1. Module 14
Thought & Language

2. INTRODUCTION Cognitive Approach
method of studying how we process, store, and use information and how this information, in turn, influences what we notice, perceive, learn, remember, believe, and feel
Thinking
sometimes referred to as reasoning, involves mental processes that are used to form concepts, solve problems, and engage in creative activities

3. INTRODUCTION (CONT.) Language
Special form of communication in which we learn and use complex rules to form and manipulate symbols (words and gestures) that are used to generate an endless number of meaningful sentences

4. FORMING CONCEPTS Concept
a way to group or classify objects, events, animals, or people based on some features, traits, or characteristics that they all share in common
Exemplar model
form a concept of an object, event, animal, or person by defining or making a mental list of the essential characteristics of a particular thing

5. FORMING CONCEPTS Prototype theory
form a concept by creating a mental image that is based on the average characteristics of an object
Functions of concepts
organize information
group things into categories and thus better organize and store information in memory
avoid relearning
can be used to classify and categorize things, you can easily classify new things without having to relearn what that thing is

6. SOLVING PROBLEMS Problem solving
involves searching for some rule, plan, or strategy that results in our reaching a certain goal that is currently out of reach
Different ways of thinking
Algorithms
are a fixed set of rules that, if followed correctly, will eventually lead to a solution

7. SOLVING PROBLEMS (CONT.)
Different ways of thinking
Heuristics
rules of thumb, or clever and creative mental shortcuts, that reduce the number of operations and allow one to solve problems more easily and quickly
Availability heuristic
says that we rely on information that is more prominent or easily recalled and overlook other information that is available but less prominent or notable

8. SOLVING PROBLEMS (CONT.)
Different ways of thinking
Artificial intelligence
means of programming machines (computers, robots) to imitate human thinking and problem-solving abilities

9. SOLVING PROBLEMS (CONT.)
Three strategies for solving problems
Changing one’s mental set
functional fixedness
refers to a mental set that is characterized by the inability to see an object as having a function different from its usual one
Using analogies
a strategy for finding a similarity between the new situation and an old, familiar situation
Forming subgoals
a strategy that involves breaking down the overall problem into separate parts that, when completed in order, will result in a solution

10. THINKING CREATIVELY How is creativity defined? Creative thinking
combination of flexibility in thinking and reorganization of understanding to produce innovative ideas and new or novel solutions
Creative individual
someone who regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions that make an impact on his or her society

11. THINKING CREATIVELY (CONT.)
How is creativity defined?
Psychometric approach
uses objective problem-solving tasks to measure creativity, focuses on the distinction between two kinds of thinking—convergent and divergent
Convergent thinking
means beginning with a problem and coming up with a single correct solution
Divergent thinking
means beginning with a problem and coming up with many different solutions

12. THINKING CREATIVELY (CONT.)
How is creativity defined?
Case study approach
analyzes creative persons in great depth and thus provides insight into their development, personality, motivation, and problems
Cognitive approach
tries to build a bridge between the objective measures of the psychometric approach and the subjective descriptions provided by case studies
cognitive approach identifies and measures cognitive mechanisms that are used during creative thinking

13. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES Language
special form of communication that involves learning complex rules to make and combine symbols (words or gestures) into an endless number of meaningful sentences
Word
arbitrary pairing between a sound or symbol and a meaning
Grammar
a set of rules for combining words into phrases and sentences to express an infinite number of thoughts that can be understood by others

14. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.)
Four rules of language
Phonology
specifies how we make the meaningful sounds that are used by a particular language
phonemes
basic sounds of consonants and vowels
Morphology
system that we use to group phonemes into meaningful combinations of sound and words
morpheme
smallest meaningful combination of sounds in a language

15. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.)
Four rules of language
Syntax, or grammar
set of rules that specifies how we combine words to form meaningful phrases and sentences
4. Semantics
specifies the meaning of words or phrases when they appear in various sentences or contexts

16. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.)
Understanding language
Chomsky’s theory of language
Norm Chomsky
says that all languages share a common universal grammar and that children inherit a mental program to learn this universal grammar

17. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.)

18. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.)
Understanding language
Mental grammar
allows us to combine nouns, verbs, and objects in an endless variety of meaningful sentences
innate brain program
makes learning the general rules of grammar relatively easy

19. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.)
Different structure, same meaning
Surface structure
refers to the actual wording of a sentence, as it is spoken
Deep structure
refers to an underlying meaning that is not spoken but is present in the mind of the listener
Transformational rules
procedures by which we convert our ideas from surface structures into deep structures and from deep structures back into surface ones

20. LANGUAGE: BASIC RULES (CONT.)
Different structure, same meaning
Chomsky’s theory of language
all languages share a common universal grammar and that children inherit a mental program to learn this universal grammar

21. ACQUIRING LANGUAGE Language stages
refers to all infants going through four different periods or stages—babbling, single words, two-word combinations, and sentences
babbling
begins about 6 months, is the first stage in acquiring language
2. single word
second stage in acquiring language, which occurs at about 1 year of age

22. ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.)
Language stages
2. single word (cont.)
parentese (motherese)
way of speaking to young children in which the adult speaks in a slower and higher than normal voice, emphasizes and stretches out each word, uses very simple sentences, and repeats words and phrases
3. two-word combinations
represents the third stage in acquiring language, occurs at about 2 years of age

23. ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.)
Language stages
4. sentences
represents the fourth stage of acquiring language, occurs at about 4 years of age
Telegraphic speech
distinctive pattern of speaking in which the child omits articles (the), prepositions (in, out), and parts of verbs

24. ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.)
Language stages
Basic rules of grammar
rules for combining nouns, verbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech to form meaningful sentences
Overgeneralization
Applying a grammatical rule to cases where it should not be used

25. ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.)
What are innate factors?
genetically programmed physiological and neurological features that facilitate our making speech sounds and acquiring language skills
Innate physiological factors
special adapted vocal apparatus (larynx and pharynx) that allows us to make sounds and form words
Innate neurological features
left hemisphere of the brain is prewired to acquire and use language, whether spoken or signed

26. ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.)
What are innate factors?
Innate developmental factors
critical language period
time from infancy to adolescence when language is easiest to learn
more difficult to learn anytime after adolescence

27. ACQUIRING LANGUAGE (CONT.)
What are environmental factors?
refer to interactions children have with parents, peers, teachers, and others who provide feedback that rewards and encourages language development, as well as provides opportunities for children to observe, imitate, and practice language skills
Social cognitive learning
emphasizes the acquisition of language skills through social interactions, which give children a chance to observe, imitate, and practice the sounds, words, and sentences they hear from their parents or caregivers

28. DECISIONS, THOUGHT & LANGUAGE
Words and Thoughts
Theory of Linguistic Relativity
States that the differences among languages result in similar differences in how people think and perceive the world