Thinking, Language & Intelligence Midterm

Psych 1200

Cognition

Mental activities associated with processing, understanding, and remembering information and communicating

Concept

Mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people that helps to categorize and simplify our understanding of the world.

Prototype

a mental image or best example of a category that helps to classify new instances based on similarities. Example: the image of a robin as a prototype of a bird.

Exemplar

a specific example or instance of a category that serves as a benchmark for others to compare against. For instance, a specific dog breed can serve as an exemplar for the category of dogs.

Algorithm

a step-by-step procedure or formula for solving a problem or completing a task, ensuring a guaranteed solution when followed correctly.

Heuristic

a mental shortcut or rule of thumb that enables quick decision making and problem solving, often without exhaustive evaluation. Example: relying on past experiences to make judgments.

Availability Heuristic

A rule of thumb that items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occurred more frequently. For example, people may overestimate the danger of plane crashes after hearing about one in the news.

Insight

The sudden realization of a problem's solution, often characterized by a spontaneous and illuminating mental leap.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence. Impediment to problem solving.

Fixation

An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective, often hindering the successful resolution of the problem.

Mental Set

A habitual way of thinking that can restrict a person's ability to consider alternative solutions to a problem.

Functional Fixedness

The cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, preventing them from seeing other potential uses for it.

Representative Heuristic

A mental shortcut that relies on prototypes or stereotypes when making judgments about the probability of an event, leading to potential biases.

Overconfidence

The tendency to overestimate one's own abilities, knowledge, or predictions, often leading to poor decision-making and risk assessment.

Framing

The way information is presented, which can significantly influence decision-making and judgment. Different framing of the same information can lead to different interpretations and choices.

Belief Bias

the idea that people’s judgements about whether to accept conclusions depend more on how believable the conclusions are than on whether the arguments are logically valid

Belief Perseverance

is the tendency to maintain a belief even in the face of contrary evidence, reflecting a resistance to changing one's mind.

prospect theory

A psychological theory that describes how people make decisions involving risk, highlighting the discrepancy between actual value and perceived value, often emphasizing losses more than gains. example of this is when individuals prefer a sure loss over a gamble that could lead to a greater loss, demonstrating a bias towards avoiding losses.

Optimism Bias

The tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive outcomes while underestimating the likelihood of negative outcomes, often leading individuals to perceive situations as less risky than they are.

Language

a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and that convey meaning.It includes spoken, written, and signed forms, facilitating human interaction and expression.

Grammar

a set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages.

Phonemes

the smallest units of sound in a language that can distinguish meaning, essential for forming words.

Morphemes

the smallest units of meaning in a language, which can be words or parts of words, such as prefixes and suffixes.

phonological rules

rules that govern the way sounds can be combined and pronounced in a language.

Morphological rules

rules that dictate how morphemes are combined to form words in a language.

Content Morphemes

morphemes that carry semantic meaning, such as nouns and verbs.

Function Morphemes

morphemes that provide grammatical functions, such as conjunctions and prepositions. example could be the word "and" or "in."

Syntactic rules

rules that govern the structure of sentences, including the arrangement of words and phrases.

Telegraphic Speech

a form of speech that consists of short, simple sentences, typically used by young children and characterized by the omission of non-essential words. Example includes phrases like "want cookie" instead of "I want a cookie."

Natavist

theory of language acquisition that argues humans are biologically predisposed to acquire language.

Semantics

the study of meaning in language, focusing on how words and phrases convey meaning.

Babbling Stage

the stage in language development where infants produce repetitive consonant-vowel combinations, typically beginning around three to four months of age.

One word Stage

the stage in language development where children begin to use single words to communicate meaning, typically occurring around one year of age.

Two Word Stage

the stage in language development where toddlers start combining two words to form simple sentences, usually emerging around two years of age.

Broca’s Area

located in the left frontal cortex and is involved in the production of the sequential patterns in vocal and sign languages; it plays a critical role in language expression and speech formulation.

Wernicke’s area

a region in the left temporal lobe that is crucial for language comprehension, responsible for processing and understanding spoken and written language.

Broca’s aphasia

a type of language impairment resulting from damage to Broca's area, characterized by difficulty in speech production while comprehension typically remains intact.

Wernicke’s aphasia

a type of language impairment resulting from damage to Wernicke's area, characterized by fluent but nonsensical speech and significant difficulty in understanding language.

Aphasia

a language disorder affecting the production or comprehension of speech, often caused by brain injury.

Angular Gyrus

a region of the brain involved in language processing, particularly in reading and writing. Damage can lead to disorders like alexia and agraphia.

Skinner

Operant learning theory emphasizing the role of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behavior.

Chomsky

A cognitive scientist and linguist known for proposing the theory of universal grammar, which suggests that the ability to learn language is innate to humans.

Tabula Rasa

The theory that individuals are born as a blank slate, with knowledge and character shaped by experience and environment.

Linguistic Determinism

The hypothesis that language shapes and constrains human thought, suggesting that people understand the world primarily through the language they speak.

rational choice theory

the classical view that we make decisions by determining how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, and then multiplying the two

conjunction fallacy

The cognitive bias where individuals incorrectly assume that specific conditions are more probable than general ones, often leading to errors in judgment.

Aptitude Test

A standardized assessment designed to measure an individual's potential to succeed in a particular skill or field. Predicts future performance

Achievement Test

A standardized assessment used to measure an individual's knowledge or skills in a specific subject area, reflecting what they have learned.

Standardizing 

is the process of making assessments consistent and comparable across different individuals or groups, ensuring uniform conditions and scoring.

Content Validity

The extent to which a test measures the content it is intended to measure. It ensures that the assessment accurately reflects the specific area of knowledge or skill.

Reliability

The consistency of a test's results over time or across different versions, indicating the degree to which the assessment produces stable and repeatable outcomes.

Criterion

Behaviour that is used as a standard for evaluating test performance or outcomes.

Predictive validity

How you use the information from the exam

Low IQ Numbers

typically refer to scores measuring below average intelligence, often defined as an IQ score below 70.

Intelligence

the ability to learn, understand, and apply knowledge to adapt to new situations and solve problems.

Nature vs Nurture

a debate concerning the relative influence of genetics and environment on human development and behavior.

Heritability

the proportion of variation in a trait attributable to genetic factors within a particular population. example of heritability is seen in traits like height and intelligence.

deviation IQ

is a metric obtained by dividing a person’s test score by the average test score for people that age and then multiplying the quotient by 100.

The most widely used modern intelligence

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

two-factor theory of intelligence,

proposed by Charles Spearman, suggesting that intelligence consists of a general ability factor (g) and specific abilities (s) related to particular tasks.

confirmatory factor analysis

a statistical technique used to verify the factor structure of a set of observed variables, allowing researchers to test hypotheses about the relationships between measured variables and underlying latent constructs.

Crystallized intelligence

the ability to use learned knowledge and experience to solve problems, often assessed through verbal skills and general knowledge.

fluid intelligence

the capacity to think logically and solve new problems independent of acquired knowledge, often involving abstract reasoning and problem-solving skills.

Mid level abilities:

cognitive skills that represent a balance between crystallized and fluid intelligence, often including skills like reasoning, comprehension, and problem-solving.

emotional intelligence

the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions as well as the emotions of others, which can enhance interpersonal relationships and decision-making.

heritability coefficient:

a numerical estimate that indicates the proportion of variation in a trait within a population that is attributable to genetic factors, usually expressed as a value between 0 and 1.