Cognition, Language, and Intelligence: Resources

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🧠 THOUGHT

What Is Thought?

  • Involves:

    • Reasoning

    • Problem solving

    • Producing and understanding language

    • Drawing conclusions

    • Creativity

Mental Imagery

  • People use visual images in thinking.

  • Studies support imagery:

    • Greater distances take longer to mentally estimate (Jonides & Baum).

    • More rotation = longer time to recognize letters (Cooper & Shepard).

  • Mental images are built using symbolic knowledge with limits (e.g., you imagine opening a door, not walking through a wall).

  • Mental representation: A psychological image that stands for a real object, helping with perception and action.

🧩 CONCEPTS & PROBLEM SOLVING

Concept Learning

  • Use prototypes first, then defining features to classify objects.

Hierarchies of Concepts

  • Concepts are ranked from broad to specific subcategories.

Problem Solving

Heuristics

  • Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb.

  • Kahneman & Tversky showed heuristics can lead to errors.

Barriers to Problem Solving

  • Mental Set: Sticking with old strategies.

  • Functional Fixedness: Not seeing new uses for familiar objects.

  • Confirmation Bias: Only seeking evidence that supports preexisting beliefs.

🎨 CREATIVITY

  • Creativity: Coming up with novel problem solutions.

  • Three traits of creative thinkers:

    1. Originality – Unique approaches.

    2. Fluency – Many possible solutions.

    3. Flexibility – Shifting strategies easily.

🗣 LANGUAGE

  • Language: Communication system of sounds and symbols used according to rules.

  • Closely tied to thought.

🧠 INTELLIGENCE

What is Intelligence?

  • Capacity to:

    • Learn from experience

    • Acquire knowledge

    • Adapt to the environment

  • Varies by culture; debated in psychology.

Theories of Intelligence

  • Spearman: Intelligence is a single general factor (g).

  • Cattell:

    • Fluid Intelligence: Reasoning, memory, speed (declines with age).

    • Crystallized Intelligence: Knowledge from experience (increases with age).

  • Gardner: Multiple intelligences; individuals have unique intellectual profiles.

🧪 MEASURING INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence Tests

  • Stanford-Binet (1916): Introduced IQ = (mental age / actual age) × 100.

  • WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale): Measures both verbal and nonverbal skills.

  • Modern IQ: Compared against a national average for your age group.

📊 IQ-Related Issues

Intellectual Disability

  • IQ < 70

  • May have strengths in some areas despite general challenges.

Giftedness

  • IQ in the top 1–2%

  • Terman’s Study: Gifted individuals showed academic and career success—motivation and support mattered, not just IQ.

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✅ 1. Trial and Error

  • Definition: Trying different solutions until one works.

  • Example: If your phone won’t turn on, you might try charging it, restarting it, or pressing random buttons until something works.

  • Pros: Can lead to a solution without much prior knowledge.

  • Cons: Can be time-consuming and inefficient.

✅ 2. Algorithms

  • Definition: A step-by-step procedure that guarantees a correct solution if followed properly.

  • Example: Solving a math equation using a formula.

  • Pros: Accurate and reliable.

  • Cons: Slower and more effortful, especially for complex problems.

✅ 3. Heuristics

  • Definition: Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb used to simplify decision-making.

  • Example: Choosing a restaurant by picking the one with the highest Google rating.

  • Pros: Fast and efficient.

  • Cons: Can lead to biases or errors if the shortcut is misleading.

✅ 4. Insight

  • Definition: A sudden realization or “aha!” moment when the solution comes all at once.

  • Example: Suddenly figuring out how to fix a jammed printer after staring at it for a while.

  • Pros: Often leads to creative or elegant solutions.

  • Cons: Can’t be forced or predicted; it may or may not happen.