Chapter 8: Thinking, Language

1
Chapter 8 Thinking, Language
IntelligenceLectures 12,13,14
2
Learning Outcomes

• Define thinking and the various concepts involved
  in thinking.
• Describe how language develops.

3
Learning Outcomes

• Identify the concepts of intelligence and the in
  techniques used to measure intelligence.
• Describe the controversy surrounding intelligence
  testing.

4
Truth or Fiction?

• Only humans can use insight to solve problems.
• Crying is an early form of language.

5
Truth or Fiction?

• Young children say things like Daddy goed away
  and Mommy sitted down because they do
  understand rules of grammar.
• Street smarts are a sign of intelligence.

6
Truth or Fiction?

• Creative people are highly intelligent.
• Highly intelligent people are creative.

7
Truth or Fiction?

• Two children can answer exactly the same items on
  an intelligence test correctly, yet one child can
  be above average in IQ, and the other can be
  below average.
• Intelligence tests measure many things other than
  intelligence.

8
Thinking
9
1. What is the Nature of Thought?

• -9/11- rational decision making?
• What does your mom look like?
• Mental image
• In alphabet what letter comes after N?
• L,M,N,O
• How much is 22
• Did 4 -immediately pop into your mind?
• What is Julia Robertss phone number?

10
2.Thinking

• What is thinking?
• Attending to information, using it or
• Representing it mentally
• Reasoning about it, and
• Making judgments and decisions about it
• E.g., Making sense of and change the world

11
3. Mental Images Concepts

• Mental images- a mental representation that has
  some of the physical characteristics of an object
• Concept- a symbolic representations of objects a
  category, a class, that includes subtypes and/or
  individual items (musical Instrument, other?)
• used to group objects, relations, events,
  abstractions or qualities that have common
  properties, cannot be measured
• Hierarchies
• Used to organize concepts

12
Concepts

• Prototypes
• Good examples of a category of concept
• Exemplars
• Positive and Negative instances
• Overextension

13
4. Concepts

• Prototypes
• Good examples of a category of concept
• Name the first member that comes to your mind
• A bird______
• A hero______
• A Color______
• An animal______
• A Motor Vehicle_______
• Exemplars
• Positive and Negative instances
• Overextension

14
5. When a Person Has a Problem?

• When s/he does not have a direct means of
  attaining a particular goal
• What is Problem Solving?
• Using the thoughts and actions to move from the
  current state to the goal state, in other words
  achieving a desired goal that is not readily
  attainable, often by devising strategies to
  overcome obstacles

15
6. Organization of Subgoals

• High school senior decides to become a doctor
• First, s/he needs to attain more immediate
  subgoal
• 1). _______
• 2)._______
• 3).________
• 4).________
• Identifying important subgoals is not always easy

16
7. Trial and Error

• An approach to problem solving in which one
• solution after another is tried in no particular
• order until the answer is found
• Used when we have little or no knowledge
• relevant to the problem
• Students give examples

17
8. Algorithms

• Specific procedure for solving a type of problem
• Yield correct answers if the right formula is
  used. Any math formula is an example of Alg
• Systematic random search (similar to trial and
  error)
• Each possible solution is tested according to a
  particular set of rules

18
9. Heuristic

• Shortcuts mental rules of thumb used to solve a
  problem
• Working backwards Water lilies double the area
  they cover every 24hours. At the beginning of the
  summer there is one water lily on a pond. It
  takes 60days for the pond to become covered with
  lilies. On what day is the pond half covered?
• Means-end analysis (subgroups)
• Evaluate and reduce difference between the
  current situation and goal
• Analogies
• Refer to a previous problem to solve a new problem

19
Logical reasoning and observation can be used to
solve the problem Play Video Elevator The
Elevator Riddle Solution
PLAY VIDEO
20
10. Factors that Affect Problem Solving

• Expertise
• Experts use parallel processing novices use
  serial processing
• how long it will take you to unscramble this
  word DNSUO
• Mental Sets
• Tendency to use an approach that was previously
  successful with similar problem
• Insight
• Sudden perception permitting the solution

21
11. Factors that Affect Problem Solving

• Incubation
• Stand back from a problem for a while solution
  may come in a flash of insight
• Functional Fixedness
• Tendency to think of an object in terms of its
  familiar function

22
12. Heuristics in Decision Making(not covered in
class, but will be included in the Quiz)

• Representativeness heuristic
• Make judgments about events according to the
  population of events that they appear to
  represent
• Availability heuristic
• Estimate of probability is based on examples of
  relevant events

23
13. Heuristics in Decision Making (not covered
in class, but will be included in the Quiz)

• Anchoring and adjustment heuristic
• First estimate serves as an anchor
• With new information we make adjustments but
  remain in the proximity of the first estimate

24
14. Factors that Affect Decision Making (not
covered in class, but will be included in the
Quiz)

• Framing effect
• Context in which information is presented affects
  decision making
• Overconfidence
• Unaware of flimsiness of assumptions
• Work to bring about results that fit our
  judgments
• Forget information counter to our judgment
• Self-fulfilling prophecies

25
15. Class Discussion on The Paradox of Choice

• Do you believe the more options you have the
  better?
• Do you find that too much choice can be
  frustrating?
• Satisficers- good enough
• Maximizers- the best possible choice
• Paradox of Choice might be responsible for
  cultural shift in the average age when people are
  settling into jobs and marriage??
• Responsible for depression in modern countries?

