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Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

Chapter 9

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Thinking

Thinking, or cognition, refers to a process that involves knowing, understanding,

remembering, and communicating.

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Cognitive Psychologists

Thinking involves a number of mental activities, which are listed below.

Cognitive psychologists study these in great detail.

1. Concepts2. Problem solving3. Decision making4. Judgment

formation

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Concepts

The mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. There are a variety of chairs but

their common features define the concept of a chair.

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Category Hierarchies

We organize concepts into category hierarchies.

Courtesy of C

hristine Brune

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Development of Concepts

We form some concepts with definitions. For example, a triangle has three sides. Mostly, we form concepts with mental

images or typical examples (prototypes). For example, a robin is a prototype of a

bird, but a penguin is not.

Triangle (definition) Bird (mental image)

Daniel J. C

ox/ Getty Im

ages

J. Messerschm

idt/ The Picture C

ube

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Problem Solving

Problem solving strategies include:

1. Trial and Error2. Algorithms3. Heuristics4. Insight

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Algorithms

Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities

before arriving at a solution. Computers use algorithms.

S P L O Y O C H Y G

If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word using an algorithmic approach, we would face

907,200 possibilities.

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Heuristics

Heuristics are simple, thinking strategies that

allow us to make judgments and solve problems

efficiently. Heuristics are less time consuming, but more error-

prone than algorithms.

B2M

Productions/D

igital Version/G

etty Images

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Heuristics

Heuristics make it easier for us to use simple principles to arrive at solutions to

problems.

S P L O Y O C H Y GS P L O Y O C H G YP S L O Y O C H G YP S Y C H O L O G Y

Put a Y at the end, and see if the wordbegins to make sense.

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Insight

Insight involves a sudden novel

realization of a solution to a

problem. Humans and animals have

insight.

Grande using boxes toobtain food

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Insight

Brain imaging and EEG studies suggest that when an insight

strikes (the “Aha” experience), it

activates the right temporal cortex (Jung-Beeman &

others, 2004). The time between not

knowing the solution and realizing it is

about 0.3 seconds.

From M

ark Jung-Beekm

an, Northw

estern U

niversity and John Kounios, D

rexel University

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Obstacles in Solving Problems

Confirmation Bias: A tendency to search for information that confirms a personal

bias.

2 – 4 – 6

Rule: Any ascending series of numbers. 1 – 2 – 3 would comply. Wason’s students had difficulty figuring out the rule due to a confirmation bias

(Wason, 1960).

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Fixation

Fixation: An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This impedes

problem solving. An example of fixation is functional fixedness.

The Matchstick Problem: How

would you arrange six matches to form

four equilateral triangles?

From

“Problem

Solving” by M

. Scheerer. C

opyright © 1963 by

Scientific A

merican, Inc. A

ll Rights R

eserved.

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The Matchstick Problem: Solution

From

“Problem

Solving” by M

. Scheerer. C

opyright © 1963 by

Scientific A

merican, Inc. A

ll Rights R

eserved.

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Using and Misusing Heuristics

Two kinds of heuristics, representative heuristics and availability heuristics,

have been identified by cognitive psychologists.

Amos Tversky Daniel Kahneman

Courtesy of G

reymeyer A

ward, U

niversity of L

ouisville and the Tversky fam

ily

Courtesy of G

reymeyer A

ward, U

niversity of L

ouisville and Daniel K

ahneman

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Probability that that person is a truck driver is far greater than an ivy league professor just because there are more truck drivers than

such professors.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging the likelihood of things or objects in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, a particular

prototype.

If you meet a slim, short, man who wears glasses and likes poetry, what do you think his profession would be?

An Ivy league professor or a truck driver?

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Availability Heuristic

Why does our availability heuristic lead us astray?

Whatever increases the ease of retrieving information increases its perceived

availability.How is retrieval

facilitated?1. How recently we have heard about the

event.2. How distinct it is.3. How correct it is.

