Problem Solving and Intelligence

Intelligence

the cognitive ability of an individual to learn from experience, reason well, remember important information and cope with the demands of daily life

Deductive reasoning

working from ideas and general information to arrive at specific conclusions (ex. generating hypothesis)

Inductive reasoning

moving from specific facts and observations to broader generalizations and theories (ex. interpreting data)

Functional Fixedness

our difficulty seeing alternative uses for common objects

Reliability

measures the extent to which repeated testing produces consistent results; a reliable test produces the same results if one person takes it

validity

measures the extent to which a test is actually measuring what the researcher claims to be measuring; a valid test actually measures the trait it is supposed to be measuring

Intellignece Quotient (IQ)

the Weschler scales are standardized to produce an IQ based on the results of large samples; the mean score based on that large sample will be assigned an IQ of 100; scores surrounding the mean have a perfect normal distribution with a Standard deviation of I5

Gardener's Theory

propose a multiple intelligence theory; argues for 8 different types of intelligence; verbal, mathematical, musical, spatial, kinesthetics, interpersonal and naturalistic; each type of intelligence is independent from the others

The Flynn Effect

the observation that raw IQ scores have been on the rise since 1982; the mean score has been increasing

Schema

a mental framework for interpreting the world around us

Assimilation

incorporating new information into existing schemas

Accommodation

modifying existing schemas to fit incompatible information

object performance

realization that objects continue to exist when no longer visible

Egocentrism (piaget)

the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

Seriation (Piaget)

the ability to logically order a series of objects

piaget's theory

children are active learners ; by manipulating and exploring their environments, children incorporate new information into whatthey know

4 stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, pre operational, concrete operational, formal operational

Sensorimotor stage (0-2)

0-2 years; a child begins to see that he can affect change on his environment; engaging with the world and act with intention

peroperational stage (2-7)

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.

Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)

the child has overcome all 4 challenges, child's schema are still concrete and based on herexperiences withthe world, child struggles tothink in abstract terms orreason on hypotheses

formal operational stage (12+)

child has mastered theability to think in abstract terms,work with hypotheses,and do everything that makes up the rangeof adult cognitive abilities

Declage

children sometimes develop skills out of order

confirmation bias

our tendency to seek out information that supports our hypothesis

heuristic

mental shortcut used to solve a problem quickly; reduce efforts and simplify decision making

availability heuristic

our tendency to make decisions based on information that is most quickly available to us

Representative heuristic

our tendency to assume that we are seeing is representative of the larger category we have in our mind

hypothetical construct

an explanatory variable, not directly observable and difficult to measure

Functional fixedness

a bias limiting views to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used

bounded rationality

cognitive limitations prevent humans from being fully rational

Anchoring

the bias to be aff

framing

the bias to be systematically affected by the way in which information is presented

systems for decision making

1 fast, automatic, effortless, implicit emotional; 2 slower, conscious, effortful, explicit, logical.

rational decisionmaking steps

1. Define the problem 2. Identify criteria necessary to judge 3. Weigh the criteria 4.Generate alternatives S. Rate each alternative 6. Compute optimal decision

autistic savant

Someone with autism who displays exceptional ability in a limited field.

operational definition

a clearly defined description of a construct (such as intelligence) so that the construct can be observed and measured

Analytic intelligence

components of intelligence that are used when we analyze, evaluate, judge or compare and constrast; can also be described as academic problem solving

Creative intelligence

describes how well someone can cope with relative novelty; requires you to use existing knowledge to find new solutions

practical intelligence

"street smarts" or "common sense knowledge"; involves individuals applying their abilities to the sorts of problems that face them in everyday life

arch of knowledge

A model which illustrates how deductive and inductive reasoning work together to guide the scientific method.

functional fixedness

a cognitive bias that makes itdifficult to seeing alternative uses for common objects

well-defined problem

A problem in which the starting position, allowable rules, and end goal are clearly stated.

Ill-defined problem

a problem in which the starting position, allowable rules and end goal are not clear; most problems encountered in daily life are ill-defined

test-restest method

a measure of reliability that examines the consistency of scores on the same test taken at multiple different points in time; if scores are consistent, the test is said to have high reliability

interrater reliability

the degree of agreement between multiple observers witnessing the same event; if there is a high degree of agreement, the measure is considered reliable

predictive validity

the extent to which a score on a test can be used to predict future behaviour

'G'

a measure of general intelligence that underlies specifictypes of intelligence ; this measure was coined by Spearman

twin studies

a research method in which the similarities between monozygotic and dizygotic twins are compared to assess the degree of genetic influences on a particular trait

adoption studies

a research method in which an adopted child is compared to their biological parents and adopted parents to assess genetic and the environmental influences on a particular trait

flynn effect

the observation that raw IQ scores have increased by approximately three points since IQ was first measured, in 1932

Galton

1st to suggest intelligence was inherited. Intelligence based on muscle strength, size of head, reaction time, etc.

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

cognitive reflection test

a task designed to measure a person's tendency to override an incorrect "gut" response and engage in further reflection to find a correct answer

neural encoding

makes learning endure

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

cognitive heuristic

a mental shortcut used to make a judgement

decision architecture

the design of the environments in which we make decisions