cognition: thinking & language chapter 8 copyright 2003 allyn & bacon this multimedia...

Cognition: Thinking & Language

Chapter 8

Copyright 2003 Allyn & Bacon

This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:

•Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;

•Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images;

•Any rental, lease, or lending of the program

Slide authors:

Larry D. Thomas

Landon O. Thomas

Book authors:

R. H. Ettinger

Copyright © 2004 Allyn & Bacon All rights reserved

Concepts

Concepts– A mental category used to represent a class or

group of objects, people, organizations, events, situations, or relations that share common characteristics or attributes

– Formal concept A concept that is clearly defined by a set of rules, a formal

definition, or a classification system; an artificial concept

– Natural concept A concept acquired not from a definition but through

everyday perceptions and experiences; a fuzzy concept We acquire many natural concepts through experiences

with examples, or positive instances of the concept


Concepts

Concepts (continued)– Prototype

A category member that embodies the most common and typical features of a concept

– Tool

– Color

– Exemplars The individual instances of a concept that are stored in

memory from personal experiences To decide whether an unfamiliar item belongs to a concept,

we compare it with exemplars


Reasoning

Reasoning– A form of thinking in which conclusions are drawn

from a set of facts– Two basic forms of reasoning are deductive

reasoning and inductive reasoning– Deductive reasoning

Reasoning from the general to the specific, or drawing particular conclusions from general principles

Syllogism– A scheme for logical reasoning in which two

statements known as premises are followed by a valid conclusion

– Introduced by Aristotle


Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning Example

– Major premise: All of Prof. Bob’s pencils are yellow

– Minor premise: Daniel has borrowed a pencil from Prof. Bob

– Conclusion: The pencil Daniel borrowed from Prof. Bob is yellow


Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning– A form of reasoning in which general conclusions

are drawn from particular facts or individual cases– Resulting in conclusions which might be true– Premises can be judged to be false on the basis of

conclusions, but they cannot be judged to be true– Many people, especially those who don’t listen

carefully to instructions or follow them well, have difficulty with formal reasoning problems

– Research suggests that people can improve their reasoning skills when exposed to step-by-step instruction and practice in formal reasoning


Reasoning

Deduction, induction, and the scientific method– Both inductive and deductive reasoning are used in

scientific method– Inductive reasoning is used to formulate a

hypothesis based on observations– Deductive reasoning is used in the design of a study– Once formulated, the hypothesis becomes a major

premise, and the method used to test it, a minor premise

– The outcome of the study is the conclusion


Decision Making

Additive and elimination by aspects strategies– Additive strategy

A decision-making approach in which each alternative is rated on each important factor affecting the decision and the alternative rated highest overall is chosen

– Elimination by aspects A variation on the additive strategy The factors on which the alternatives are to be evaluated

are ordered from most important to least important Any alternative that does not satisfy the most important

factor is automatically eliminated The process of elimination continues as each factor is

considered in order The alternative that survives is the one chosen


Decision Making

Heuristics– A rule of thumb that is derived from experience and

used in decision making and problem solving, even though there is no guarantee of its accuracy or usefulness

– Availability heuristic A cognitive rule of thumb that says that the probability of an

event or the importance assigned to it is based on its availability in memory

Any information affecting a decision, whether it is accurate or not, is more likely to be considered if it is readily available


Decision Making

Heuristics (continued)– Representativeness heuristic

A thinking strategy based on how closely a new object or situation is judged to resemble or match an existing prototype of that object or situation

An example of the use of representativeness heuristic occurs when people judge others based on stereotypes

– A person may expect someone from California to be either a surfer or an actor because that fits the person’s mental representation of a Californian

– In reality, however, most Californians are neither surfers nor actors; only a small fraction fit this stereotype


Stereotypes1. People who __________ are intelligent.

a. Wear glasses b. Wear jewelry

c. Drive American cars d. Are tall

2. __________ are great lovers.

a. Canadians b. Italians

c. Eskimos d. Nigerians

3. __________ are not very intelligent.

a. Lawyers b. Football players

c. Musicians d. Salespeople

4. __________ are moody.

a. Men b. Women

c. Americans d. Children

5. __________ are unsophisticated country hicks.

a. Californians b. Easterners

c. Southerners d. Northerners



Decision Making

Framing– The way information is presented to emphasize

either a potential gain or loss as the outcome– Kahneman and Tversky

Did a study where participants where asked to choose between two alternative programs to combat a disease

The first version focused attention on gains and people were more likely to choose the option they perceive to be safest

The second version was framed in terms of losses, so people were more willing to choose the “risky” option


