1. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
Prepared by Michael J. Renner, Ph.D.
These slides ©2001 Prentice Hall Psychology Publishing.
CHAPTER 7:
Thinking and Language

2. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Thought and Language
Concepts
Solving Problems
Making Judgments
Language
The Relationship Between Thought and Language
Chapter outline
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

3. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Concepts
Concept
A mental grouping of persons, ideas, events, or objects that share common properties
Prototype
A “typical” member of a category, one that has most of the defining features of that category
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

4. Concepts A Semantic Network
Figure 7.1 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

5. Solving Problems Representing the Problem
Image
A mental representation of visual information
Mental Models
Intuitive theories about the way things work
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

6. Solving Problems Representing the Problem Mental-Rotation Tasks
Imagine a Capital letter T.
Rotate it 90 degrees to the right.
Put a triangle to the left of the figure, pointing to the right.
Rotate the figure 90 degrees to the right.
Which of these figures is the correct one?
Figure 7.2 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
#3 is correct
Similar to:
Intons-Peterson, M. (1993). Imaginal priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 19,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

7. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Solving Problems Representing the Problem Can Baboons Mentally Rotate Objects?
Baboons were trained to use joystick
Shown sample stimulus
Then shown two comparison stimuli, one was the rotated form of the sample
Task was to select the comparison stimulus that matched the original sample
Baboons learned to pick the correct stimulus 70% of the time
Figure 7.4 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Vauclair, J., Fagot, J., & Hopkins, W. D. (1993). Rotation of mental images in baboons when the visual input is directed to the left cerebral hemisphere. Psychological Science, 4,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

8. Solving Problems Generating Solutions
Trial and Error
A problem-solving strategy in which several solutions are attempted until one is found that works
Algorithm
A problem-solving procedure that is guaranteed to produce a solution
Heuristic
A mental shortcut that allows one to make judgments that are quick but often in error
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

9. Solving Problems Generating Solutions Tower of Hanoi Problem
The task is to move three rings from peg A to peg C.
Only the top ring on a peg may be moved.
A larger ring cannot be placed above a smaller one.
Hint:
It helps to
break the task into subgoals.
Figure 7.7 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

10. Solving Problems Generating Solutions The Cheap-Necklace Problem
Figure 7.8 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Make a necklace for 15¢ or less.
It costs 2¢ to open a link; 3¢ to close a link.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

11. Solving Problems Generating Solutions The Nine-Dot Problem
Connect all 9 dots.
Use only 4 lines.
Do not lift your pencil from the page after you begin drawing.
Figure 7.9a from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

12. Solving Problems Generating Solutions Duncker's Candle Problem
Using only the objects shown in the picture, mount the candle to the wall.
Figure 7.9b from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

13. Solving Problems Solution to the Cheap-Necklace Problem
Figure 7.10 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Using all four chains is not necessary to solve the problem.
Solving this problem may require an incubation period followed by insight into the solution.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

14. Solving Problems Solution to the Nine-Dot Problem
People do not realize that they their lines can be drawn outside the box.
Failure to solve this problem is often due to representation failure.
Figure 7.11 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

15. Solving Problems Solution to Duncker's Candle Problem
The thumbtack box can also be used as a shelf.
Failure to solve this problem is often due to functional fixedness.
Figure 7.12 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

16. Solving Problems “Blind Spots” in Problem Solving
Functional Fixedness
Tendency to think of objects only in terms of their usual functions
Mental Set
Tendency to return to a problem-solving strategy that worked in the past
Confirmation Bias
Inclination to search only for evidence that will verify one’s beliefs
Belief Perseverance
Tendency to cling to beliefs even after they have been discredited
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

17. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Making Judgments A Conditional-Reasoning Problem with a Familiar Context
Each card has a drink on one side, a person’s age on the other.
Are the beer drinkers all over 21 years old?
Test this idea using as few cards as possible.
Figure 7.15 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

18. Making Judgments Biases in Judgment
Representativeness Heuristic
Tendency to estimate the likelihood of an event in terms of how typical it seems
Availability Heuristic
Tendency to estimate the likelihood of an event in terms of how easily instances of it can be recalled
Illusion of Control
Tendency for people to believe that they can control chance events that mimic skill situations
This may explain why some people gamble.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

19. Making Judgments Biases in Judgment, continued
Anchoring Effect
The tendency to use the initial value as a reference point in making a new numerical estimate
Framing Effect
Biasing effects on decision making due to the way in which a choice is worded
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

20. Solving Problems and Making Judgments Steps in Critical Thinking
The process of solving problems and making decisions through careful evaluation of evidence
Figure 7.17 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

21. Language Characteristics of Human Language I
Semanticity
The property of language that accounts for the communication of meaning
Phonemes
Basic, distinct sounds of a spoken language
Morpheme
The smallest meaningful unit of a language
Phrase
A group of words that act as a unit to convey meaning
Sentence
An organized sequence of words
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

22. Language Characteristics of Human Language II
Generativity
The property of language that accounts for the capacity to use a limited number of words to produce an infinite variety of expressions
Syntax
Rules of grammar that govern the arrangement of words in a sentence
Displacement
The property of language that accounts for the capacity to communicate about matters that are not in the here-and-now
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

23. Can Animals Learn Language?
Many apes of several species have learned various different signing systems.
Is it language?
Semanticity: “Language apes” satisfy this criterion.
Generativity: Apes can use the same words in different orders to initiate different actions.
Displacement: Researchers say apes refer to past events, but most evidence is anecdotal.
This debate continues.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

24. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
The Relationship Between Thought and Language The Linguistic-Relativity Hypothesis
The hypothesis that language determines, or at least influences, the way we think
This leads to a prediction that people of different cultures, who speak different languages, must think in different ways.
Evidence indicates that language influences but does not completely determine thought.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

25. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
The Relationship Between Thought and Language Labels Can Distort Memory
Participants were shown figures on the left, with different labels.
When asked to redraw the figures, the new drawings fit the labels they had been given.
Figure 7.18 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Carmichael, L., Hogan, H. P., & Walter, A. (1932). An experimental study of the effect of language on the reproduction of visually perceived form. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 15,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

26. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
The Relationship Between Thought and Language Culture, Language, & Thinking
The Dani – aboriginal people of Papua New Guinea – have only two words for colors.
Mola (all colors on the left) and Mili (all colors on the right)
They can distinguish among the different colors, however.
Figure 7.19 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Rosch, E. (1973). On the internal structure of perceptual and semantic categories. In T. E. Moore (Ed.), Cognitive development and acquisition of language. New York: Academic Press.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

27. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Psychological Impact of Sexist Language Guidelines for Nonsexist Language
Common Sexist Terms
Nonsexist Alternatives
Man, mankind
People, human beings
Manpower
Work force, personnel
He, his
He or she, his or her
Freshman
First-year student, frosh
Chairman
Head, chair, chairperson
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall