Psych 200 Intelligence

Thinking, Language,and IntelligenceChapter Eight

Cognition (or thinking) may be defined as:The mental activity involved in understanding, processing, and communicating information. Cognition entails attending to information, representing it mentally, reasoning about it, and making judgments and decisions about it. Conscious, planned attempts to make sense of our world. Cognition

Concepts are mental categories used to group together objects, relations, events, and abstractions.Qualities that have common properties.Cognition involves:categorizing new concepts and manipulating relationships among concepts.We tend to organize concepts in hierarchies. Prototypes: examples that best match the essential features of categories. Simple prototypes are taught by exemplars. These include:Positive instances.Negative instances.Overextension is over-inclusion of instances in a category.Cognition

Concepts into HierarchiesFigure 8.1 Organization of Concepts into Hierarchies People may have a concept “objects that store information.” This concept may include concepts such as floppy disk, DVD, and printed matter. Within the concept of printed matter, people may include newspapers, college textbooks (certainly the most important object that stores information!), novels, and catalogs. The concept of newspaper may include one’s school newspaper and various commercial newspapers.

Approaches to Problem SolvingFlash of insight.Finding rules.Understanding the Problem.Focus on the right information.Background knowledge helps.Successful understanding of a problem requires three features:The parts or elements of our mental representation of the problem relate to one another in a meaningful way.The elements of our mental representations of the problem correspond to the elements of the problem in the outer world.We have a storehouse of background knowledge that we can apply to the problem.Problem Solving

Algorithms: a specific procedure for solving a type of problem. Algorithms invariable lead to the solution. Systematic random search algorithm: every possible combination is examined.Problem Solving

Concepts into HierarchiesFigure 8.4 The Duncker Candle Problem Can you use the objects shown on the table to attach the candle to the wall of the room so that it will burn properly?

Heuristics: are rules of thumb that help us simplify and solve problems. Heuristics do not guarantee a correct solution to a problem.Heuristics permit more rapid solutions.Means-end analysis: assess the difference between our current situation and our goals and then do what we can to reduce this discrepancy. An analogy is a partial similarity among things that are different in other ways.The analogy heuristic applies the solution of an earlier problem to the solution of a new one.Problem Solving

Experts solve problems more efficiently and rapidly than novices do. Expert characteristics include:They know the particular area well.They have a good memory for the elements in the problem.They form mental images or representations that facilitate problem solving.They relate the problem to similar problems.They have efficient methods for problem solving. Factors That Affect Problem Solving

Mental Sets: the tendency to respond to a new problem with the same approach that helped solve similar problems. Usually this makes the work easier but they can mislead us. Insight: Aha!: It seems as if pieces of information in the problem have suddenly been reorganized so that the solution leaps out at you.Incubation: standing back from the problem may allow for insight. Some mysterious process within us continues to work on it. Functional Fixedness: hinder problem solving by thinking of an object in terms of its name or its familiar function. Factors That Affect Problem Solving

Representative Heuristic: people make judgments about events according to the populations of events that they appear to represent.Availability Heuristic: our estimates of frequency or probability are based on how easy it is to find examples of relevant events. Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristics: there can be a good deal of inertia in our judgments. We have an initial view or presumption that is an anchor.The Framing Effectwording, or the context in which information is presented, can influence decision making. Heuristics in Decision Making

Overconfidence applies to judgments.Many people refuse to alter their judgments even in the face of statistical evidence that shows them to be flawed. 20-20 hindsight: “we knew it all along”.There are several reasons for overconfidence:We tend to be unaware of how flimsy our assumptions may be.We tend to focus on examples that confirm our judgments and ignore those that do not.We tend to forget information that is counter to our judgments.We work to bring about the events we believe in, so they sometimes become self-fulfilling prophecies.Even when people are told that they tend to be overconfident in their decisions, they usually ignore this information.Overconfidence

Language is the communication of thoughts and feelings by means of symbols that are arranged to rules of grammar.In recent years our exclusive claim to language has also been questioned. Language is one of the human assets that has enabled us to survive and prosper. True language is distinguished from the communication systems of lower animals by properties such as semanticity, infinite creativity, and displacement.Semanticity: refers to the fact that the sounds of a language have meaning.Infinite creativity: refers to the capacity to create rather than imitate sentences.Displacement is the capacity to communicate information about events and objects in another time or place. Language

Language and Cognition.Can a person think without using language?Jean Piaget believed that language reflects knowledge of the world but that much knowledge can be acquired without language. The Linguistic-Relativity Hypothesis.The linguistic-relativity hypothesis: language structures the way we perceive the world. Speakers of various languages conceptualize the world in different ways. (e.g. we have one word for camel; Arabs have more than 250).Infants display considerable intelligence before they have learned to speak.Language Development

