THINKING, LANGUAGE AND INTELLIGENCE

Thinking Is Usually Referred to As Cognition.

concepts solve problems make decisions.

Concepts are the mental groupings by which we

put together similar objects, events and

people.

Without Concepts We Would Need a Different Name for Every Object

and Idea.

Human Beings Organize Concepts Into Hierarchies.

IMAGESMental representations of some

sense experiences

We think by using images

We Tend to Form Concepts by Developing Prototypes.

Prototypes Allow Us to Develop Concepts and

Ideas From Which We Make Interpretations.

PROBLEM SOLVING

What is problem solving?

What must be done to achieve a goal not readily attainable.

The way we represent a problem determines if we

can solve it

There are three steps involved in problem

solving 1. interpretation 2. strategy 3. evaluation

There are four ways to solve problems:

Trial and error Information retrieval algorithms heuristics

Trial and error

Trying out solutions one after the other until one works.

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

Retrieving from long term memory

An algorithm is a step by step procedure which

guarantees a solution if it is appropriate for the problem and can be

carried out

HEURISTICS ARE RULE OF THUMB STRATEGIES THAT ALLOW US TO MAKE QUICK DECISIONS, BUT DO NOT GUARANTEE A SOLUTION

.

Other heuristic strategies

Means-ends analysis – combining hill climbing and sub goals

Working backwards

There are three types of problems:

Problems of inducing structure Problems of arrangement Problems of transformation

Problems of inducing structure

discover the relationship between the parts of a problems

Problems of arrangement

arranging the parts of a problem to satisfy some criteria.

Problems of transformation

carrying out a sequence of transformation in order to reach a specific goal. Tend to be solved in a planned sequence

of steps rather then insight.

Creativity and Problem Solving

Creativity Ability to generate original ideas or solve

problems in novel ways Divergent thinking

Ability to generate unusual, yet appropriate, responses to problems or questions

Convergent thinking Produces responses that are based primarily on

knowledge and logic Cognitive complexity

Preference for elaborate, intricate, and complex stimuli and thinking patterns.

NOT related to intelligence24

Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2011

Sometimes We Cannot Solve Problems for

Several Reasons. They Are:

Confirmation bias Fixation Representitiveness Availability Framing

Confirmation Bias

Fixation (a mental set)

This inability to see a fresh perspective. It is tunnel vision.

Some People Are Functionally Fixated.

The tendency to perceive a function of an object as fixed and unchanging.

Representitiveness

The tendency to define things in terms of the way we see it.

Availability

Basing our judgments and decisions on information that we can immediately recall.

There are some other problems with our thinking, one is overconfidence

The tendency to feel sure about our beliefs and to explain away our failures.

Overconfidence Makes Us Feel That We Are Correct Most of the Time.

Framing

Presentation that effects the way we think and solve problems.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to cling to our beliefs even in the face of contrary evidence.

There are several other limitations to problem solving and decision making. They are:

The gamblers fallacy The law of small numbers The conjunction fallacy

LANGUAGE

Language is based on units of sounds called

phonemes i.e. t, th, k There are 45 phonemes in the English

language

Morphemes are combined to create words that represent complex ideas

I.E. PRE-EXIST

WORDS ARE COMBINED INTO SENTANCES GOVERNED BY RULES CALLED GRAMMAR

Grammar has two components: 1. syntax 2. Semantics

SYNTAX

Rules that govern how we combine words into meaningful sentences and phrases

SEMANTICS

DESCRIBES HOW WE ASSIGN MEANING TO MORPHEMES, WORDS AND SENTANCES

transformations

Knowing the relationships between words of sentences (surface structure) and its underlying meaning

According to Chomsky to communicate an idea you must do the following:

1. develop a thought 2. choose words 3. produce sounds

How Does Language Develop?

There are three theories:

Learning theory approach Nativist approach Interactionist approach

Process of Language Development

Echolalic Language perception – differentiating

sounds to distinguish behaviors Meaning – understanding the

relationship between a word and an action

Integration of language and thought - holophrastic

CONT.