Decision Making


Problem Solving

Approaches to problem solving– Problem solving

Using thoughts and actions required to achieve a desired goal that is not readily attainable

– Trial and error An approach to problem solving in which one solution after

another is tried in no particular order until an answer is found

When you possess relevant background knowledge, using the knowledge to find a solution to a problem is more efficient than using trial and error


Problem Solving

Approaches to problem solving (continued)– Algorithm

A systematic, step-by-step procedure, such as a mathematical formula, that guarantees a solution to a problem of a certain type if the algorithm is appropriate and is executed properly

– Heuristics Working backwards

– A heuristic strategy in which a person discovers the steps needed to solve a problem by defining the desired goal and working backwards to the current condition


Problem Solving

Approaches to problem solving (continued)– Heuristics (continued)

Means-end analysis– A heuristic strategy in which the current position is

compared with the desired goal, and a series of steps are formulated and taken to close the gap between them

Analogy heuristic– A rule of thumb that applies a solution that solved a

problem in the past to a current problem that shares many similar features


Impediments to Problem Solving

Functional Fixedness– The failure to use familiar objects in novel ways to solve

problems because of a tendency to view objects only in terms of their customary functions

Suppose you injured your leg and knew that you should apply ice to prevent swelling, but you had no ice cubes

If you suffered from functional fixedness, you might believe there was nothing you could do

Rather than thinking about the object that you don’t have, think about the function that it performs

What you need is something very cold, not necessarily an ice bag, but a cold can of soda could be a solution



Mental set

– The tendency to apply a familiar strategy to the solution of a problem without carefully considering the special requirements of that problem

– Recent research indicates that our problem-solving abilities may remain relatively undiminished over our lifetimes, even though our pace may slow down a little with age

– Haught and others Reported that older problem solvers performed as well as

younger ones on practical, everyday problems



Availability Heuristics– A cognitive rule of thumb that says that the

probability of an event or the importance assigned to it is not, is more likely to be considered if it is readily available.

An example is the perceived increase risk of plane crashes after September 11th twin tower crashes in New York

Representative Heuristics– A thinking strategy based on how closely a new

object or situation is judged to resemble or match an existing prototype or that object or situation.

An example is the use of stereotypes.



Gambler’s Fallacy– The belief that the chances of an event’s occurring

increases if the event has not recently occurred. He is due for a hit in baseball.

Belief in Small Numbers– A small sample of observers is likely to be highly

variable but some believe it is more likely to occur if a few individuals support their belief.

Religious leaders telling congregation that the end of the world is coming soon.



Overconfidence– The tendency to be more confident than correct.– When people over estimate the soundness of their

judgments and accuracy of their knowledge. He is due for a hit in baseball.

Confirmation Bias– The tendency to cling to beliefs despite

contradictory evidence. I do not need to study for psychology because I listen well

in class. This belief continues in spite of poor test grades.


High-Tech Applications of Cognition

Artificial intelligence– Computer systems that simulate human thinking in

solving problems and in making judgments and decisions

– Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon were the first to successfully program computers to mimic human thinking

– Expert systems Computer programs designed to carry out highly specific

functions within a limited domain MYCIN was one of the first medical expert systems Outside its area of expertise, an expert system cannot

function


High-tech Applications of Cognition

Artificial Neural Networks– Computer systems hat are intended to mimic the

human brain– Using neural networks, psychologists can also learn

more about how the brain works– Alex Waibel and colleagues

Used a neural network in their research on speech recognition

They developed a system “programmed to modify itself according to whatever signals come into the system . . . The speech recognizer actually learns how to identify sounds and words”


High-Tech Applications of Cognition

Robotics– The science of automating human and animal

functions Help stroke patients by assisting them in exercise Help surgeons make precise surgical movements Complete dangerous tasks

– Sensing for harmful and toxic chemical agents– Defusing bombs– Destroying mines– Cleaning up nuclear waste sites

Language

Chapter 7Web link: www.ablongman.com/wood5e/

Copyright 2003 Allyn & Bacon

This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:

•Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;

•Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images;

•Any rental, lease, or lending of the program

Slide authors:

Larry D. Thomas

Landon O. Thomas

Book authors:

Samuel Wood

Ellen G. Wood

Denise Boyd


Language

The structure of language– Psycholinguistics

The study of how language is acquired, produced, and used, and how the sounds and symbols of language are translated into meaning

– The structure and rules governing language involve four basic building blocks-phonemes, morphemes, syntax, and semantics

