Thinking

Cognition Another term for thinking, knowing and remembering. Maybe by studying the way we think, we can eventually think better. Does the way we think really matter?

Concepts A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people. Concepts are similar to Piaget’s idea of…. In order to think about the world, we form…….. Schemas These animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of “dogs”.

Animal FishBird SalmonSharkOstrichCanary Has skin Eats Breathes Has fins Can swim Has gills Has wings Can fly Has feathers Can sing Is yellow Can’t fly Is tall Can bite Is dangerous Is pink Is edible

Prototypes A mental image or best example of a category. We base our concepts on …. If a new object is similar to our prototype, we are better able to recognize it. If this was my prototype of a woman; then what am I?

How Do We Solve Problems?

Trial and Error

Algorithms A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Usually by using a formula. What are the benefits and detriments of algorithms?

Heuristics A rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently. It is fast, but is… Prone to errors. Two major types of heuristics….

Representativeness Heuristic Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind. Like thinking everyone from La Costa Canyon is preppy, or someone with glasses is nerdy, or a blonde is not smart. If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence. She is an economics major at Harvard University. Who went to Harvard? My friend Bob is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (but he looks like he did).

Availability Heuristic Judging a situation based on examples of similar situations that initially come to mind. Vivid examples in the news often cause an availability heuristic. Which place would you be more scared of getting mugged or even murdered? The Bronx, NY Gary, Indiana The crime rate of Gary, Indiana is MUCH higher than the Bronx. But when you think of crime, which town comes to mind?

Heuristics can lead to Overconfidence… The tendency to be more confident than correct. To overestimate the accuracy of your beliefs and judgments. Considering “overconfidence”, would you want to risk 1 million dollars on an audience poll?

Belief Perseverance Clinging to your initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. All Charger fans who still believe that their team is the best in the AFC West are suffering from belief perseverance.

Belief Bias Belief Bias - Belief bias is when an individual uses their beliefs INSTEAD of following given directions and using logic to answer a question. For example I will accept that some good ice skaters are not professional hockey players, but will reject an assertion that some professional hockey players are not good ice skaters (which, although it seems unlikely, is possible)

Insight A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem. That “ah ha” moment. No real strategy involved.

Obstacles to Problem Solving

Fixation The inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles? Two examples of fixation are…

Mental set a.k.a. rigidity. The tendency to fall into established thought patterns. Here is an example…

Unscramble These Words (Do the left column 1 st ) nelin ensce sdlen lecam slfal dlchi neque raspe klsta nolem dlsco hsfle naorg egsta

Unscrambled Words linen scene lends camel falls child queen pears talks melon colds shelf groan gates The strategy you used to solve the first column probably kept you from seeing the multiple solutions for the words in the second column.

Functional Fixedness The inability to see a new use for an object. Think of as many uses as you can for a ……

Confirmation Bias We look for evidence to confirm our beliefs and ignore evidence that contradicts them. For example, if one believes that all Italians are in shape and go tanning, then they turn on MTV to prove our point. Look…I knew it was true!!! But is it really?

Framing 90% of the population will be saved with this medication…..or 10% of the population will die despite this medication. You should not drink more than two drinks per day….or You should not drink more than 730 drinks a year. The way a problem is presented can drastically effect the way we view it.

CREATIVITY Imaginative thinking. Often involves thinking “outside the box.” Convergent Thinking (looking for 1 answer) versus Divergent Thinking (looking for many answers or solutions like when we brainstorm for ideas).

The Nine-Dot Problem... Without lifting your pen from the page, can you connect all nine dots with only four lines?

Language A means of communication.

Language can be…..

All languages contain…. Phonemes The smallest units of sound in a language. English has about 40 phonemes. Morphemes The smallest unit of meaningful sound. Can be words like a or but. Can also be parts of words like prefixes or suffixes…”ed” at the end of a word means past tense. How many phonemes does “chug” have?

Grammar A system of structural rules that govern the composition of sentences, phrases and words in a language. This allows us to communicate and understand others.

Semantics The set of rules by which we derive meaning in a language. Adding ed at the end of words means past tense. The Chinese languages do not have expansive semantic rules. They usually have totally different symbols for different tenses.

Syntax The rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences. In English, adjectives come before nouns, but not in Spanish!! Is this the White House or the House White?

Language Acquisition Stages that we learn language… 1.Babbling Stage (starts at 3-4 months). 2.Holophrastic Stage or 1 word stage (between 1-2 yrs. old) 3.Telegraphic Speech Stage (2 word stage which starts around 2 years of age).

Language Acquisition How many words do you think you know now? Probably around 40,000. After age 1 you average about 10 words a day.

How do we learn language?

Social Learning Theory B.F. Skinner from the Behaviorist School. Baby may imitate a parent. If they are reinforced they keep saying the word. If they are punished, they stop saying the word.

Noam Chomsky’s Theory (nativist theory) We learn language too quickly for it to be “learned” through reinforcement and punishment. There must be an inborn “universal language acquisition device.”

Does language influence our thinking?

Whorf’s Linguistic Determinism Hypothesis (Linguistic relativity) The idea that language determines the way we think. The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past. His theory has pretty much been discredited.

Thinking without Language We can think in words. But more often we think in mental pictures. In 1977, Reggie Jackson hit 3 HR’s against the Dodgers. He has stated that before each at bat, he visualizes crushing a home run. Do you think visualization helps?

Do Animals think?

Honeybees seem to communicate.

Kohler’s Chimpanzees Kohler exhibited that chimps can problem solve.

Apes (primates) and Signing