed by Howard Gardner that states we have several specialized types of intellectual ability

Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple Intelligences Language: Used for thinking by lawyers, writers, comedians Logic and math: Used by scientists, accountants, programmers Visual and spatial thinking: Used by engineers, inventors, aviators Music: Used by composers, musicians, music critics

Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple Intelligences (cont) Bodily-kinesthetic skills: Used by dancers, athletes, surgeons Intrapersonal skills (self-knowledge): Used by poets, actors, ministers Interpersonal skills (social abilities): Used by psychologists, teachers, politicians Naturalistic skills (ability to understand natural environment): Used by biologists, organic farmers

According to Howard Gardner’s theory, bodily-kinesthetic skills reflect one of eight distinct types of intelligence.

Twin Study Comparison of characteristics of twins who were raised together or separated at birth; used to identify relative impact of heredity and environment

Figure 9.23 Approximate correlations between IQ scores for persons with varying degrees of genetic and environmental similarity. Notice that the correlations grow smaller as the degree of genetic similarity declines. Also note that a shared environment increases the correlation in all cases. (Estimates from Bouchard, 1983; Henderson, 1982.) Fig. 9-23, p. 312

Figure 9.24 Comparison of an adopted child and a biological child reared in the same family. (Adapted from Kamin, 1981.) Fig. 9-24, p. 313

A Different Type of Intelligence Test Culture-fair test: Test designed to minimize importance of skills and knowledge that may be more common in some cultures than in others

Means-End Analysis How to reduce the difference between the present state of affairs and a desired goal How to build a piece of furniture, complete a computer program, get from one city to another, to complete this term with an A, and so on . . .

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