Chapter 9: Cognition

1. Chapter 9: Cognition

2. Cognition: Definition of Terms • Cognition: Mentally processing information (images, concepts, etc.); thinking • Internal Representation: Mental expression of a problem or situation • Concept: Generalized idea representing a class of related objects or events • Language: Words or symbols, and rules for combining them, that are used for thinking and communication

3. Figure 9.1

4. Figure 9.2

5. Types of Mental Images • Stored Image: Mental image kept in long-term memory (LTM) and retrieved when appropriate • Created Image: Image that has been assembled or invented rather than remembered • Kinesthetic Image: Created from produced, remembered, or imagined muscular sensations

6. Concepts • Concept: Idea that represents a category of objects or events • Concept Formation: Process of classifying information into meaningful categories • Positive Instance: Object or event that belongs to the concept class • Negative Instance: Object or event that does not belong to the concept class

7. Concept Formation • Conceptual Rule: Guideline for deciding whether objects or events belong to a concept class • Conjunctive Concept: Class of objects that have two or more features (e.g., object is pink and soft)

8. Concept Formation (cont.) • Relational Concept: Based on how an object relates to something else or how its features relate to one another • Disjunctive Concept: Objects that have at least one of several possible features; either-or concept (strike in baseball)

9. More Concept Issues and Terms • Prototype: Ideal model used as an example of a good concept • Denotative Meaning: Exact definition of a word or concept • Connotative Meaning: Emotional or personal meaning of a concept • Semantic Differential: Measure of connotative meaning

10. Faulty Concepts • Social Stereotype: Inaccurate and oversimplified concepts of groups of people • All-or-Nothing Thinking: One-dimensional thought

11. Figure 9.3

12. Figure 9.4

13. Figure 9.5

14. Figure 9.6

15. Language Structure • Encoding: Translating information into symbols that are easy to manipulate • Semantics: Study of meaning in language • Phonemes: Basic speech sounds • Morphemes: Speech sounds collected into meaningful units, like syllables or words

16. Figure 9.8

17. Language Structure (cont.) • Grammar: Set of rules for making sounds into words or words into sentences • Syntax: Rules for word order in sentences • Transformation Rules: Rules that allow us to change a declarative sentence into other voices (passive, active) or forms

18. Language Structure (cont.) • Productivity: Ability of language to generate new thoughts or ideas • American Sign Language (ASL): Language used by deaf and hearing-impaired people

19. Figure 9.9

20. Figure 9.10

21. Figure 9.11

22. Problem Solving • Mechanical Solution: Achieved by trial and error or by rote • Algorithm: Learned set of rules that always leads to a correct solution • General Solution: States the requirements for success but not in enough detail to guide further action

23. More on Problem Solving • Random Search Strategy: All possibilities are tried, more or less randomly • Heuristic: Strategy for identifying and evaluating problem solutions

24. Figure 9.14

25. Insight • When an answer appears suddenly in problem solving (“a-ha” learning)

26. Insight Involves: • Selective Encoding: Selecting information that is relevant to a problem while ignoring distractions • Selective Combination: Connecting seemingly unrelated bits of useful information • Selective Comparison: Comparing new problems with old information or with problems already solved

27. Fixations • Tendency to repeat wrong solutions and to “fixate” on them, or to become blind to alternatives • Functional Fixedness: Inability to see new uses (functions) for familiar objects or for things that were used in a particular way

28. Barriers to Problem Solving • Emotional Barriers: Inhibition and fear of making a fool of oneself or of making a mistake • Cultural Barriers: Belief that fantasy is a waste and feelings and humor have no place in problem solving • Learned Barriers: Taboos; staying with conventional uses • Perceptual Barriers: Habits leading to a failure to identify important elements of a problem

29. Figure 9.17

30. Figure 9.18

31. Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Computer programs that perform human-like problem solving or intelligent responding (Deep Blue, the chess-playing supercomputer) • Computer Simulations: Programs that attempt to duplicate human behavior, especially thinking, problem solving, or decision making

32. Artificial Intelligence (cont.) • Expert Systems: Computer programs that respond as a human expert would • Responding like a chess Grand Master • Organized Knowledge: Systematic information • Acquired Strategies: Learned tactics

33. Defining Intelligence • Global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment • Operational Definition: Procedures used to measure a concept

34. Figure 9.19

35. Testing Intelligence • Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition (SB5): Widely used individual intelligence test, derived directly from Alfred Binet’s first intelligence test; items are age-ranked

36. Intelligence Quotients • Chronological Age: Person’s age in years • Mental Age: Average intellectual performance

37. SB5: Cognitive Factors Measured • Fluid reasoning • Knowledge • Quantitative reasoning • Visual-spatial processing • Working memory

38. Figure 9.22

39. More Terms • Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Intelligence index; original definition; mental age divided by chronological age, then multiplied by 100 • Deviation IQ: Scores based on a person’s relative standing in his or her age group; how far above or below average a person’s score is, relative to other scores • Average IQ in the U.S.: 100

40. Wechsler Tests • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test, 3rd Edition (WAIS-III): Adult intelligence test that rates verbal and performance intelligence and abilities • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Edition (WISC-IV): Downscaled version of the WAIS-III; for children from 6 years to 16 years, 11 months, 30 days

41. Types of Intelligence • Performance Intelligence: Nonverbal intelligence • Verbal Intelligence: Language or symbol-oriented intelligence

42. Figure 9.23

43. Group Tests • These tests can be given to a large group of people with little supervision; usually contain multiple-choice items • Normal (Bell-Shaped) Curve: Most scores fall close to the average, and very few are found at the extremes

44. IQ Research Results • A strong correlation (about .50) exists between IQ and school grades • IQ is NOTa good predictor of success in art, music, writing, dramatics, science and leadership • Men and women do NOT appear to differ in overall intelligence, Larry Summers’ assertions notwithstanding

45. Giftedness • Having a high IQ (usually above 130) or special talents or abilities (playing Mozart at age 5)

46. Figure 9.24

47. Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple Intelligences • Language: Lawyers, writers, comedians • Logic and Math: Scientists, accountants, programmers • Visual and Spatial Thinking: Engineers, inventors, artists • Music: Composers, musicians, music critics • Where does Simon Cowell fit?

48. Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple Intelligences (cont.) • Bodily-Kinesthetic Skills: Dancers, athletes, surgeons • Intrapersonal Skills (Self-Knowledge): Poets, actors, ministers • Interpersonal Skills (Social Abilities): Psychologists, teachers, politicians • Naturalistic Skills (Ability to Understand Natural Environment): Biologists, organic farmers

49. Mental Retardation (or Developmentally Disabled): Some Definitions • Presence of a developmental disability and an IQ score below 70; a significant impairment of adaptive behavior also figures into the definition • Adaptive Behavior: Basic skills such as dressing, eating, working, hygiene; necessary for self-care

50. Familial Retardation • Mild retardation that occurs in homes that have inadequate nutrition, intellectual stimulation, medical care, and emotional support