Language Specificity – One word at a time

Two word sentences Grammatical transformations and three

word sentences

Does Language Influence Thinking or Thinking Influence Language?

The Whorfian hypothesis says that language precedes thought.

Piaget says thought precedes language.

INTELLIGENCE

Major Approaches to Intelligence

Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2011 49

Sir Francis Galton

Believed wealthy were more intelligent Founded eugenics movement

Alfred Binet Was commissioned to study why some children were

capable of benefiting from classroom

instruction and others were not.

Determine a Child’s Mental Age.

To do this they developed questions relative to reasoning and problem solving.

It Was Binet’s Intention to Use These Tests to Improve

the Child’s Learning Environment.

Binet had two fears relative to his test.

1. it would limit educational opportunities

2. it would make people incapable of learning.

Goddard was a disciple of Galton’s eugenics

movement.

Gave test to newly arrived immigrants at

Ellis Island

Stanford University Professor Lewis Terman

Decided to Utilize Binet’s Test.

the Stanford-Binet

William Stern Derived the Famous Intelligence

Quotient or IQ.

Ma/ca * 100.

IQ’S prove to be problematic in measuring

adult intelligence.

Intelligence tests no longer use IQ.

It has been replaced by a deviation IQ.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale Created by David

Wechsler

Wechsler's designed three separate tests for:

Preschoolers Adults Children

Aptitude and Achievement tests

Aptitude tests measure a person’s capacity to learn

Achievement tests measure past learning.

Achievement test scores increase when students study for them.

This is true of: LSAT MCAT GRE GMAT

IS INTELLIGENCE ONE ABILITY OR SEVERAL DISTINCT ABILITIES?

A GENERAL INTELLIGENCE UNDERLYING MOST MENTAL

ABILITIESLouis Thurston

The Two Current Theories :

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

Robert Sternburg’s triarchic theory of intelligence

GARDNER’S THEORY OF MULTIPLE

INTELLIGENCES

They Are:

Linguistic Musical Mathematical Spatial Bodily-kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalistic

Theories of Intelligence

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Are There Different Kinds of Intelligence? Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

Many ways of showing intelligence 8 Different Forms

Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2011

Support for Gardner’s theory

Brain damage may impair one mental ability It’s rare to find a renaissance man

Prodigies master only one skill Savants demonstrate one exceptional

skill

STERNBURG’S TRIARCHICTHEORY OF

INTELLIGENCEHe Identified intelligence From Three Different Perspectives

They Are:

Analytical (componential) – the ability to solve academic problems and judge ideas

Creative (experiential) – insight, creativity, inventiveness

Practical (contextual) – practical knowledge, street smarts

CAN INTELLIGENCE BE USED TO PREDICT BEHAVIOR?

In Certain Situations General Intelligence Can Predict Certain Things

They do measure the ability to take tests

Intelligence tests tests are also culturally biased

Is there a relationship between intelligence scores

and success

Why does Intelligence correlate to academic

achievement Both require the following: Motivation Attention Perseverance Test taking ability

Is intelligence learned or inherited?

Identical twins raised in different families have similar intelligence scores

Also, adopted children have intelligence scores more similar to their biological mothers

ENVIRONMENT

Many believe that genes are just a starting point

Intervention programs: can we boost intelligence?

Milwaukee project of 1961

Could intervention in a child’s family life effect economic and social deprivation?

Women were split into two groups

This study prompted J. Vicker Hunts study on intelligence and experience

Head start has shown to improve cognitive skills

in children

GENDER AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN INTELLIGENCE

Are there differences in intellectual abilities between genders and cultures?

1. no differences in verbal abilities 2. Females are better at math in

negligible differences

Male advantage is in spatial ability

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive differences between males and

females are restricted to specific cognitive skills

Three Things to Keep in Mind About Intelligence

Tests:

Their concern is to enable schools who might best benefit from early intervention.

Should not be used as absolute measures.

Only reflect one aspect of a person