Prelinguistic vocalizations include crying, cooing, and babbling.These are inborn.Children tend to utter their first word at about 1 year of age. At about 18 months, children are producing a couple dozen words. Development of Grammar.Holophrases: single words that can express complex meanings. augmented with gestures, intonations, and reinforcers. Toward the end of the second year children begin to speak two-word sentences termed telegraphic speech. Telegraphic speech is similar to telegrams where the unnecessary words are cut out. Language Development: Two Year Explosion

OverregularizationGrammatical rules for forming the past tense and plurals. The tendency to regularize the irregular.Reflects knowledge of grammar not faulty language development. By the age of 6, children’s vocabularies have expanded to 10,000 words. By 7 to 9, most children realize that words can have more than one meaning. Language Development

Genetic and Environmental Factors In Language Development. Nativist theory of language hold that language development is innate or inborn. Nature – cause children to attend to and acquire language in certain ways. Psycholinguistic theory: language acquisition involves the interaction of environmental influences such as: exposure to parental speech, Reinforcement, and an inborn tendency to acquire language. Language acquisition device (LAD) prepares the nervous system to learn grammar. Universal grammar: an underlying set of rules for turning ideas into sentences. Nature and Nurture in Language Development

Genetic and Environmental Factors In Language Development. Language development reflects the interactions between the influences of heredity (nature) and the environment (nurture). Learning theorists see language developing according to imitation and reinforcement. Parents serve as models. Learning theory cannot account for: the unchanging sequence of language development,and the spurts in children’s language acquisition. Nature and Nurture in Language Development

LIFE CONNECTION: Bilingualism and Ebonics – Making Connections or Building Walls?Most people throughout the world speak two or more languages. For more than 30 million people in the U.S. English is a second language. Bilingualism and Intellectual Development. Most linguists consider it advantageous for children to be bilingual. Expands children’s awareness of different cultures. Broadens their perspectives. Shown to increase children’s expertise in their first language.

LIFE CONNECTION: Bilingualism and Ebonics – Making Connections or Building Walls?Williams, a psychologist, developed a test that was culturally sensitive to African American children called the Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity. Ebonics derives from the word ebony and phonics. Was previously called Black English or Black Dialect.The Oakland, California School Board recognized Ebonics as the primary language of African American students. There are differences between Ebonics and standard English in the use of verbs. In this case many African Americans are in effect bilingual.

IntelligenceIntelligence involves more than just a particular fixed set of characteristics.Laypersons and experts agree on three clusters of intelligence:Problem-solving abilityVerbal abilitySocial competence

IntelligenceTheories of intelligence have four concepts: Multidimensional(many domains of intellectual functioning)Multidirectionality(distinct patterns of change of abilities)Plasticity (degree to which a person’s ability can be modified)Interindividual variability (adults differ in the direction of their intellectual development)The dual component model of intellectual functioningMechanics of intelligence (thinking & information processing)(reasoning, spatial orientation, perception speed)Pragmatics of intelligence (acquired knowledge available within culture) (everyday cognitive performance & adaptation – verbal knowledge, wisdom, and practical problem solving)

The psychometric approachMeasuring intelligence as a score on a standardized testFocus is on getting correct answersThe cognitive-structural approachWays in which people conceptualize and solve problems emphasizing developmental changes in modes and styles of thinkingResearch Approaches to Intelligence

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligencePrimary Mental AbilitiesThurston’s five primary mental abilities:Numerical facility -- basic math skills / reasoning Word fluency -- verbal description of thingsVerbal meaning -- vocabulary abilityInductive reasoning -- ability to extrapolate from facts to general conceptsSpatial orientation -- ability to reason in 3D world in which we liveTwo additional abilities added by Schaie:Perceptual speed -- ability to rapidly find visual detailsVerbal memory – ability to store and recall meaningful language

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligenceAge-Related Changes in Primary AbilitiesData from K. Warner Schaie’s Seattle Longitudinal Study of more than 5,000 individuals from 1956 to 1998 in six testing cycles:People tend to improve on primary abilities until late 30s or early 40s.Scores stabilize until mid-50s and early 60s.By late 60s consistent declines are seen.Nearly everyone shows a decline in one ability, but few show decline on four or five abilities.

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligenceSecondary Mental AbilitiesAt least six secondary mental abilities have been foundFluid IntelligenceAbilities that make you a flexible and adaptive thinker, to draw inferences, and relationships between concepts independent of knowledge and experienceCrystallized IntelligenceThe knowledge acquired through life experience and education in a particular culture

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligenceModerators of Intellectual ChangeCohort differencesComparing longitudinal studies with cross-sectional show little or no decline in intellectual performance with ageInformation processingPerceptual speed may account for age-related decline.Working memory decline may account for poor performance of older adults if coordination between old and new information is required.

