Psych chapter 8 words

cognition

the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge

language

consists of symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining those symbols, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages

phonemes

smallest speech units in a language that can be distinguished perceptually (English has 40)

schema

an organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event abstracted from previous experience with the object or event

morpehemes

smallest units of meaning in a language, a way to change the meaning of the root word (fire-1, unfriendly-3)

semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning

syntax

a system of rules that specify how words can be arranged into sentences (ex: each sentence must have a noun and verb phrase)

3 months (language development)

babies can distinguish all the sounds of all possible languages. Eventually they lose this ability and only hear their own languages (or more if they're multilingual)

6 months (language development)

infants vocalize but it is mostly crying, cooing, laughing, and babbling

10-13 months (language development)

utter sounds that correspond to words (dada, mama, papa); these sounds are easy to pronounce

13-18 months (language development)

typically say 3-50 words

18-24 months (language development)

develop fast mapping, overextensions, underextensions skills

2 years (language development)

combines words into sentences, develops telegraphic speech skills

3 years (language development)

more complex sentences with plural and past tenses, over regulations

receptive vocabulary

the words a person can understand in spoken or written words

productive vocabulary

vocabulary that can be put to use

fast mapping

the fact that children can map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure

overextension

the overly broad use of words, overgeneralizing their meaning

underextension

the failure to apply a new word more generally to objects that are included within the meaning of the word

telegraphic speech

speech that is devoid of function morphemes and consists mostly of content words (words are left out but meaning is there)

overregularization

the application of rules of grammar even when exceptions occur

metalinguistic awareness

an understanding of one's own use of language

bilingualism

the acquisition of two languages that use different speech sounds, vocabularies, and grammatical rules.

behaviorist theories of language (Skinner)

language is learned through listening, imitating, reinforcement, and conditioning (nurture \> nature)

nativist theories of language (Chomsky)

humans have inborn propensity to develop language (nature \> nurture)

language acquisition device (LAD)

an innate mechanism or process that facilitates the learning of language

interactionist theories of language

developing language takes both biological propensities as well as experience

whorf's linguistic relativity

the idea that language determines the way we think
( ex: the Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past)

problem solving

active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal that is not readily attainable

functional fixedness

the tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use

mental set

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

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem after struggling with it for a while

problem space

refers to the set of possible pathways to a solution considered by the problem solver

trial and error

trying possible solutions sequentially and discarding those that are in error until one works.

algorithms

very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems

heuristics

a guiding principle "rule of thumb" used in solving problems or making decisions (don't guarantee success)

incubation effect

occurs when new solutions surface for a previously unsolved problem after a period of not consciously thinking about the problem

holistic cognitive style

focuses on context and relationships among elements

analytical cognitive style

focuses on objects and their properties rather than context

decision making

evaluating alternatives and making choices among them

Simon's theory of bounded rationality

asserts that people tend to use simple strategies in decision making that focus on only a few facets of available options and often result in "irrational" decisions that are less than optimal

additive strategy

a decision making approach in which each alternative is rated on each of the important factors affecting the decision and the alternative with the highest overall rating is chosen

risky decision making

involves making choices under conditions of uncertainty

availability heuristic

basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind

representative heuristic

basing the probability of an event on how similar it is to the typical prototype of situation

conjunction fallacy

when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone

confirmation bias

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

framing

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

semantic slanting

a way of making statements so that they will evoke specific emotional responses.

psychological test

a test that assesses a person's abilities, aptitudes, interests, or personality on the basis of a systematically obtained sample of behavior

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

aptitude test

estimates the probability that a person will be successful in learning a specific new skill

achievement test

measures how much a person has learned in a given subject or area

personality test

assesses an individual's characteristics and identifies problems

Standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

test norms

standards that provide information about where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores on that test

percentile scores

Norm-referenced, changes students raw score into number 1-99, compares students score to group of students who have taken same test (90 \= student has done better than 90% of students who took test.)

reliability

consistency of measurement

test-retest reliability

a method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

criterion-related validity

a measure of validity based on showing a substantial correlation between test scores and job performance scores

construct validity

the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports, to be measuring

mental age

indicated that he or she displayed the mental ability typical of a child of that chronological (actual) age

intelligence quotient (IQ)

a child's mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100

Stanford-Binet Test

intelligence test (measures IQ) based on the measure developed by Binet and Simon, adapted by Lewis Terman of Stanford University

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

crystalized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

normal distribution

A symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents the pattern in which many characteristics are dispersed in the population

deviation IQ scores

locate respondents precisely within the normal distribution

verbal, practical, & social intelligence

three basic components of intelligence

mental retardation

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound

down syndrome

a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

phenylketonuria (PKU)

an inherited disorder of protein metabolism in which the absence of an enzyme leads to a toxic buildup of certain compounds, causing intellectual disability

hydrocephaly

abnormal accumulation of spinal fluid in the brain

gifted children

intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average

3 rings of eminence

above average creativity, task commitment, and intelligence

heritability ratio

estimate of the proportion of trait variability in a population that is determined by variations in genetic inheritance

cumulative deprivation hypothesis

if environment affects intelligence, children who are raised in substandard circumstances should experience a gradual decline in IQ as they grow older

Flynn effect

worldwide increase in IQ scores over the last several decades, at a rate of about 3 points per decade

reaction range

the genetically determined limits for an individual's intelligence (IQ or other traits)

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

divergent thinking

one tries to expand the range of alternatives by generating many possible solutions

convergent thinking

one tries to narrow down a list of alternatives to converge on a single correct answer

Sir Francis Galton

British researcher, considered the father of mental tests; interested in the origin of intelligence and began the nature-nurture debate; thought that one's heredity is response for one's intelligence

Alfred Binet

French researcher, pioneer in intelligence (IQ) tests, designed a test to identify slow learners in need of help-not applicable in the U.S. because it was too culture-bound

Lewis Terman

revised Binet's IQ test and established norms for American children; tested group of young geniuses and followed in a longitudinal study that lasted beyond his own lifetime to show that high IQ does not necessarily lead to wonderful things in life

David Wechsler

American researcher, worked with troubled kids in the 1930's in NYC. He observed that many of these kids demonstrated a type of intelligence that was much different than the type of intelligence needed to succeed in the school system (STREET SMARTS). He created tests to measure more than verbal ability.

Charles Spearman's "g"

general intelligence

Arthur Jensen & the bell curve

measured average IQ scires

Claude Steele's stereotype threat

negative stereotypes of stigmatized groups' intellectual abilities create feelings of vulnerability in classroom

Robert Sternberg's theory of intelligence: practical, analytical, and creative

analytical: abstract reasoning, evaluation, and judgment; creative: inventiveness; practical: effectively dealing with everyday things

Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory

IQ tests have generally emphasized verbal and math skills to the exclusion of other important skills

deep vs. shallow processing

deep: encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.
shallow: encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.

metacognition

awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes (thinking about thinking)

state dependent learning

learning that becomes associated with the conditions under which it occurred, so that it is best remembered under the same conditions

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli

George Miller

found that short term memory has the capacity of about 7 (plus or minus 2) items