Thinking and intelligence

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Elements of cognitionConceptMental category that groups objects, relations, activities, abstractions, or qualities having common properties

Basic concepts have a moderate number of instances and are easier to acquire.

A prototype is an especially representative example.

PropositionA meaningful unit, built of concepts, expressing a single idea

SchemaAn integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning a particular topic.

ImageA mental representation that resembles what it represents

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Your turn

“To get a hamburger, go to a fast-food restaurant and wait in line behind the counter. When it is your turn, tell the person by the cash register that you want a hamburger. He/she will tell you how much it costs. Give him/her enough money. In a few minutes someone behind the counter will give you a hamburger.” This kind of mental representation is best described as a:

1. Concept

2. Proposition

3. Schema

4. Image

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Your turn

“To get a hamburger, go to a fast-food restaurant and wait in line behind the counter. When it is your turn, tell the person by the cash register that you want a hamburger. He/she will tell you how much it costs. Give him/her enough money. In a few minutes someone behind the counter will give you a hamburger.” This kind of mental representation is best described as a:

1. Concept

2. Proposition

3. Schema

4. Image

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How conscious is thought?Subconscious processesMental processes occurring outside of conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary

Non-conscious processesMental processes occurring outside of and not available to consciousness

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Types of coconscious processesImplicit learningWhen you have acquired knowledge about something without being aware how you did so, and without being able to state exactly what you have learned

MindlessnessMental inflexibility, inertia, and obliviousness in the present context

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Reasoning

The drawing of conclusions or inferences from observations, facts, or assumptions

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Algorithms and logic9

Deductive reasoningA tool of formal logic in whicha conclusion necessarilyfollows from a set of premises.

Inductive reasoning

A tool of formal logic in which a conclusion probably follows from a set of premises.

Heuristics and dialectical thinkingHeuristicA rule of thumb that suggests a course of action or guides problem solving but does not guarantee an optimal solution

Dialectical reasoningA process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared, with a view to determining the best solution or resolving differences

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Reflective judgment

SkillsQuestion assumptionsEvaluate and integrate evidenceRelate evidence to theory or opinionConsider alternative interpretationsReach defensible conclusionsReassess conclusions in face of new evidence

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Stages of reflective judgment

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Barriers to rational reasoningExaggerating the improbable

Avoiding loss

Biases due to mental set

The confirmation bias

The hindsight bias

The need for cognitive consistency

Overcoming our cognitive biases

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Exaggerating the improbableAvailability heuristicThe tendency to judge the probability of an event by how easy it is to think of examples.

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Avoiding loss

People try to minimize risks and losses when making decisions.

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The fairness bias9

The Ultimatum Game: Your partner gets $10 and must decide how much to share with you. You can accept or reject the offer, but if you reject it, neither of you get any money.It is rational to accept any offer: you always end up with more money if you accept than if you reject the offer.

In industrial societies, offers of 50% are typical.

Offers below 20–30% are commonly rejected.

The hindsight bias

The tendency to overestimate one’s ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known.The “I knew it all along” phenomenon

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The confirmation bias

The tendency to pay attention only to information that confirms one’s own beliefs

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Test this rule: If a card has a vowel on one side, it has an even number on the other side.

Which 2 cards to turn over?

1. Cards 6 and 7

2. Cards J and 6

3. Cards J and 7

4. Cards E and 6

Biases due to mental set9

Mental setTendency to solve problems using procedures that worked before on similar problems

Mental sets make learning and problem solving more efficient.

Not helpful when problem calls for new approach

The nine-dot problem9

Connect all 9 dots.Use only 4 lines.Do not lift your pencil from the page after you begin drawing.

Need for cognitive consistencyCognitive dissonanceA state of tension produced when a person holds two contradictory cognitions or when a person’s belief is inconsistent with his/her behavior

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You try especially hard to reduce dissonance

When you need to justify a choice or decision you freely made

When you need to justify behavior that conflicts with your view of yourself

When you need to justify the effort put into a decision or choice

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Justification of effort

The tendency of people to increase their liking for something they have worked hard for or suffered to attain

A common form of dissonance reduction

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Defining intelligence

IntelligenceAn inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, act purposefully, or adapt to changes in the environment

g factorA general intellectual ability assumed by many theorists to underlie specific mental abilities and talents

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Psychometrics

The measurement of mental abilities, traits, and processes

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The invention of IQ tests

Binet believed we should measure a child’s mental age.

Binet and Simon developed a test which measured memory, vocabulary, and perceptual discrimination.

Mental age was divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100 to get an intelligence quotient.

Now IQ scores are derived from norms provided for standardized intelligence tests.

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The psychometric approachIQ scores distributed normallyBell-shaped curve

Very high and very low scores are rare.68% of people have IQ scores between 85 and 115.99.7% between 55 and 145

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Wechsler tests performance tasks

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Can IQ tests be culture free?Attempts to make IQ tests culture fair or culture free have backfired because different cultures have different problem-solving strategies.

Culture affects a person’s. . .Attitude toward examsComfort in settings required for testingMotivationRapport with test providerCompetitivenessEase of independent problem solving

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Expectations and IQ

Scores are affected by expectations for performance

Expectations are shaped by stereotypes

Stereotype threatBurden of doubt one feels about his/her performance due to negative stereotypes about his/her group

Stereotype threat affects African-Americans, Latinos/Latinas, low-income people, women, and the elderly.

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Stereotype threat9

Sternberg’s triarchic theoryComponential (analytic)Comparing, analyzing, and evaluatingThis type of process correlates best with IQ

Experiential (creative)Inventing solution to new problemsTransfer skills to new situations

Contextual (practical)Applying the things you know to everyday contexts

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Domains of intelligence9

Emotional intelligenceAbility to identify your own and other people’s emotions accuratelyAbility to express your emotions clearlyAbility to manage emotions in self and others

Appears to be biologically based (Damasio, 1994)

9Comparison:The Psychometric and Cognitive Approaches to Intelligence

Motivation and intelligence

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Comparing 100 most successful men with 100 least successful, researchers found that motivation, not IQ, made the difference.

Motivation to work hard at intellectual tasks differs as a function of culture.

American children are as knowledgeable as Asian children on general skills.

Beliefs about intelligenceAsian parents, teachers, and students are more likely to believe that math ability comes from studying.

Americans are more likely to view ability as innate.

American parents had lower academic standards for kids.

American children value education less.

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Animal intelligence

Cognitive ethologyThe study of cognitive processes in nonhuman animals

Studies show that animals canAnticipate future events

Use numbers to label quantities

Coordinate activities with other animals

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Theory of mind

A system of beliefs aboutThe way one’s own mind and the minds of others work

How individuals are affected by their beliefs and feelings

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Animals and language

Language is a critical element in human cognition.Many species can be taught to communicate in ways that resemble language.Chimpanzees and bonobos converse using American Sign Language and symbol board systems.

An African grey parrot has been taught to count, classify, and compare objects using English words.

Whether these behaviors are language depends on definition of “language.”

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Thinking about animal thinkingAnthropomorphismThe tendency to falsely attribute human qualities to nonhuman beings

AnthropodenialThe tendency to think, mistakenly, that human beings have nothing in common with other animals.

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