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligenceModerators of Intellectual ChangeSocial and lifestyle variablesDifferences in cognitive skills needed in different occupations makes a difference in intellectual development.Higher education and socioeconomic status also related to slower rates of intellectual decline.Does a cognitively engaging lifestyle predict greater intellectual functioning?

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligenceModerators of Intellectual ChangeHealthA connection between disease and intelligence has been established in general and in cardiovascular disease in particular.The participants in the Seattle Longitudinal Study who declined in inductive reasoning had significantly more illness diagnoses and visits to physicians for cardiovascular disease.Hypertension is not as clear. Severe HT may indicate decline whereas mild HT may have positive effects on intellectual functioning.

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligenceModerators of Intellectual Change Relevancy and appropriateness of tasksTraditional tests have high correlation with tests that have been updated to measure actual tasks faced by older persons.Modifying primary abilitiesTraining seems to slow declines in some primary abilities.Project ADEPT and Project ACTIVEAbility-specific training does improve in primary abilities.Effect varies in ability to maintain and transfer gains.

Developmental Trends in Psychometric IntelligenceModerators of Intellectual ChangeOther attempts to train fluid abilitiesSchaie and Willis’ cognitive training showed improvement in spatial and reasoning abilities both with people whose abilities were declining and improvement in those whose abilities had stabilized.Long-term effects of trainingSeven year follow-up to the original ADEPT showed significant training effects.64% of trained group’s performance was above the pre-training level compared to 33% of the control group.

Learning ObjectivesWhat are the main points in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?What evidence is there for continued cognitive development beyond formal operations?What is the role of both emotion and cognition in cognitive maturity?Qualitative Differences in Adults Thinking

Basic conceptsAssimilationUse of currently available information to make sense out of incoming informationAccommodationChanging one’s thought to make a better approximation of the world of experiencePiaget’s Theory

Sensorimotor PeriodObject permanence (objects exist when out of sight)Preoperational PeriodEgocentrism(belief that all people and objects experience the world as they do)Concrete Operations PeriodClassification, conservation, mental reversingFormal Operations PeriodAbstract thought; (solutions to problems people have not seen or encountered)Piaget’s Theory

Beyond Piaget’s TheoryDevelopmental progressions in adult thoughtReflective judgment (how people reason through delimas)Optimal level of development (highest level of info processing possible)Skill acquisition (process by which people learn new abilities)Three thinking StylesAbsolutist Belief there is only on correct solution & personal experience provides the answer.RelativisticRealizing there are many sides to an issue; answer depends on the circumstanceDialectical See the merits in different viewpoints but can synthesize them into a workable solution

Learning ObjectivesWhat are the characteristics of older adults’ decision making?What are optimally exercised abilities and unexercised abilities? What age differences have been found in practical problem solving?What is encapsulation, and how does it relate to expertise?What is wisdom, and how does it relate to age and life experience?Everyday Reasoning and Problem Solving

Decision MakingYounger adults make decisions quicker than older adults.Older adultsSearch for less information to arrive at a decisionRequire less information to arrive at a decisionRely on easily accessible informationWhy is this?Everyday Reasoning and Problem Solving

Problem SolvingWe use our intellectual abilities to solve problems.Some people are better than others at problem solving.Why is that? Could it have to do with the kinds of abilities we use regularly versus the ones we use only occasionally?Everyday Reasoning and Problem Solving

Denny’s Model of Unexercised andOptimally Exercised AbilitiesUnexercised abilityThe ability a normal, healthy adult would exhibit without practice or training (fluid intelligence)Exercised abilityThe ability a normal, healthy adult would demonstrate under the best conditions of training or practice (crystallized intelligence)Everyday Reasoning and Problem Solving

Practical Problem SolvingObserved Tasks of Daily Living (OTDL)(food prep, medicine intake, telephone use)OTDL scores were directly influenced by: AgeFluid intelligenceCrystallized intelligenceOTDL scores were indirectly influenced by:Perceptual speedMemorySeveral aspects of health Everyday Reasoning and Problem Solving

ExpertiseOlder adults compensate for poorer performance through their expertise.Expertise helps the aging adult compensate for losses in other skills. Learned via experience alternative ways to solve problems / make decisionsEncapsulationThe processes of thinking (like attention & memory) become connected to the products of thinking (such as knowledge about world history).Adult knowledge becomes more and more specialized based on experienceEveryday Reasoning and Problem Solving

Wisdom – (growth of expertise and insight)Involves practical knowledgeIs given altruisticallyInvolves psychological insightsBased on life experienceImplicit conceptions of wisdom are widely shared within a culture and include:Exceptional level of functioningA dynamic balance between intellect, emotion, and motivationA high degree of personal and interpersonal competenceGood intentions Everyday Reasoning and Problem Solving

Psych 200 Intelligence

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Psych 200 Intelligence