1. Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
Chapter Seven
Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

2. Thinking, Language, and Intelligence: Basic Terms
Cognition: Mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.
Thinking: Manipulation of mental representations of information in order to draw inferences and conclusions.
Mental image: Mental representation of objects or events that are not physically present.

3. The Building Blocks of Thought
Thinking often involves the manipulation of two forms of mental representations: Mental images and mental concepts.
Mental representations are manipulated in the same way as an actual image, using all the senses.
Using concepts makes it easier to communicate with others and to remember information.
Mental images usually refer to visual “pictures.”
This is demonstrated in tasks involving mentally scanning and rotating an image
People can also form mental representations that involve senses other than vision as mental images are manipulated in the same way that visual images of actual objects are.
South African actor and award-winning fashion designer Nkhensani Nkosi, shown here, is highly creative. But she must also be able to draw on existing knowledge, analyze new information, effectively solve problems, and make good decisions.
What types of cognitive
activities might be required to plan and implement a new clothing line?

4. The Building Blocks of Thought
Concepts
Mental category of objects or ideas based on shared properties
Formal concept
Mental category formed by learning rules
Natural concept
Mental category formed by everyday experience
Boundaries are “fuzzy” and not always sharply defined
Prototype
Best, or most typical, example of a particular concept
Exemplars
Individual instances

5. The Building Blocks of Thought
Concepts
Provide a mental shorthand by economizing cognitive effort
Formed by learning defined rule or features (formal concept)
Simple
Complex
Formed as result of everyday experience (natural concept)
Prototypes
Exemplars
natural concept A mental category that is
formed as a result of everyday experience.
prototype The most typical instance of a
particular concept.
exemplars Individual instances of a
concept or category, held in memory.

6. Solving Problems and Making Decisions
Problem-solving strategies
Trial and error
Algorithms
Heuristics
Useful heuristics
Trial and error: Trying a variety of solutions and eliminating those that don’t work
Algorithms: Using a specific rule, procedure, or method (such as a mathematical formula) that inevitably produces the correct solution
Heuristics: Following a general rule of thumb to reduce the number of possible solutions
Useful heuristics: Breaking a problem into a series of subgoals; working backward
Recipes are often developed through a process of trial and error.

7. Insight and Intuition Insight
Involves sudden realization of how a problem can be solved
Only rarely occurs through conscious manipulation of concepts or information
Intuition
Involves reaching conclusion or making a judgment without conscious awareness of the thought processes involved
Guiding stage
Integrative stage
Guiding stage — you perceive a pattern in information, but not consciously
Integrative stage — a representation of pattern becomes conscious, usually in form of a hunch or hypothesis

8. Obstacles to Solving Problems: Thinking Outside the Box
Functional fixedness
Involves tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way
Mental set
Refers to the tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that have worked in the past
May prevent seeing other possible solutions, especially in areas in which one is knowledgeable or well trained.
Can sometimes suggest a useful heuristic

9. Overcoming Functional Fixedness
Here’s a classic problem for you to solve. You have two candles, some thumbtacks, and a box of matches. Using just these objects, try to figure out how to mount the candles on a wall.
See page 282 in your text for the solution

10. Estimating the Probability of Events: Decisions Involving Uncertainty
The Availability Heuristic
Probability of an event is judged by how easily previous occurrences of that event can be recalled.
The less accurately our memory of an event reflects the actual frequency of the event, the less accurate our estimate of the event’s likelihood will be.
The availability heuristic is more likely to be used when people rely on information held in their long- term memory to determine the likelihood of events occurring.
Most people will overestimate deaths from natural disasters because disasters are frequently shown on TV.
Most people will underestimate deaths from asthma because those deaths do not make local news.
Image information: Vivid Images and the Availability Heuristic: Shark! Almost every summer, shark attacks make the headlines in newspapers and online. But how likely are you to die in a shark attack?
In 2010, there were two deaths due to shark attack. In contrast, 33 people were killed by dog attacks, 29 people were killed by lightning—and 630 people were killed in bicycle accidents (International Shark Attack File, 2010).
How does the availability heuristic explain why people are afraid to go to the beach after a well-publicized shark sighting?

