Thinking and Intelligence

Concept

A mental category that groups objects, activities, or qualities having common properties

Prototype

An especially representative sample of a concept

Cognitive schemas

An integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning a particular aspect of the world

Mental images

A representation in the mind that mirrors or resembles the thing that it represents

Whorf’s Theory

Proposal that language molds cognition and perception, vocabulary and grammar affect how we think about the world

Subconscious thinking

Mental process occurring outside of conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary

Multitasking

Toggling between two or more tasks, requires more attention than the time required to complete them independently

Non-conscious thinking

Mental processes occurring outside of and not available to conscious awareness

Implicit learning

Learning that occurs when you acquire knowledge without being aware of how you did so and without being able to state exactly what you have learned

Algorithm

Guaranteed rule to produce a solution, if you follow this exactly, x will be the definite outcome

Heuristic

A loose recommendation of a course of action or a problem-solving guide, does not guarantee a solution

Insight

Suddenly seeing how to something without quite knowing how you found the solution, aha! feeling that can accompany abrupt resolution of a previously vexing problem

Intitution

Hunches and gut feelings rather than conscious thinking when they make judgments or solve problems

Fast Thinking

Rapid, intuitive, emotional, almost automatic decisions

Slow Thinking

Intellectual effort to make a decision

Reasoning

Purposeful mental activity that involves drawing inferences and conclusions from observations, facts, or assumptions

Dialectical Reasoning

The process of comparing and evaluating opposing points of view to resolve differences

Formal Reasoning

The information needed for reaching a solution is specified clearly, and there is a single right answer

Informal Reasoning

The information provided has no clearly correct solution

Spaces of reflective judgment

Cognitive process of critically evaluating and processing information to form reasoned conclusions

Affect Heuristic

Tendency to consult one’s emotions instead of estimating probabilities objectively

Availability Heuristic

Tendency to judge the probability of a type of event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances

Framing Effect

Tendency for people’s choices to be affected by how a choice is presented or framed; for example whether it is worded in terms of potential losses or gains

Fairness Bias

Tendency to reject something if we view it as unfair, even if the outcomes is technically beneficial to us

Mental Set

Tendency to solve new problems by using the same heuristics, strategies, and rules that worked in the past on similar problems

Hindsight Bias

Tendency to overestimate one’s ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to attend to evidence that confirms their belief and finding fault with evidence that points in a different direction

Crystallized Intelligence

Cognitive skills and specific knowledge, the kind that allows you to do arithmetic, define words, and make decisions

Fluid Intelligence

The capacity to reason and use information to solve new problems

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A score that reflects how a person compares with other people, either children of a particular age or adults in general. Originally measured by using a formula in which a child’s mental age was divided by the child’s actual age. Today, individual scores are typically computed from tables based on established norms, the average is usually 100.

Alfred Binet

Designed the first widely used intelligence test to identity children who could benefit from special help in the French school systems

Goddard

Unfair immigrant IQ tests

Yerkes

IQ tests to WWI soldiers, did not provide much useful information

Terman

Standardized IQ tests, removing all creativity from testing intelligence

Limitations to IQ Tests Include

Racism, favoritism of certain groups of people, cultural differences cannot allow for standardized tests, stereotype threat

Cognitive biases can be beneficial when:

They speed up our mental processes,

Cognitive biases can be detrimental when:

They prevent us from seeing a situation clearly, make us forgo logic in favor of easier explanations or ways of thinking that confirm our self-perception or world-view

Stereotype Threat

A burden of doubt/confidence a person feels about their performance due to awareness of negative/positive stereotypes about their group’s abilities

Working Memory

A complex memory capacity system that enables you to manipulate information retrieved from long-term memory and interpret it appropriately for a given task

Metacognition

The knowledge or awareness of your own cognitive processes and the ability to monitor and control them

Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence

A theory of intelligence that emphasizes analytic, creative, and practical abilities

Tacit Intelligence

Practical intelligence allows you to tacit knowledge, action oriented strategies for achieving your goals that are usually are not formally taught but must be instead be inferred by observing others

Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences

Expanded definition of intelligence, holds that intelligence is best characterized as a capacity to process certain kinds of information. Rather than spotlighting a single g-factor, information skills can take many forms

Emotional Intelligence

Ability to identify your own and other’s peoples’ emotions accurately, express your emotions clearly and manage emotions

How longitudinal and cross-cultural studies shed light on the interplay of motivation, hard work, and intellectual achievement

Studies shows that when it comes to intellect, it’s not what you’ve got that counts, it’s what you do with it. Complacency, low standards, a lack of grit, and desire of immediate gratification can prevent people from recognizing what they don’t know, ultimately reducing their efforts to learn

Cognitive ethology

The study of cognitive process in nonhuman animals

Theory of mind

A system of beliefs about the way the minds of others work and an understanding of how thoughts and feelings affect behavior

Is there evidence of a theory of mind in nonhuman animals?

No nonhuman species has its own language, but animals have shown some signs of capacity to learn certain aspects of language

Anthropomorphism

Tendency to falsely attribute human qualities to nonhuman beings without considering simpler explanations for the animals’ behaviors

Anthropodenial

Tendency to think that human beings have nothing in common with other animals. Need to see our species as unique may keep us from recognizing that other species also have cognitive abilities, even if not as sophisticated as our own

G-Factor

A single underlying cognitive ability that is thought to influence performance across various cognitive tasks

Intelligence

Capacity to learn and adapt to your culture/environment

Terman “Termites”

Study of high IQ scores about male children, and found that as adults, these individuals were more creative, more likely to excel, better adjusted, happier, less likely to be divorced, had lower mortality, and better health

Kagan, Sontag, Baker, Nelson study

Study followed a group of 140 boys and girls from 6 to 10, compared IQ increases with IQ decreases and concluded that high need achievement, competitive striving, and curiosity about nature are correlated with gains in IQ scores

Modern IQ test measures:

Current knowledge of white middle class culture, skills valued by the test makers, no information about a person’s potential for acquiring knowledge only what they know now

Entity Theorists

Individuals that see their intelligence as fixed and stable. More likely to give up when faced with a new challenge.

Incremental View

Individuals that see satisfaction coming from the process of learning and see opportunities to get better. Less likely to give up and more likely to problem solve successfully.

Creative Thinkers tend to be:

Independent and divergent thinkers, non-conformists, persistent, and curious

Creativity thrives when:

Intrinsic motivation is encouraged, diverse perspectives are seen, and with solitude, time, and freedom