Chapter 10: The Thinking Mind: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

Based on notes

Cognition

Internal processes including thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving

Knowledge

the entire body of information acquired through study, investigation, and experience

Symbolic Representation

A representation that bears no resemblance to the actual object

Analogical Representation

A representation that remains some of the characteristics of the real object - Ex. Maps

Mental image

representation of any sensory experience that is stored in memory - can be retrieved for use later

Concept formation

humans and many animals are capable of this

A concept

could describe a group of instances that share overlapping features

Prototype

results from an averaging of all members of your category - may not even resemble a real instance

Exemplar

retrieve a specific instance of a concept or an example

Theory

A set of facts and relationships between facts that can be used to explain and predict phenomena - can apply to concepts

Schema

complex set of beliefs and expectations based on out personal experiences

ALS

primarily a movement disorder that also affects a person’s ability to form new concepts - correlated with the extent of grey matter loss (in prefrontal and parietal cortices)

Problems

well defined or ill defined

Well-defined problems

have a solution that can be verified as correct or incorrect

ill-defined problems

have solutions that are evaluated subjectively

Problem solving steps

1. Understand the problem

2. Make a plan

3. Carry out the plan

4. Look back

Functional fixedness

a particular type of mental set that refers to a person's tendency to think about an object in its most typical form and no others

Generating possible solutions

requires time - choose best one to implement

Generating the most solutions

raises your chances of finding one that will work - removing plans early in the process increases chances for failure

Algorithms

Some types of problems - step-by-step rules for reaching a particular solution

Heuristics

We often substitute rules of thumb or shortcuts to problem solving - do not guarantee a solution

Availability heuristic

used when people predict that events that are easy to think about will be more frequent

Representativeness heuristic

leads people to estimate that stimuli similar to a prototype are more likely to fit the category than are stimuli different from the prototype

Effective heuristic / recognition heuristic

predicts that people will place a higher value on the more easily recognized alternative

Affect heuristic

how we make important choices - emotional responses - effect each choice to guide our decisions - based on past experience - develop a "gut" reaction - pushing us toward alternatives we expect to produce desirable outcomes

Utility theory

we compute the expected outcomes of our choices and select the best likely one - multiplying measures of the usefulness of the outcome by its expected probability

Framing can affect the choice of a solution

when framed in terms of losses or gains

Maximizers

people who strive to reach the best outcome

Satisficers

people who are willing to choose outcomes that are merely acceptable

Maximizing

associated with increased regret, lower life satisfaction, and reduced self-esteem - want to explore all alternatives

Satisficing

positively related to well-being and adaptive decision making - have an easier time making decisions

Three major brain circuits interact during decision making

1. Assigns value to situations along the lines of pleasure or pain - involves ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex, the nucleus accumbens, and the amygdala - gradually comes under the control of the impulse control circuit as we mature and are exposed to the social rules of our community

2. Impulse control network that controls unwanted responses and includes the lateral prefrontal cortex and the parietal cortex

3. An attentional circuit monitors significant stimuli and involves the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the amygdala - complex social decision making, such as deciding whom to trust

Addicts

experience exaggerated responses to the potential reward of drug cues and less responsive to other types of reward

Prefrontal cortex is one of the last parts of the brain to mature

can explain impulsive decisions made by adolescents

Language

provides powerful tools for organizing and manipulating our thinking, problem solving, and decision making

The Sapir-Worf hypothesis

argues that the language we speak influences our perceptions and cognitions

A critical gene mutation

FOXP-2 gene - occurring around 100 000 years ago possibly marked the start of modern language

Assimilation into larger cultures

speakers stop using their native languages or fail to transmit them to their children

Phonemes

combined into morphemes

Morphemes

smallest components of speech that carry meaning

Aphasia

the loss of the ability to speak or understand language

Aphasia can cause

damage to reading and writing

Paul Broca case study

• Louis Leborgne - institutionalized for more than 20 years - "tan" was one of a few syllables he could produce - he understood what people would say to him

• Broca performed an autopsy - found significant damage to the patient's left frontal lobe - learned about broca’s area

• Leborgne would be diagnosed with Broca's aphasia

Broca's aphasia

This condition is characterized by difficulty producing speech

Wernicke's aphasia

• Affected area of the brain is known as Wernicke's area - located near the primary auditory cortex, located in the temporal lobe

• Wernicke's aphasia affects its comprehension - Speech is rapid and fluent but virtually meaningless

Animals communicate in 3 different ways

1. An inflexible group of calls for signalling danger and identifying territories

2. Contains signals that communicate magnitude, as in the case of bee dances

3. Animals communicate through sequences of behaviour, as in the case of birdsong

Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas

have a part of the brain analogous to the human Broca's area

Infants pay more attention to

consonants than to vowels by the end of their first year

Learning language occurs differently than many types of learning

no specific instruction is needed - conversing with children provides greater language competence

Cultural deficit model

poor performance of children from disadvantaged families resulted from low levels of cognitive stimulation

Dyslexia

• Difficulties in learning to read despite typical intelligence and exposure to adequate teaching methods

• Strongly influenced by genetic factors - differences in the symmetry of the cerebral hemispheres - organization of fibre pathways in each hemisphere

• People with dyslexia are more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous than people without dyslexia

• Difficulty distinguishing between similar-sounding phonemes or basic speech sounds - Ex. m or n

• Their brains show different patterns of activation during rhyming tasks

• Readers with dyslexia - showed greater activation of Broca's area which participates in speech production

Bilingual

People who can speak more than one language

Bilingual executive advantage (BEA)

Bilingual speakers must engage in cognitive tasks such as switching between languages

American Sign Language (ASL)

language functions - generally found in the left hemisphere of the brain, spatial functions - generally managed by the right hemisphere

Intelligence

individual's ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles

Intelligence represents

an attempt to assign a number to an individual's abilities, allowing that person to be compared with others

Sir Francis Galton

founded the field of psychometrics - also believed in eugenics

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

computed by dividing children's mental age by their chronological age and multiplying by 100

IQ

• Mean IQ score is set at 100

• Standard deviation for IQ is 15

• Almost all IQ scores - fall within the range of 70-130

Most frequently used intelligence tests today

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Correlations between IQ score and performance in mathematics and verbal skills

essential for success in contemporary education are relatively high

Charles Spearman

general intelligence (g) factor

General intelligence (g)

can be divided into fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence

Fluid intelligence

think logically without needing previously learned knowledge such as seeing patterns in a visual stimulus - Fluid intelligence peaks in young adulthood

Crystallized intelligence

requires specific, learned knowledge, such as vocabulary or the multiplication tables - crystallized intelligence remains more stable through adulthood

Robert Sternberg

proposed a triarchic theory of intelligence - combination of analytical, creative, and practical abilities allows people to achieve success

Student self-perception includes a sense of academic efficacy

lowest self-concept shows highest performance

Overestimating

one's abilities and achievement can result in poorer performance

Heritability

estimates how much of the variability in a characteristic in a population - is because of genes

Flynn effect

increase in IQ scores - Improvements in nutrition and other health factors probably account for some of the change

World Health Organization

strong correlations between a nation's freedom from serious infectious diseases and its citizens' average IQ scores

Environmental factors

influence intellectual development, including nutrition and exposure to mentally stimulating activities

Socioeconomic status

a measure of family income, education, and other class factors, is positively correlated with IQ score

Intellectual disability

diagnosed in individuals who show deficits in intellectual functioning beginning early in childhood - divided into categories of mild, moderate, severe

Mild intellectual disability

• IQ scores of 55 to 70 - between two and three standard deviations from the mean of 100 - able to reach a grade 6 education

• Mild intellectual disability is frequently called - cultural-familial intellectual disability - results from preventable environmental causes

Moderate intellectual disability

• IQ scores between 40 and 55, or between three and four standard deviations from the mean

• Moderate intellectual disability typically results from genetic or medical conditions - ex. down syndrome - able to reach a grade 2 education

Severe intellectual disability

• IQ scores between 25 and 40, or four to five standard deviations below the mean

• Profound intellectual disability is diagnosed in individuals with IQ scores below 25

Between 10 and 40 percent of individuals with intellectual disability experience

some type of emotional or behavioural disorder - Anxiety, impulsiveness, and mood disorders

Individuals with intellectual giftedness

• 1 to 3 percent of the population, score two or more standard deviations above the mean or more than 130

• Longitudinal examination of gifted children initiated in 1921 - high IQ scores, averaging 150 - they maintained their high IQ scores, and had good physical health, emotional stability, occupational attainment, and social satisfaction

• Like individuals on the lower extreme of IQ scores - children with high IQ scores benefit from educational opportunities tailored to their abilities

• Gifted students - developmentally appropriate placement (gifted classes)