PSYC 1101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Frontal Lobe, Phoneme, Linguistic Determinism
6 Jun 2018
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Notes on Thinking and Language
Thinking
Concepts
● Cognition → all the mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, remembering,
and communicating
● Concept → a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
● Form concepts by developing prototypes
● Prototype → a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a
prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when
comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)
● Memories shift toward prototype
● If symptoms don’t fit into prototype, less likely to recognize it as part of that prototype
Problem Solving: Strategies and Obstacles
● Trial and error
● Algorithms → a methodical logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular
problem. Contrasts with the speedier but also more error-prone use of heuristics
● Could solve ten scrambled letters with math, but…
● Heuristics → a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and
solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
● Grouping letters that are commonly near each other
● Insight → a sudden realization of a problem’s solutions; contrasts with strategy-based
solutions
● Burst of energy in temporal lobe right before aha moment
● Satisfaction with aha moment
● Seek out answers that agree with our ideas
● Confirmation bias → a tendency to search for information that supports our
preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
● People prefer info that confirms their beliefs
● Fixation - unable to see problem from different perspective
● Mental set → a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often in a way that
has been successful in the past
Forming Good and Bad Decisions and Judgements
● Intuition → an effortless, immediate, automatic response in contrast to explicit, conscious
reasoning
The Availability Heuristic
● 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
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● Think critically about the wrong things (fears)
Overconfidence
● Overconfidence → the tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the
accuracy of our beliefs and judgements
● Overestimate time things will take
Belief Perseverance
● Belief perseverance → clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they
were formed has been discredited
● The more understanding there is behind beliefs, the more likely we are to cling to them
● Framing → the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect
decisions and judgements
● When asking questions
The Perils and Powers of Intuition
● Good things about intuition:
○ Intuition is analysis ‘frozen into habit’
○ Intuition is usually adaptive, enabling quick reactions
○ Intuition is huge
● Intuition works best if the person is not actively working to solve the problem
Thinking Creatively
● Creativity → the ability to produce new and valuable ideas
● Aptitude → ability to learn
● Brain activity for intelligence different from brain activity for creativity
● Convergent thinking → narrowing the possible solutions to a problem in order to find the
one correct answer
○ Measured in intelligence tests
● Divergent thinking → expanding the number of possible solutions; creative thinking that
diverges in different directions
● Damage to areas of frontal lobes can damage imagination but leave more arithmetic skills
in tact
● Five components of creativity
○ Expertise
■ Well developed knowledge
○ Imaginative thinking skills
■ See things in novel ways
○ A venturesome personality
■ Seeking new experiences
○ Intrinsic motivation
■ Driven by self interest, satisfaction
○ A creative environment
■ Sparks, supports and refines creative ideas
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Cognition all the mental processes associated with 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. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin) If symptoms don"t fit into prototype, less likely to recognize it as part of that prototype. Algorithms a methodical logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the speedier but also more error-prone use of heuristics. Could solve ten scrambled letters with math, but . Heuristics a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms. Grouping letters that are commonly near each other. Insight a sudden realization of a problem"s solutions; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
