Psychology: Cognition and Intelligence

Cognition

“Thinking”- encompasses a lot, including processes associated with perception, knowledge, problem solving, judgement, decision making, language, memory

Cognitive psychology

concerned with studying cognitive processes such as language, memory, and decision making

Concepts

categories or groupings of information

• used to see relationships among different elements and to organize information in mind

• can be complex and abstract, or concrete

Prototype

the best example or representation of a concept

• culture/experience bound

• use concepts to organize information in mind

Natural concepts

defined naturally through direct or indirect experience

• can vary from person to person

• concrete or abstract

Artificial concepts

defined by specific set of characteristics and/or rules

• does not vary (ex: formula of a square)

Schema

cluster or collection of related concepts; aid in efficiency

• difficult to change once established

Role schema

mental frameworks that contain the expected behaviors, responsibilities, and characteristics associated with a particular social role such as teachers, librarians, soldiers, cops, etc. 

Event schema

a structured definition that outlines the properties and format of an event that builds structure and social predictability. Example: attending class, movie theatre

Language

using words and/or symbols or actions along with specific rules to transmit information from one individual to another

Lexicon

the words of a given language (all English words)

Grammar

set of rules for conveying meaning using lexicon

Phoneme

basic unit of a sound

Morpheme

built from phonemes, smallest unit to convey meaning

Semantics

process by which we derive meaning from morphemes and words

Syntax

organization of words into sentences

Overgeneralization

extension of a language rule to an exception (dog → dog, cat → cats, deer → deers)

Assimilation

incorporating new information into a schema without appropriately updating it (father has a beard → child says “daddy” whenever they see father → man in the grocery store has beard → child says “daddy”)

Words are representations of?

ideas, people, places, etc.

What is language influenced by?

culture

Linguistic determinism

the idea that language itself influences thought

Problem solving strategies: Trial and error

Continue trying different solutions until problem is solved

Problem solving strategies: Algorithm

Step-by-step problem-solving formula

Problem solving strategies: Heuristic

General problem-solving framework

Problem solving pitfalls: Functional fixedness

type of mental set where you cannot perceive an object being used for something other than what it is designed for

Problem solving pitfalls: Anchoring

Tendency to focus on one particular piece of information when making decisions or problem-solving

Problem solving pitfalls: Confirmation

Focuses on information that confirms existing beliefs

Problem solving pitfalls: Hindsight

Belief that the event just experienced was predictable

Problem solving pitfalls: Representative

Unintentional stereotyping of someone or something

Availability

Decision is based upon either an available precedent or an example that may be faulty

Crystallized intelligence

acquired knowledge

Fluid intelligence

see complex relationships and solve problems

Triarchic Theory

• Practical intelligence

• Creative intelligence

• Analytical intelligence

Measuring intelligence

Intelligence quotient

• standarization

• norming 

• flynn effect- iq improves over generations

• mean is 100

• WAIS = Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Dysgraphia

struggle to write legibly 

Dyslexia

struggle to process letters/sound-letter correspondence

Dyscalulia

struggle to learn and comprehend arithmetic

Learning disabilities vs Intellectual disabilities

Learning disabilities are specific to some aspect of learning or comprehension, while intellectual disabilities are considered more global