Thinking & Language

Mental activities

1. Mental images
2. Concepts: mental grouping of things that have similar features
3. Prototype: typical example of concept

• Ex) Professor vs. truck driver

1. Creativity: come up with something that is unique and useful

• Divergent thinking: expanding number of possible solutions

1. Problem solving
2. Making judgements
3. Making decisions

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Problem solving strategies

• Trial and error
• Algorithms: step-by-step formula with guaranteed solution
• Heuristics: shortcuts to solve problem, less time consuming than algorithm but more prone to error
• Insight: aha!

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Impediments to problem solving

• Confirmation bias: looking for/remembering information that agrees with what they already believe but not searching for opposing evidence
• Belief perseverance: maintaining beliefs even with contradictory evidence
• Mental set: approaching a problem using a method that worked in the past
• Functional fixedness: only thinking of familiar functions of an object
• Misuses of heuristics
  • Representative heuristic: making quick judgment based on how well something matches prototype for the thing
  • Availability heuristic: making judgment based on what comes to mind first
• Overconfidence
• Framing: decisions are influenced by how problem is framed (presented)

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Elements of language

1. Phonemes: smallest unit of sound

• Babies can recognize all phonemes of all languages until about 10 months

1. Morphemes: smallest unit of meaningful sound
2. Grammar

• Syntax: structure
• Semantics: meaning

1. Prosody: tone

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Language acquisition stages

1. Babbling (4-12 months)
2. One-word stage (12-18 months)
3. Two-word stage  (18-24 months)
4. Sentences (24 months)

Overgeneralization: applying grammar rules inappropriately

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How language is acquired

• Behavioral perspective:
  • Reinforcement
  • Observational learning
• Cognitive perspective:
  • Biologically programmed
  • Language Acquisition Device (Noam Chomsky)

Critical period: if child is not exposed to language before age of 7, they will never acquire language

Linguistic Determination Hypothesis (Benjamin Whorf): languages determines how you think (wrong)

• Actually is language influences thought

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