Chapter 9: Language and Thinking

Creativity

________: is the ability to produce something that is both new and valuable.

Schema

________: a is a mental framework, an organized pattern of thought about some aspect of the world.

Generativity

________: means that the symbols of language can be combined to generate an infinite number of messages that have novel meaning.

Algorithms

________: are formulas or precise sequences of procedures that automatically generate solutions.

Overconfidence

________: the tendency to overestimate ones correctness in factual knowledge, beliefs, and decisions.

Pragmatics

________: a knowledge of the practical aspects of using language.

Concepts

________: basic units of semantic memory- mental categoties into which we place objects, activities, abstractions, and events that have essential features in common.

Divergent Thinking

________: the generation of novel ideas that depart from the norm.

Displacement

________: refers to the fact that language allows us to communicate about events and objects that are not physically present.

Morphemes

________: the smallest units of meaning in a language.

Speech Segmentation

________: perceiving where each word within a spoken sentence begins and ends.

Representativeness Heuristic

________: we think about how closely something fi ts our prototype for that particular concept, or class, and therefore how likely it is to be a member of that class.

Wisdom

________: is a system of rich, expert knowledge about fundamental matters of life.

Psycholinguistics

________: is the scientific study of the psychological aspects of language.

Grammar

________: is the set of rules that dictates how symbols can be combined to create meaningful units of communication.

images

Mental Representations: include ________, ideas, concepts, and principles.

Heuristics

________: are general problem- solving strategies, similar to mental rules- of- thumb, that we apply to certain classes of situations.

Incubation

________: processing a problem, presumably at a subconscious level, while doing some other activity.

individual elements

Bottom- up Processing: ________ of a stimulus are analyzed and then combined to form a unified perception.

Bilinualism

________: the regular use of two languages.

Syntax

________: the rules that govern the order of words.

Functional Fixedness

________: the tendency to be so fixed in their perception of the proper function of an object or procedure that they are blinded to new ways of using it.

Confirmation bias

________: tending to look for evidence that will confirm what they currently believe rather than looking for evidence that could disconfirm their beliefs.

Proposition thought

________: expresses a proposition, or statement.

Phonological awareness

________: to refer to this overall awareness of the sound structure of ones language.

Surface Structure

________: consists of the symbols that are used and their order.

Top Down Processing

________: sensory information is interpreted in light of existing knowledge, concepts, ideas, and expectations.

Deductive Reasoning

________: we reason from the top down, that is, from general principles to a conclusion about a specific case.

Deep Structure

________: refers to the underlying meaning of the combined symbols.

Motoric Thought

________: relates to mental representation of motor movements.

Subgoal analysis

________: formulating subgoals, or intermediate steps, toward a solution.

Mental Representations

include images, ideas, concepts, and principles

Language

a system of symbols and rules for combining these symbols in ways that can generate an infinite number of possible messages and meanings

Psycholinguistics

  is the scientific study of the psychological aspects of language

Grammar

is the set of rules that dictates how symbols can be combined to create meaningful units of communication

Syntax

the rules that govern the order of words

Generativity

means that the symbols of language can be combined to generate an infinite number of messages that have novel meaning

Displacement

refers to the fact that language allows us to communicate about events and objects that are not physically present

Surface Structure

consists of the symbols that are used and their order

Deep Structure

refers to the underlying meaning of the combined symbols

Morphemes

the smallest units of meaning in a language

Bottom-up Processing

  individual elements of a stimulus are analyzed and then combined to form a unified perception

Top-Down Processing

sensory information is interpreted in light of existing knowledge, concepts, ideas, and expectations

Speech Segmentation

perceiving where each word within a spoken sentence begins and ends

Pragmatics

a knowledge of the practical aspects of using language

Bilinualism

the regular use of two languages

Phonological awareness

  to refer to this overall awareness of the sound structure of ones language

Proposition thought

expresses a proposition, or statement

Motoric Thought

relates to mental representation of motor movements

Propositions

statements that express ideas

Deductive Reasoning

we reason from the top down, that is, from general principles to a conclusion about a specific case

Belief Bias

is the tendency to abandon logical rules in favor of our own personal beliefs

Framing

  refers to the idea that the same information, problem, or options can be structured and presented in different ways

Mental Set

the tendency to stick to solutions that have worked in the past

Algorithms

  are formulas or precise sequences of procedures that automatically generate solutions

Heuristics

are general problem-solving strategies, similar to mental rules-of-thumb, that we apply to certain classes of situations

Means-ends analysis

involves identifying differences between the present situation and a desired goal, and then making changes that reduce these differences

Subgoal analysis

  formulating subgoals, or intermediate steps, toward a solution

Representativeness Heuristic

we think about how closely something fi ts our prototype for that particular concept, or class, and therefore how likely it is to be a member of that class

Confirmation bias

tending to look for evidence that will confirm what they currently believe rather than looking for evidence that could disconfirm their beliefs

Overconfidence

the tendency to overestimate ones correctness in factual knowledge, beliefs, and decisions

Creativity

is the ability to produce something that is both new and valuable

Divergent Thinking

the generation of novel ideas that depart from the norm

Functional Fixedness

the tendency to be so fixed in their perception of the proper function of an object or procedure that they are blinded to new ways of using it

Incubation

processing a problem, presumably at a subconscious level, while doing some other activity

Schema

a is a mental framework, an organized pattern of thought about some aspect of the world

Wisdom

is a system of rich, expert knowledge about fundamental matters of life

Mental Image

is a representation of a stimulus that originates inside your brain, rather than from external sensory input