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Overconfidence

Intuitive heuristics, confirmation of beliefs, and the inclination to explain failures

increase our overconfidence. Overconfidence is a tendency to

overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

In the stock market, both the seller and the buyer may be

confident about their decisions on a stock.

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Exaggerated Fear

The opposite of having

overconfidence is having an

exaggerated fear about what may

happen. Such fears may be unfounded.

The 9/11 attacks led to a decline in air travel due to fear.

AP

/ Wide W

orld Photos

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The Effects of Framing

Decisions and judgments may be significantly affected depending upon

how an issue is framed.

Example: What is the best way to market ground beef — as 25% fat or 75% lean?

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The Belief Perseverance Phenomenon

Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary

evidence.

If you see that a country is hostile, you are likely to interpret their ambiguous

actions as a sign of hostility (Jervis, 1985).

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Perils & Powers of Intuition

Intuition may be perilous if unchecked, but may also be extremely efficient and

adaptive.

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Language

Language, our spoken, written, or gestured work, is the way we communicate meaning

to ourselves and others.

Language transmits culture.

M. &

E. B

ernheim/ W

oodfin Cam

p & A

ssociates

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Language Development

Children learn their native languages

much before learning to add 2+2.

We learn, on average (after age 1), 3,500

words a year, amassing 60,000

words by the time we graduate from high

school.

Tim

e Life Pictures/ G

etty Images

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When do we learn language?

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Explaining Language Development

1. Operant Learning: Skinner (1957, 1985) believed that language development may be explained on the basis of learning principles such as association, imitation, and reinforcement.

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Explaining Language Development

2. Inborn Universal Grammar: Chomsky (1959, 1987) opposed Skinner’s ideas and suggested that the rate of language acquisition is so fast that it cannot be explained through learning principles, and thus most of it is inborn.

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Explaining Language Development

Childhood is a critical period for fully developing certain aspects of language. Children never exposed to any language (spoken or signed) by about age 7 gradually lose their ability to master any language.

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Critical Period

Learning new languages gets harder with age.

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Thinking & Language

Language and thinking intricately intertwine.

Rubber B

all/ Alm

ay

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Language Influences Thinking

Linguistic Determinism: Whorf (1956) suggested that language determines the way we think. For example, he noted that the Hopi people do not have the past tense for verbs. Therefore, the Hopi cannot think readily about the past.

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Word Power

Increasing word power pays its dividends. It helps explain the bilingual advantage of bilingual children to inhibit one language

while using another.

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Thinking in Images

To a large extent thinking is language-based. When alone, we may talk to

ourselves. However, we also think in images.

2. When we are riding our bicycle.

1. When we open the hot water tap.

We don’t think in words, when:

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Images and Brain

Imagining a physical activity activates the same brain regions as when actually

performing the activity.

Jean Duffy D

ecety, Septem

ber 2003

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Language and Thinking

Traffic runs both ways between language and thinking.

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Intelligence

Do we have an inborn general mental capacity (intelligence)? If so, can we

quantify this capacity as a meaningful number?

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What is Intelligence?

Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use our knowledge to adapt to new

situations.

In research studies, intelligence is whatever the intelligence test measures.

This tends to be “school smarts.”

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Intelligence: Ability or Abilities?

Have you ever thought that since people’s mental abilities are so diverse, it

may not be justifiable to label those abilities with only one word, intelligence?

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General Intelligence

The idea that general intelligence (g) exists comes from the work of Charles

Spearman (1863-1945) who helped develop the factor analysis approach in

statistics.

Athleticism, like intelligence, is many things

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General Intelligence

Spearman proposed that general intelligence (g) is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis.

For example, people who do well on vocabulary examinations do well on

paragraph comprehension examinations, a cluster that helps define verbal

intelligence. Other factors include a spatial ability factor, or a reasoning

ability factor.

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Contemporary Intelligence Theories

Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports the idea that intelligence comes in

multiple forms. Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability

but not others.

People with savant syndrome excel in abilitiesunrelated to general intelligence.

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Howard Gardner

Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences and speculates about a ninth one — existential intelligence. Existential intelligence is the ability to think about the

question of life, death and existence.

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Robert Sternberg

Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) also agrees with Gardner, but suggests three intelligences rather than eight.

1. Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed by intelligence tests.

2. Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas.

3. Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required for everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).

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Intelligence and Creativity

Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. It correlates

somewhat with intelligence.1. Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base.2. Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things

in novel ways.3. A Venturesome Personality: A personality that

seeks new experiences rather than following the pack.

4. Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative from within.

5. A Creative Environment: A creative and supportive environment allows creativity to bloom.

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Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, and use emotions (Salovey and others, 2005). The test of emotional intelligence measures overall

emotional intelligence and its four components.

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Emotional Intelligence: Components

Component Description

Perceive emotion Recognize emotions in faces, music and stories

Understand emotion

Predict emotions, how they change and blend

Manage emotion Express emotions in different situations

Use emotion Utilize emotions to adapt or be creative

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Emotional Intelligence: Criticism

Gardner and others criticize the idea of emotional intelligence and question whether

we stretch this idea of intelligence too far when we apply it to our emotions.

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Flynn Effect

In the past 60 years, intelligence scores have risen steadily by an average of 27

points. This phenomenon is known as the Flynn effect.

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Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

No other topic in psychology is so passionately followed as the one that asks

the question, “Is intelligence due to genetics or environment?”

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Genetic InfluencesStudies of twins, family members, and

adopted children together support the idea that there is a significant genetic

contribution to intelligence.

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Heritability

The variation in intelligence test scores attributable to genetics. We credit

heredity with 50% of the variation in intelligence.

It pertains only to why people differ from one another, not to the individual.

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Environmental Influences

Studies of twins and adopted children also show the following:

1. Fraternal twins raised together tend to show similarity in intelligence scores.

2. Identical twins raised apart show slightly less similarity in their intelligence scores.

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Early Intervention Effects

Early neglect from caregivers leads children to develop a lack of personal control over the

environment, and it impoverishes their intelligence.

Romanian orphans with minimalhuman interaction are delayed in their development.

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Schooling Effects

Schooling is an experience that pays dividends, which is reflected in intelligence scores. Increased schooling correlates with

higher intelligence scores.

To increase readiness for schoolwork,projects like Head Start facilitate leaning.

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Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores

Why do groups differ in intelligence? How can we make sense of these differences?

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Ethnic Similarities and Differences

1. Racial groups differ in their average intelligence scores.

2. High-scoring people (and groups) are more likely to attain high levels of education and income.

To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbing but agreed upon facts:

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Racial (Group) Differences

If we look at racial differences, white Americans score higher in average

intelligence than black Americans (Avery and others, 1994). European New Zealanders score higher than native New Zealanders

(Braden, 1994).

White-Americans Black-Americans

Average IQ = 100 Average IQ = 85

Hispanic Americans

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Environmental Effects

Differences in intelligence among these groups are largely environmental, as if one environment is more fertile in developing

these abilities than the other.

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Reasons Why Environment Affects Intelligence

1. Races are remarkably alike genetically. 2. Race is a social category.3. Asian students outperform North American

students on math achievement and aptitude tests.

4. Today’s better prepared populations would outperform populations of the 1930s on intelligence tests.

5. White and black infants tend to score equally well on tests predicting future intelligence.

6. Different ethnic groups have experienced periods of remarkable achievement in different eras.

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Gender Similarities and Differences

There are seven ways in which males and females differ in various abilities.

1. Girls are better spellers

2. Girls are verbally fluent and have large vocabularies

3. Girls are better at locating objects

4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and color

5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement

6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving, but under perform at math computation

7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do

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The Question of Bias

Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sense that they are sensitive to performance differences caused by cultural differences.

However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sense that they accurately predict

performance of one group over the other.

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Test-Takers’ Expectations

A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based

on a negative stereotype.

This phenomenon appears in some instances in intelligence testing among

African-Americans and among women of all colors.