– Phonemes The smallest units of sound in a spoken language Letters combined to form sounds are also phonemes English uses abut 45 phonemes


Language

The structure of language (continued)– Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in language In almost all cases in the English language, a morpheme is

made of two or more phonemes Morphemes, singly and in combination, form the words in a

language and provide meaning

– Syntax The aspect of grammar that specifies the rules for

arranging and combining words to form phrases and sentences


Language

The structure of language (continued) – Semantics

The meaning or the study of meaning derived from morphemes, words, and sentences

Noam Chomsky– Maintained that the ability to glean a meaningful

message from a sentence is stored in a different area of the brain than are the words used to compose the sentence

– He distinguished between the surface structure and the deep structure of a sentence


Language

The structure of language (continued)– Semantics (continued)

Surface structure– The literal words of a sentence that are spoken or

written Deep structure

– The underlying meaning of a sentence In some sentences, the surface structure and the deep

structure are the same Alternatively, a single sentence may have one or more

different deep structures


Language

The structure of language (continued) – Pragmatics

Indicators of the social meaning of an utterance, such as intonations and gestures

In English, statements fall in intonation at the end, while questions rise

Language and the brain– Researchers used PET scans to view activity in

areas of the brains of Italian and English speakers while they read aloud a list of words and non-words; no difference was found in the end


Language

Language and the brain (continued)– Paulesu and colleagues

Uncovered that the brain activity in three regions varied according to the speaker’s native language

– Brain-imaging studies have identified one area in the lower rear section of the left temporal lobe that plays a major role in processing information about both syntax and semantics

– Two brain areas that are important for processing language are Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area


Language

Language and the brain (continued)– Broca’s area

Frontal lobesPhysical production of speechProcessing errrors in syntax

– Wernicke’s areaTemporal lobesComprehension of speechGrammatical characteristics of language


Language

Animal language– As far as scientists know, humans are the only

species to have developed this rich, varied, and complex system of communication

– Chimpanzee language Allen and Beatrix Gardner

– Took in Washoe when she was one year old and taught her sign language

– By the end of her fifth year she had mastered about 160 signs


Language

– Chimpanzee language (continued) David Premack

– Taught another chimp, Sarah, to use an artificial language he developed

– Sarah mastered the concepts of similarities and differences, and eventually she could signal whether two objects were the same or different with nearly perfect accuracy

Herbert Terrace– Taught sign language to a chimp they called Nim

Chimpsky and reported Nim’s progress from the age of 2 weeks to 4 years

– Nim learned 125 symbols, which is respectable, but does not amount to language


Language

Animal language (continued)– Communication in other animals

Most animal species studied by language researchers are limited to motor responses, such as sign language, gestures, using magnetic symbols, or pressing keys on symbol boards

Research with sea mammals such as whales and dolphins has established that they apparently use complicated systems of grunts, whistles, clicks, and other sounds to communicate within their species


Language

Language and thinking– Linguistic relativity hypothesis

The notion that the language a person speaks largely determines the nature of that person thoughts

Eskimo’s variety of language for snow Created by Benjamin Whorf

– Eleanor Rosch Tested whether people whose language contains many

names for colors are better at thinking about and discriminating among colors than people whose language has only a few color names

Dani tribe in New Guinea vs. English speaking Americans Found no significant differences in color memory


Language

Language and thinking (continued)– Berlin and Kay

Found a consistent pattern in establishing names for colors in all the cultures they studied

Concluded that people in cultures throughout the world think about colors in much the same way, regardless of the language they speak

Bilingualism– In European countries, most students learn English

in addition to the languages of the countries bordering their own


Language

Bilingualism (continued)– Research suggests that there are both advantages

and disadvantages to learning two languages early in life

One of the pluses is that, among preschool and school-age children, bilingualism is associated with better metalinguistic skills

On the downside, even in adulthood, bilingualism is sometimes associated with decreased efficiency in memory tasks involving words


Language

Bilingualism (continued)– Kenji Hakuta and his colleagues

Used census data to examine relationships among English-language, age at entry into the United States, and educational attainment among Chinese- and Spanish-speaking immigrants

Even when immigrants entered the United States in middle and late adulthood, their ability to learn English was predicted by their educational backgrounds

– Other studies have shown that the more you know about your first language the easier time you will have learning another one


Language

Bilingualism (continued)– Kim and others

Suggests that bilinguals who learned a second language early (younger than age 10 or 11) rely on the same patch of tissue in Broca’s area for both of the languages they speak

But in those who were older when they learned a second language, two different sections of Broca’s area are active while they are performing language tasks-one section for the native language and another for the second language

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