26
Language,Lecture 13
27
1. Communication by Nonhumans

• What capability most reliably sets humans apart
  from all other species?
• African Grey Parrots (Discuss Video)
• Did Alex speak English? What is the difference
  between Alexs usage of language and human usage?
• Apes (Washoe, Sarah, Lana, Nim Kanzi)
• Genetically show some ability to use language
• Use of symbols to communicate

28
2. Apes

• Allen Beatrix Gardner (1969)- Washoe used sign
  language beginning 1y.o. -160 signs
• David Premack (1983) Sarah mastered notion of
  similarity and difference, half and whole
• Yerkes Primate Research Center (80s)-Lana
  computer controlled language training Give apple
  which is orange)
• Kanzi-1300 utterances, 200 geometric symbols
• However, Herbert Terrace (1981)-Nim responded
  according to CC not rules of the language

29
3.Communication in Other Animals

• Whales and dolphins- in basket, under basket
• Dogs
• Other
• My father was poor but honest (quoted in
  Restak, 1988, p.202)

30
4. Language

• A means of Communicating of thoughts and
  feelings, using a system of socially shared but
  arbitrary symbols (sounds, signs, or written
  symbols) arranged according to rules of grammar.

31
5. Structure of Language

• Psycholinguistics-how language is acquired,
  produced, and used
• Phonemes-the smallest units of sound in a spoken
  language
• Morphemes- the smallest units of meaning
• Syntax- specifies the rules for arranging and
  combining words to form phrases and sentences
• Semantics- the meaning derived from morphemes,
  words, and sentences
• Pragmatics- characteristics of spoken language,
  such as intonation and gestures, that indicate
  social meaning of utterances.

32
6. Properties of Language

• Infinite creativity
• Capacity to create rather than imitate sentences
• Displacement
• Capacity to communicate in another time or place

33
7. Language and Cognition

• Language is not necessary for thinking
• Concepts can be understood without knowing the
  word for the concept (e.g. roundness)

34
8. Language and Culture

• Linguistic-relativity hypothesis (Whorf (1956))
• Language structures the way we perceive the world
• Criticism of linguistic-relativity hypothesis
• Images and abstract logical propositions may be
  used as units of thought
• Range of concepts represent priority of the
  language not cognitive limitation

35
9. Bilingualism

• In other countries the majority of citizens speak
  two or more language
• Advantages of being bilingual
• Metalinguistic skills, the capacity to think
  about lang.
• Ability to learn about the other culture in depth
• Disadvantages
• Decreased efficiency memory tasks involving words
  
• But develop compensatory strategies, though
  respond more slowly
• Lose accent younger than 10 or 11 y. o.

36
10. Language Development

• At the age 17- 80,000 words
• From 18 m to 5- 14,000 words, average 9wrds/day
• 2-3 m- cooing sounds when along
• 20 weeks- mixes various vowels consonants
  w/cooing
• 6 m- Babbles utters phonemes of all language
• 8 m- focuses on phonemes, rhythm, intonation of
  native language
• 12m- say single words mimics sounds understand
  some words
• 18-20m uses two word sentences 50 wrds,
  overextension
• 24m- 270 wrds acquires suffixes function wrds
  in a fixed sequence
• 30m uses telegraphic speech
• 36m begins acquisition of grammar rules
  overregulation

37
11. Language Development

• Prelinguistic vocalizations
• Crying, cooing, babbling
• All children babble the same sounds (even deaf
  children)
• By 9 10 months foreign sounds are dropped
• First word is spoken about 1 year

38
12. Development of Grammar

• Holophrase (2nd year)
• Single words that express complex meanings
• Cookie means this is cookie I want cookie
  where is cookie?
• Telegraphic speech (30mos), understanding syntax
• Two-word sentences
• Grammatically correct
• Sequence of emergence of various two-word
  sentences is universal

39
13. Development of Grammar

• Overextension /underextension (18-20m)
• Application of a word, on the basis of some
  feature, to a broader rage of objects than is
  appropriate (Daddy)
• Overregulation (36m)
• Application of regular grammatical rules to
  irregular verbs and nouns
• Between 7- to 9-years
• Children realize words can have more than one
  meaning

40
14. Nature and Nurture in Language Development

• Learning Theory
• Imitation and reinforcement,
• Social cognitive perspective
• Parent serve as models
• What is wrong w/these perspectives?
• Nativist Approach
• Innate factors cause children to attend to and
  perceive language in certain ways
• neurologically prewired
• Do not need instructions or reinforcement, only
  presence of language

41
15. Nativist Approach to Language Development

• Language acquisition device (LAD)- Chomsky
• Represents the inborn tendency
• Prepares nervous system to learn grammar
• Universal grammar
• Psycholinguistic theory
• Language acquisition involves interaction of
  environmental influences and inborn tendency to
  acquire language
• Interactionist perspective similar to
  Psycholinguistic theory.
• Reading to a child is very important for the
  language development!!!

42

• Banishing Bilingualism
• Preparation Ask a student in your class who is
  bilingual to demonstrate their ability.
• For this demonstration, have a student (more if
  there are more bilingual students) demonstrate
  their ability in the languages learned. Ask them
  to talk about when they learned the languages and
  how it has benefited them. Then present an
  article found in most libraries titled Banishing
  Bilingualism written by Katz and Kohl (2002).
  This article discusses efforts to banish
  bilingualism from education and how some states
  have moved forward with this. This topic can lead
  to a lively debate over bilingualism or English
  only.

43
IntelligenceLecture 14thWhat is Intelligence?
44
1. Intelligence

• Example, Marilyn Mach and Dr. Jarvik
• Did poorly in school Churchill, Einstein, etc.
• IQ? Academic Achievement?
• Cognitive Emotional Intelligence, Nature of
  Intelligence, and how it is measured. Where does
  intelligence come from? