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PL1101e
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The Thinking Mind
Things covered in this lecture:•What do we think about - Mental representations, concepts•Solving problems - Decision heuristics and errors in problem solving•Language and behaviour
Mental Representations
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“Mental representations” are stored information that can be activated and manipulated by thought.
There is always content in thought .You have to think about something,
One might call up a visual memory of a route to reach a destination.
Mental Images
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Some people with autism spectrum disorders, such as Temple Grandin, think mostly in mental images.
Mental Concepts
DOGNoun: A domesticated carnivorous mammal (Canis familiaris) related to the foxes and wolves and raised in a wide variety of breeds.Verb: unwelcome persistent accompanimentAdj, Adv: dogged, doggedly
SImile – dog-like devotion
Concepts as Sets of Common Features
FLOWER: Petals in a circle Bright color Grows on trees
or stems Smells nice
??
Concepts as Prototypes
Concepts as Exemplars
Concepts as Theories
FLOWER =?
FLOWERYES
Concepts as Schemas
“Give-flowers-to-romantic-partner” is part of many people’s schema for flowers.
You encountered schemas in chapter 9
Concepts in animals
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This pigeon pecks only when a human is in the picture it can see (text p456)
Does it have a ‘concept’ of ‘human’? What kind of concept?
Decisions and heuristics in problem solving
Problem solving can often be thought of in terms of four steps
Decisions and heuristics in problem solving
Notice that the very idea of making a plan assumes mental representations of contingencies. We need not use trial and error
Step 1: Understand the Problem
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Problem: Term paper for class
Outline major
sectionsBrainstorm topics
Write thesis
statement
Add details/
evidence
Write paper
Barrier: Writer’s BlockSolution
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Utility: Costs and Benefits Affect: Gut ReactionPossible Topics
Depression
Aggression
Personality
Step 2: Make a Plan
Sensation
Emotion
Language
Aggression
Sensation
EmotionEmotion
Step 3: Carry Out the Plan
Outline major sections
Brainstorm topics
Write thesis statement
Add details/evidence
Write paper
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7
Completed Unfinished
Step 4: Look Back
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Heuristics are short cuts in decision making, and often affect choice of solutions
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risto
/Shu
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Problem: Term paper for class
Outline major
sectionsBrainstorm topics
Write thesis
statement
Add details/
evidence
Write paper
Barrier: Writer’s BlockSolution
© Jo
el C
arille
t/iSt
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hoto
Some common heuristics
Heuristics do not always work (partial information)
They sometimes reveal biases (e.g. stereotypes)
Availability RepresentativenessRecognitionAffect
Decision-Making and the Brain
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Orbitofrontal cortex
Nucleus accumbens
Amygdala
Bias and the ‘Asian disease’ problem:Imagine we face an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease has been proposed. The best scientific estimate of the consequences of these programs are as follows:
Some subjects are then presented with options A and B: Positive FramingA: If this program is adopted, 200 people will be saved [72%] SecureB: If this program is adopted, there is a one-third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved [28%] Risky
Other subjects are presented with options C and D: Negative FramingC: If this program is adopted, 400 people will die [22%] SecureD: If this program is adopted, there is a one-third probability that nobody will die and a two-thirds probability that 600 people will die [78%] Risky
In A&C the numerical outcomes are the same. In B&D the probable outcomes are the same.
The robust experimental finding is that subjects tend to prefer the secure option when given positive frames, but tend to prefer the gamble when given negative fames
Tversky & Kahneman’s “Asian Disease” problem
It contradicts conventional utility theory of choice.
Negative framing promotes riskier choices, despite equivalent outcomes
Fig 10.7
Language: Uniquely Human?
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Many animals communicate with each other using vocalizations, signals, or sequences of behavior.
Non-human Animals and Language
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Nature/Nurture Interactions and Language
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Language is a strong example of nature-nurture interaction.
The Building Blocks of Language
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l ă n g w ə j ĭ z b l ŭ d ŭ v s ō l
Phonemes
Morphemes
Language is the blood of the soul.—Oliver Wendell Holmes
Grammar
language is blood of soul
Language and the Brain
Broca’s area Wernicke’s area
Broca’s aphasia: Difficulty producing phonemes
Wernicke’s aphasia: Difficulty using morphemes
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Learning Phonemes
The number of phonemes in a language is largest near the West Coast of Africa and decreases with distance from that origin.
Learning Vocabulary
Number ofWords in
Vocabulary
14 15 1716 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Age (Months)
The Vocabulary Spurt
Learning Grammar
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By around the age of 12, the “sensitive period” for learning grammar ends.
Language is a good example of senstive periods in development.
Next Week: The Developing Mind
Omitting pages 544-564 (life-span development after adolescence)