AP Psych: Cognition and Language

Cognition

mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Cognitive Psychology

- concept formation

- problem solving

- decision making

- forming judgments

Concepts

- a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

- ex) dog (golden retriever), office (workers)

- our first concepts: face, caretaker's voice

ex) dog is a type of animal

Schemas

- a more complex metal framework (a lot of concepts in it) that organizes and interpret information.

- think of it like a detailed mental map with facts, predictions, contextual knowledge

ex) dogs are loyal pets that bark, love belly rubs

prototype

- a mental image or best example of a category

- if information does not fit into one of our mental images -> slower to recognize

- the closer the better/ faster to recognize

informal reasoning

- extremely fast thinking.

- use shortcuts and different tricks to speed up the thinking process

- often no clear solution

Heuristic

- a simple thinking strategy using past experiences, trial & error process

- allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently

- usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

top-down processing

when we use prior knowledge to process simple or familiar incoming information

ex) one word looks smudged, but based on the context, you know what it says

formal reasoning

- following a system in order to come to the correct solution.

- much slower way of thinking

- allows us to be more confident in our thought

Algorithm

- A step-by-step, logical procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

- slower but will be able to figure out the answer to our problem

bottom-up processing

- interpreting new information piece by piece & build up to a higher level of understanding

- when information is complex and unfamiliar

syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

diagnosis

problem solving by eliminating wrong answers first

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

convergent thinking (formal reasoning)

- analyzing already completed solutions to choose the best possible solution to a problem

- injury to the left parietal lobe damages this ability

divergent thinking

- expands the number of possible problem solutions

- solve a problem using a different strategy than what is normally used

- injury to certain areas of frontal lobes can destroy imagination (but other reading, writing, arithmetic skills are intact)

Robert Sternberg's five components of creativity

- expertise: the more knowledge and experience we have with a particular topic, the better chance we have in applying that knowledge in a new way

- imaginative thinking skills: ability to look at a concept in a new and unique manner instead of the traditional way

- venturesome personality: willingness to seek out new experiences and be able to take on risks and possible failure

- intrinsic motivation: motivation from within, motivated to better ourselves, not just motivated by external reward

- creative environment: be part of an environment that fosters creativity and promotes innovation

insight learning

sudden realization because your brain works on it subconsciously

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

cognitive bias

an error in thinking that happens when the brain tries to simplify different information we are processing

Fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

representative heuristic

- judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

- overestimate or ignore probability in making decisions

- relying on stereotypes to match the information into a schema that does not really fit the item or information

ex) tall people = basketball player

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if it is easily memorable (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

ex) airplane crash -> airplane is the most dangerous transportation

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

anchoring bias

a tendency to fixate on initial information, and fail to analyze other information

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

advantages of overconfience

- live more happily

- make tough decisions more easily

- seem more credible than others

- can learn to be more realistic about the accuracy of their judgments

disadvantages of overconfidence

- fail to appreciate potential for errors

- believe that you have time

belief perseverance

- tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments

ex) 25% fat or 75% fat free

intuition

- the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.

- intuition is adaptive

intuition is recognition born of experience

- can be perilous when overfeel and underthinking

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phoneme

- the smallest distinctive sound unit (spell every word out)

- helps with word distinction ( cat and bat differs by c and b)

- first sounds infants make (ba da ma)

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

grammar

- a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Semantics

- Meaning of words and sentences

- context matters

syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

babbling stage

- beginning at about 4 months- 6 months,

- infants spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

- consonant vowel sounds (ba,da) or cooing sound (ah ee oo)

- around 10 months starts to babble household language

one-word stage/ holophrastic stage (12m)

where children are able to say one word but the word will have a sentence meaning (hollow phrase)

ex) food = i want food

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

- noun & verb, correct syntax?

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

24+ months

- languages develops rapidly into complete sentences

- start to use context, imitate adults

- all of the new learnings can cause overgeneralization/ overregularization-- incorrect uses of grammar rules

critical periods

times that are best for individuals to learn something.

- if not, the window of opportunities is severely limited, making it difficult to learn the particular topic

- before 7

Noam Chomsky

- we are born with language

- believed that there was universal grammar and that we naturally learned to speak

nurture side, skinner (behaviorist)

language is learned through association, imitation, reinforcement. parents help by using correct grammar, pronunciation, defining words correctly

language acquisition device

Chomsky's concept of an innate, prewired mechanism in the brain that allows children to acquire language naturally

linguistic determinism

language determines the way we think

linguistic relativism

the worldview of a culture is shaped and reflected by the language its members speak

critisms of Whorf's theory

- words reflect, more than create thoughts

- just bc we dont have a word for smth doesnt mean we cant perceive it with our senses

- conclusion: words influence the way we think

Thinking without language

- we often think before words come to use

we think in images often:

- visualize smth that is hard to explain in words

- can help you become more confident with vivid visualization of rehearsal & winning

- when ur actually doing what you've been visualizing -> mote efficient

- beware of our capacity for error

animal languages

bee: butt dance to where honey is

- no elements of human communication

apes:

- 240 words

-" you me go out please"

critics:

- limited, difficulty, just imitating

aphasia

condition where you can't learn language well

- cant speak but can read or vice versa

- due to damage in left hemisphere or broca's area, or wernicke's area

Broca's area

- Controls language expression

- an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere

- directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

- can understand, can sing songs, but cant speak in that language

Wernicke's area

- left temporal lobe

- make sure we understand the language and express it

- when damaged -> speak meaningless words, comprehension is disrupted

Gambler's Fallacy

Belief that past events affect future probabilities.

sunk cost fallacy

a framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation

Mastered (56)

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