11. The Persistence of Unwarranted Beliefs: Obstacles to Logical Thinking
Obstacle 1: Belief-bias effect
Obstacle 2: Confirmation bias
Obstacle 3: Fallacy of positive instances
Obstacle 4: Overestimation effect
Obstacle 1: The Belief-Bias Effect
Occurs when people accept only the evidence that conforms to their belief, rejecting or ignoring any evidence that does not
Obstacle 2: Confirmation Bias
Tendency to search for information or evidence that confirms a belief, while making little or no effort to search for information that might disprove belief
Obstacle 3: The Fallacy of Positive Instances
Tendency to remember uncommon events that seem to confirm our beliefs and to forget events that disconfirm our beliefs
Obstacle 4: The Overestimation Effect
Tendency to overestimate the rarity of events

12. Animal Communication and Cognition
Animals communicate with one another, but are they capable of mastering language?
Bonobos, dolphins, and parrots can respond to spoken commands and questions but not nearly as well as humans.
Birds and elephants can demonstrate cooperation, social status, and complex memories of the past.
Researchers are interested in specific cognitive capabilities that have evolved in different species to help them best adapt to their ecological niche.
Do you know how prairie dogs communicate?
Prairie dogs use a sophisticated system of vocal communication to describe predators. Their high-pitched calls contain specific information about what the predator is, how big it is, and how fast it is approaching (Slobodchikoff & others, 2009).
Do you know how prairie dogs communicate?

13. Measuring Intelligence
Global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment
Reflected in effective, rational, and goal-directed behavior

14. Development of Intelligence Tests
Alfred Binet (1857–1911)
Devised a series of tests, for the French government, to measure different mental abilities in schoolchildren
Focused on elementary mental abilities, such as memory, attention, and the ability to understand similarities and differences
Developed goal to help identify “slow” children who could benefit from special help
Invented concept of mental age based on the average age at which questions were answered correctly
Alfred Binet French psychologist Alfred Binet (1857–1911) is shown here with an unidentified child and an instrument from his laboratory that was used to measure his young participants’ breathing rates while they performed different tasks (Cunningham, 1997). Although Binet developed the first systematic intelligence tests, he did not believe that he was measuring innate ability. Instead, he believed that his tests could identify schoolchildren who could benefit from special help
Alfred Binet
(1857–1911)

15. An Interesting Irony Alfred Binet
Did not believe that he was measuring an inborn or permanent level of intelligence
Believed that intelligence was too complex a quality to describe with a single number
Noted that an individual’s score could vary from time to time
What do you think?
He steadfastly refused to rank “normal” children on the basis of their scores, believing that such rankings would be unfair. He recognized that many individual factors, such as a child’s level of motivation, might affect the child’s score.

16. Lewis Terman and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test
Terman developed the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales at Stanford University
His test a revision of Binet’s test
Developed the concept of IQ:
IQ formula = MA/CA × 100
Example: A bright child of a chronological age (CA) of 8 scores at a mental age (MA) of 12 for an IQ of 150.
12/8 x 100 = 150
mental age A measurement of intelligence
in which an individual’s mental level is
expressed in terms of the average abilities
of a given age group.
intelligence quotient (IQ) A measure of
general intelligence derived by comparing
an individual’s score with the scores of
others in the same age group.

17. World War I and Group Intelligence Testing
U.S. Army needed to develop mass testing option for millions of recruits.
Two versions
Army Alpha test was administered in writing.
Army Beta test was administered orally to recruits and draftees who could not read.
May have led to overuse of tests and discrimination

18. David Wechsler and Wechsler Intelligence Scales
Developed for adults: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). Its several components included a verbal score and performance score.
IQ calculated by comparing an individual’s score with scores of others in same general age group
Developed for kids: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)
Dissatisfaction with Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales
Verbal score: Scores on subtests of vocabulary, comprehension, and knowledge of general information
Performance score: Largely nonverbal subtests: identifying missing parts in incomplete pictures, arranging pictures to tell a story, arranging blocks to match a given pattern
Image information:
David Wechsler
(1896–1981)

19. Does a High IQ Score Predict Success in Life?
Terman followed children with IQs above 140
After few years: Children socially well-adjusted, stronger, healthier, successful in school
Later, personality factors seemed to account for subgroup differences
The A group most successful; more goal-oriented, had greater perseverance, had greater self-confidence
The C group less successful
But intelligence alone is not enough. Although IQ scores do reliably predict academic success, success in school is no guarantee of success beyond school. Many different personality factors are involved in achieving success: motivation, emotional maturity, commitment to goals, creativity, and—perhaps most important—a willingness to work hard
“[W]ith the exception of moral character, there is nothing as significant for a child’s future as his grade of intelligence.”
—Lewis M. Terman (1916)

20. Principles of Test Construction: What Makes a Good Test?
Many kinds of psychological tests measure various aspects of intelligence or mental ability.
Achievement test: Test designed to measure a person’s level of knowledge, skill, or accomplishment in a particular area.
Aptitude test: Test designed to assess a person’s capacity to benefit from education or training.

