Chapter 7: Cognition, Thinking, Intelligence, and Language

Semantics

________: the rules for determining the meaning of words and sentences.

Morphemes

________: the smallest units of meaning within a language.

Validity

________: the degree to which a test actually measures what its supposed to measure.

Prototype

________: an example of a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept 7.3 Problem- Solving and Decision- Making Strategies.

Heuristic

________: an educated guess based on prior experiences that help narrow down the possible solutions for a problem.

Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

________: the theory that thought processes and concepts are controlled by language.

Cognition

Thinking (________): mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is organizing and attempting to understand information and communicating information to others.

Prototypes

Mental Images: mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a picture- like quality 7.2 Concepts and ________.

Phonemes

________: the basic units of sound in a language.

Algorithms

________: very specific, step- by- step procedures for solving certain types of problems.

Error

Trial and ________ (mechanical solution): problem- solving method in which one possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found.

normal curve

Gifted: the 2 percent of the population falling on the upper end of the ________ and typically possessing an IQ of 130 or above.

Grammar

________: the system of rules governing the structure and use of a language.

Functional Fixedness

________: a block to problem- solving that comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their typical functions.

Heritability

________: degree to which the changes in some trait within a population can be considered to be due to genetic influences; the extent individual genetic differences affect individual differences in observed behavior; in IQ, proportion of change in IQ within a population that is caused by hereditary factors.

Syntax

________: the system of rules for combining words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences.

Reliability

________: the tendency of a test to produce the same scores, again and again, each time it is given to the same people.

Creativity

________: the process of solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways.

Decision

________ Making: process of cognition that involves identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives.

Pragmatics

________: aspects of language involving the practical ways of communicating with others, or the social "niceties "of language 7.12 Development of Language.

process of cognition

Problem Solving: ________ that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways.

Concepts

________: ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities.

Intellectual Disability

________ (Intellectual Developmental Disorder): condition in which a persons behavioral and cognitive skills exist at an earlier developmental stage than the skills of others who are the same chronological age; may also be referred to as developmentally delayed.

Availability Heuristic

________: estimating the frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to recall relevant information from memory or how easy it is for us to think of related examples 7.4 Problems with Problem Solving and Decision Making.

Representativeness Heuristic

________: assumption that any object (or person) sharing characteristics with the members of a particular category is also a member of that category.

Cognitive Universalism

________: theory that concepts are universal and influence the development of language 7.14 Animal Studies in Language.

Deviation

________ IQ Scores: a type of intelligence measure that assumes that IQ is normally distributed around a mean of 100 with a standard deviation of about 15 7.9 Individual Difference in Intelligence.

S Factor

________: the ability to excel in certain areas, or specific intelligence.

G Factor

________: the ability to reason and solve problems, or general intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence

________: the awareness of and ability to manage ones own emotions to facilitate thinking and attain goals, as well as the ability to understand emotions in others 7.10 The Nature /Nurture Issue Regarding Intelligence.

Stereotype Threat

________: condition in which being made aware of a negative performance stereotype interferes with the performance of someone that considers himself or Watch herself part of that group Language 7.11 The Levels of Language Analysis.

Divergent Thinking

________: type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas or possibilities based on that point Intelligence 7.6 Theories of Intelligence.