Psychology Chapter 7

Thinking, Intelligence, and Language

cognition

the way in which information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing

concept

a mental category that is used to group objects, events, and characteristics

prototype model

a model emphasizes that when people evaluate whether a given item reflects a certain concept, they compare the item with the most typical item(s) in that category and look for a family resemblance with that item’s properties

problem solving

the mental process of finding an appropriate way to attain a goal when the goal is not readily available

algorithm

set of steps that will get you to the correct answer

heuristic

short cut when you need an estimate

functional fixedness

See objects as only being able to be used for their original function

reasoning

mental activity of transforming information to reach conclusions

inductive reasoning

reasoning from specific observations to generalize (specific to general)

deductive reasoning

reasoning from general case that is known to be true to a specific instance (general to specific)

confirmation bias

only pay attention to things that confirm what you already believe

hindsight bias

to say you knew what was going to happen even if you really didn’t

availability heuristic

assume based on how close an example is to your ideas (something you understand makes you think its more common)

affective forecasting

make a prediction about how you’re going to feel about something

intelligence

all-purpose ability to do well on cognitive tasks, to solve problems, and to learn from experience

Triarchic Theory of Successful Intelligence

intelligence comes in 3 forms, analytical, creative, and practical

analytical intelligence

the ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and contrast

creative intelligence

the ability to create, design, invent, originate, and imagine

practical intelligence

the ability to use, apply, implement, and put ideas into practice

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

there are nine types of intelligence, or “frames of mind”: verbal, mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, existentialist

verbal

the ability to think in words and use language to express meaning

mathematical

the ability to carry out mathematical operations

spatial

the ability to think three-dimensionally

bodily-kinesthetic

the ability to manipulate objects and to be physically adept

musical

the ability to be sensitive to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone

interpersonal

the ability to understand and interact effectively with others

intrapersonal

the ability to understand oneself

naturalist

the ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural and human-made systems

existentialist

the ability to grapple with the big questions of human existence, such as the meaning of life and death, with special sensitivity to issues of spirituality.

emotional intelligence

the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others

self-awareness

conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires

self-management

ability to regulate and control your actions, feelings, and thoughts

social awareness

ability to consider the perspectives of other individuals, groups, or communities, and apply that understanding to interactions with them

relationship management

an individual’s ability to effectively navigate and manage interactions with other people

intelligence quotient(IQ)

an individual’s mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by 100

normal distribution and scores

100 is considered average for IQ, if the IQ is above 100 it is above average, if the IQ is below 100 it is below average. Most people surround the average of 100 and then anything that is farther and farther away from 100 is less likely, which is represented by a normal distribution

giftedness

possessing high intelligence (an IQ of 130 or higher) and/or superior talent in a particular area

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability in which an individual has a low IQ, usually below 70 on a traditional intelligence test, and has difficulty adapting to everyday life

reliability

the extent to which a test yields a consistent, reproducible measure of performance

validity

the soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment. In the realm of testing, the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure

test bias

systematic errors in the measurement process that cause test scores to be not equally valid for different groups

culture-fair tests

intelligence tests that are intended to be culturally unbiased

stereotype threat

if you think someone is expecting you to perform poorly, you are at more of a threat to do so

language

a form of communication-whether spoken, written, or signed-that is based on a system of symbols

phoneme

sounds of language

morphemes

meaningful unit of language

syntax

rules for combining words into phrases(grammar)

semantics

meaning of words and phrases

pragmatics

how the situation/context effects meaning

Herman George Canady

Born in 1901 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. His prime area of research was intelligence. He was the chair of the Psychology Department at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute and earned his Ph.D. in psychology in 1941. Professional work focused on looking at race and gender with intelligence testing and psychology programs for black students. He recruited and mentored many Black students in the field of psychology and promoted psychology at black colleges and universities.