21. Basic Requirements of Good Test Design
Standardization
Administration of a test to a large, representative sample of people under uniform conditions for the purpose of establishing norms
Norms
Typically closely follow a pattern of individual differences called a normal curve, or normal distribution
Reliability
Ability of a test to produce consistent results when administered on repeated occasions under similar conditions
Validity
Ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure

22. The Normal Curve of Distribution of IQ Scores
Figure 7.6 The Normal Curve of Distribution of IQ Scores The distribution of IQ scores on the WAIS-IV in the general population tends to follow a bell-shaped normal curve, with the average score defined as 100. Notice that 68 percent of the scores fall within the “normal” IQ range of 85 to 115. Ninety-five percent of the general population score between 70 and 130, while only one-tenth of 1 percent score lower than 55 or higher than 145. (Because of rounding, percentages add up to more than 100%.)

23. The Nature of Intelligence
Psychologists do not agree about the basic nature of intelligence, including whether it is a single, general ability, and whether it includes skills and talents, as well as mental aptitude.
No animation.

24. Twin Studies Identical twins Fraternal twins
Identical twins raised together have very similar IQ scores.
Identical twins raised in separate homes have IQs that are slightly less similar than identical twins raised together, indicating the effect of different environments.
Fraternal twins
Fraternal twins raised together have IQs that are less similar than identical twins raised together, but they show more similarity in IQ scores than non-twin siblings raised together.
Identical twins share exactly the same genes.
Fraternal twins develop from two different fertilized eggs.

25. Genetics, Environment, and IQ Scores
Figure 7.8 Genetics, Environment, and IQ Scores This graph shows the average correlations of IQ scores for individuals who are genetically related to different degrees. The graph is based on research by psychologists Thomas Bouchard and Matt McGue, who summarized the results from more than 100 separate studies on over 100,000 pairs of relatives (McGue & others, 1993). The data show that both genetics and environment have an effect on IQ scores. The more closely two individuals are related genetically, the more similar their IQ scores: Identical twins reared together are more alike than are fraternal twins reared together. However, the same data also show the importance of environmental influences: Identical twins reared together are more alike than are identical twins reared apart, and siblings who are reared together are more alike than are siblings reared in different homes.

26. Heredity and Environment
Heritability
Degree to which variation in traits stems from genetic—rather than environmental— differences among individuals
Currently accepted heritability estimate is about 50% for the general population
Environment
Degree to which variation is due to environmental—rather than genetic— differences.

27. The Two Pots Analogy
Figure 7.9 The Two Pots Analogy Because the two environments are very different, no conclusions can be drawn about possible overall genetic differences between the plants in pot A and the plants in pot B.

28. Remember…
Unless the environmental conditions of two racial groups are virtually identical, it is impossible to estimate the overall genetic differences between two groups.
Improvement in IQ scores across cultures and countries over past few generations suggests environmental influence (Flynn Effect).

29. Differences Within Groups Versus Differences Between Groups
Other evidence for the importance of environment in determining IQ scores
Improvement in average IQ scores has occurred in several cultures and countries during the past few generations.
14 nations have shown significant gains in average IQ scores in just one generation.
Average IQ score in the U.S. has also steadily increased over the past century.
Such changes in a population can be accounted for only by environmental changes.
Improvement in IQ scores across cultures and countries over past few generations suggests environmental influence (Flynn Effect).

30. Are IQ Tests Culturally Biased?
Challenges
Rely on white, middle-class cultural knowledge and values
Other cultures unfamiliar with the white, middle-class culture
Impossible to design completely culture-free test
Differences in cultural test-taking behavior
Differences in motivation, attitudes toward test taking, and previous experiences with tests
Standardized intelligence tests may reflect white, middle-class cultural knowledge and values.
Minority-group members may do poorly on the tests not because of lower intelligence, but because of unfamiliarity with the white, middle-class culture.
It is generally recognized that it is virtually impossible to design a test that is completely culture-free.
Cultural differences may also be involved in test-taking behavior.
Cultural factors such as motivation, attitudes towards test taking, and previous experiences with tests, can affect performance and scores on tests.