chapter 7 — cognition, language, and intelligence

cognition

mental activity that obtains, converts, and using the knowledge

examples of cognition in action

1. attention

2. language

3. memory

4. perception

5. thought

thought

mental activity associated with coming to a decision, researching a solution, or forming a belief

concept

mental representation of someone or something because if their main features/characteristics

natural concepts

results from experiences in daily life

formal concepts

created through rigid and logical rules or through features

prototype

ideal or most representative example of natural concept; helps in categorizing or identifying specific members of a concept

problem solving

the variety of approaches that can be used to achieve a goal

problems

something that blocks you from where you want to be

trial and error

finding a solution through a series of attempts and eliminating those that do not work

heuristics

shortcuts that incorporate a rule-the-thumb, guideline, or strategy

when is heuristics used? [ HALT ]

Hungry

Angry

Lonely

Tired

availability heuristic

predicts the likelihood of something happening based on how easily a similar type of event from the past can be recalled

representativeness heuristic

evaluates the degree to which the primary characteristics of a person or situation are similar to our prototype of that kind of person or situation

decision making

the cognitive process of choosing from alternatives that might be used to reach a goal

functional fixedness

a barrier to problem solving that occurs when familiar objects can only be imaged to function in their usual way

confirmation bias

the tendency to look for evidence that upholds our beliefs and overlook evidence that counters them

hindsight bias

the mistaken belief that a outcome could have been predicted easily

syntax

the collection of rules concerning where to place words or phrases

linguistic relativity hypothesis

the language people speak has an impact on their thinking and perception

intelligence

innate ability to solve problems, adapt to the environment, and learn from experiences

spearman’s two factor theory [g-factor]

singular underlying aptitude or intellectual ability that drives capabilities in many areas including verbal, spatial, and reasoning competencies

gardeners multiple intelligence

multiple intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, and naturalist

triarchic theory of intelligence

theory suggesting that humans have varying degrees of analytical, creative, and practical abilities

aptitude

an individuals potential for learning

achievement

acquired knowledge or what has been learned

mental age [MA]

score representing that mental abilities of an individual in relation to others of a similar chronological age

intelligence quotient [IQ]

score from intelligence assessment, originally based on mental age divided by chronological age (100)

reliability

the ability of an assessment to provide consistent, reproducible results

standardization

occurs when test developers administer a test to a large sample and then publish the average scores for specified groups

normal curve

depicts the frequency of values of a variable along a continuum

culture-fair intelligence tests

assessments designed to minimize cultural bias

gifted

highly intelligent

emotional intelligence

the capacity to perceive, understand, regulate and use emotions to adapt to social situations

heritability

the degree to which genes are responsible for a particular characteristic observed within a population