thinking, language and intelligence

Midterm 1

Cognitive Perspective

The study of how people think and process information (memory, thinking, reasoning)

Protype

Best representation of a concept

Concepts

Grouping or categories (ideas, images) informed by sematic memory

Schema

Mental construct or framework of some concept

Role schema

Assumptions about people in certain roles

Event or cognitive script

Set of routine like behaviors - which can be engrained and habitual

Cognitive control

The ability to direct thoughts and actions in accord with one’s intentions

Executive function

The brain’s ability to exert control over mental processing to accomplish tasks (involves frontal lobe, develops with age)

Dysexecutive syndrome

Impairment in the ability to control and direct mental activities (effects ability to concentrate or focus)

Trial and error

Haphazard approach devoid of systematic reasoning, something might happen to work

Algorithms

Exhaustive, systematic, step by step procedure to guarantee a correct solution (time consuming)

Heuristics

Simple, shortcut thinking strategies, does not guarantee correct solution (less time consuming")

Insight

Involves a sudden realization of a solution to a novel problem

Mental set

Tendency to approach a new problem with thinking strategies that worked in the past

Functional fixedness

Type of mental set in which you fail to see new use or function for a familiar object

Confirmation bias

A tendency to look for information that confirms our ideas (and not to seek information that would refute them)

Bounded rationality

Decisions made with limited information or under other constraints like limited information or time

Representativeness heuristic

Judging what category a thing or person belongs to based on how well they seem to represent, or match our concept of that category

Availability heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

Language

A set of symbols used to communicate

Functions

Convey thoughts of one person to another (theory of the mind)

Language production

Generate and express ideas (thoughts) through words or gestures

Language comprehension

The ability to understand spoken, written or signed language

Phonology

The study of how sounds are put together to form parts of speech

Semantics

The study of the meaning of words or phrases in a language

Syntax

The system or grammatical rules used to combine words in a particular order

Pragmatics

Practical aspects of speech (timing, body language, emphasis)

Phonemes

The smallest distinctive sound units of speech (psychology: S-ie-K-o-l-o-g-ee)

Morpeme

The smallest unit of language that conveys meaning (May be a word (cat) Or a sound that when added to a word alters its meaning (s indicates plural)

Lexical

Dictionary definition (may change over time) 

Metaphorical

Context in which a word is used may alter its meaning (its raining cats and dogs)

Pre vocal learning

2-4 months old - babies distinguish all phonemes they will later use for language (vocalization of vowel like sounds)

Babbling

Begins 6 months old - meaningless experimental sounds preceding actual words with consonants and vowels

One word stage

Begins 1 year old - utter single words

Telegraphic speech

Begins 2 years old - simple sentences omitting all but essential words

Pragmatics

By 3 years old - basic understanding of practical information regrading language

Grammar

By 4 years old - basic rules of grammar are understood without formal education (full sentences)

Nurture (skinner)

• Born with blank slate

• Language learned through principles of learning (reinforcement)

• Reinforcers include praise or attention initially then rewards for successful communicating ideas

Nature (noam chomsky)

• Ability to learn is innate

• Humans born with language acquisition device: a prewired (genetically determined) ability to learn language

Interactionist perspective

• Both theories are important

• Born with in ability but quality of language environment to which one is exposed is important

Child-directed speech (motherese)

Simple, high pitched, slow paced, emotion charged speech used by adults when speaking with babies or young children

Critical or sensitive period

• Window of opportunity for learning language

• Early months and years are important

• Beyond that period, capacity for language is greatly impaired

• Developing brains require poor stimulation during critical period

Aphasia

An impaired use of language

Broca’s aphasia

• Characterized by deficiencies in speech production: difficulty forming words and inability to speak with proper grammar (agrammatism)

• Understanding of words (semantics) remains intact, problem is mostly in syntax and also finding correct words 

• Results from damage to Brocas area located in left, frontal lobe (near motor cortex) 

 

Wernicke’s aphasia

• Characterized by profound deficits in language comprehension and in generating meaningful speech 

• Major deficits in semantics (choice of words) not syntax 

• Results from damage to Wernicke's area in left temporal lobe (near auditory cortex) 

Amygdala

When speaking profanity

Right hemisphere

To understand figurative speech (metaphors)

Augural gyrus

Reading (or sign language)

Mental imagery

Internal visual representation of stored visual memories

Spatial navigation

Picture location of things in your mind

Intelligence

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Fluid intelligence

Ability to reason speedily and abstractly.. tends to decrease with age

G factor

IQ test

S factor

Requires special skill like music or art

Crystallized intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills.. tends to increase with age

Analytical intelligence

Problem solving smarts (academic problem solving)

Creative intelligence

Innovative smarts (ability to generate novel ideas)

Practical intelligence

Street smart (skill at handling everyday tasks)

Perceiving emotions

Recognizing and indentifying emotions

Understanding emotions

Predicting emotions and how they may change

Managing emotions

Knowing how to express emotions and hand other emotions

Intelligence test

Method for assessing an individuals mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others using numerical scores

Aptitude test

Designed to predict person’s future performances

Aptitude

The capacity to learn

Achievement test

Designed to access what a person has learned

Francis Galton

Presuming hereditary test

• Attempted to access intellectual intelligence

• Believed in inheritance of genius

Alfred Binet

Predicting school achievements

• Measured each child’s mental age

Lewis Terman

Measuring innate intelligence

• Theorized intelligence tests reveal intelligence with which person is born

David Wechsler

Measuring innate intelligence

• Provides clues and strengths or weaknesses

• Preschool and school-age child versions

Standardization

Defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with performance of pretested group: flynn effect

Reliability

Extent to which test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of test, on alternative forms of test, or on retesting

Validity

Extent to which test measures or predicts what it is supposed to measure or predict

Content validity

Extent to which test samples behavior of interest

Predictive validity

Success with which test predicts behavior it is designed to predict; assessed by computing validity

Heritability intelligence

Extent to which intelligence test score variation can be attributed to genetic variation, range from 50% to 80%