Wyatt Andresen, M’Kyla Walker, Sarah Kerman, Jake Garn, Chris Pirrung

 Cognition- the mental activities associated w/ thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating  Concept- a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people  Prototype- a mental image or best example of a category  Algorithm- a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem  Heuristic- a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms  SPLOYOCHYG – 907,200 possible permutations

 Insight- a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts w/ strategy-based problems  Confirmation Bias- a tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconception  Fixation- the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an impediment to problem solving  Mental Set- a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past  O-T-T-F-?-?-?  J-F-M-A-?-?-?  Functional Fixedness- the tendency to think of a thing only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

 Representativeness Heuristic- judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information  Availability Heuristic- estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

 Overconfidence- the tendency to be more confident than correct- to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments  Framing- the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decision and judgments  At first glance, would you prefer…. ▪ 75% lean meat, or… ▪ 25% fat meat

 Belief Bias- the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid  Premise 1: Democrats support free speech.  Premise 2: Dictators are not democrats.  Conclusion: Dictators do not support free speech.  Belief Perseverance- clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

 Language- spoken, written, or signed words and the way we combine them as we think and communicate  Timeline:  4 months-babbling  10 months- identify language of household  1 year- one-word stage  18 months- two-word stage characterized by telegraphic speech

 Language Structure:  1) Phonemes- smallest distinctive sound unit  2) Morpheme- smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of word  3) ▪ Grammar- system of rules ▪ Semantics- deprive meaning of sentences ▪ Syntax- order words into sentences

 Skinner: Operant Learning  We can explain language development with familiar principles.  Chomsky: Inborn Universal Grammar  Language is inborn. Not learned from environment.  Cognitive Scientists: Statistical Learning and Critical Periods  Human infants display a remarkable ability to learn statistical aspects of human speech.

 Linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956)  Linguistic Determinism- Different languages impose different conceptions of reality  Language Influences our thinking, but does not Determine it  The traffic runs both ways between thinking and language. Thinking affects our language, which then affects our thought

 Problem solving is shaped by reinforcement  Show some signs of language:  Chimps- sign language  Collie- retrieve items by name  Gestures associated with communication  Cultural Transmission- use of a tool to accomplish some larger task