Thinking and Language

1. Wyatt Andresen, M’Kyla Walker, Sarah Kerman, Jake Garn, Chris Pirrung Thinking and Language

2. Thinking • Cognition- the mental activities associated w/ thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating • Concept- a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people • Prototype- a mental image or best example of a category • Algorithm- a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem • Heuristic- a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms • SPLOYOCHYG – 907,200 possible permutations

3. Thinking • Insight- a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts w/ strategy-based problems • Confirmation Bias- a tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconception • Fixation- the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an impediment to problem solving • Mental Set- a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past • O-T-T-F-?-?-? • J-F-M-A-?-?-? • Functional Fixedness- the tendency to think of a thing only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

4. Thinking • Representativeness Heuristic- judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information • Availability Heuristic- estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

5. Thinking • Overconfidence- the tendency to be more confident than correct- to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments • Framing- the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decision and judgments • At first glance, would you prefer…. • 75% lean meat, or… • 25% fat meat

6. Thinking • Belief Bias- the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid • Premise 1: Democrats support free speech. • Premise 2: Dictators are not democrats. • Conclusion: Dictators do not support free speech. • Belief Perseverance- clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

7. Language • Language- spoken, written, or signed words and the way we combine them as we think and communicate • Timeline: • 4 months-babbling • 10 months- identify language of household • 1 year- one-word stage • 18 months- two-word stage characterized by telegraphic speech

8. Language • Language Structure: • 1) Phonemes- smallest distinctive sound unit • 2) Morpheme- smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of word • 3) • Grammar- system of rules • Semantics- deprive meaning of sentences • Syntax- order words into sentences

9. Language • Skinner: Operant Learning • We can explain language development with familiar principles. • Chomsky: Inborn Universal Grammar • Language is inborn. Not learned from environment. • Cognitive Scientists: Statistical Learning and Critical Periods • Human infants display a remarkable ability to learn statistical aspects of human speech.

10. Thinking and Language • Linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956) • Linguistic Determinism- Different languages impose different conceptions of reality • Language Influences our thinking, but does not Determine it • The traffic runs both ways between thinking and language. Thinking affects our language, which then affects our thought

11. Animal Thinking and Language • Problem solving is shaped by reinforcement • Show some signs of language: • Chimps- sign language • Collie- retrieve items by name • Gestures associated with communication • Cultural Transmission- use of a tool to accomplish some larger task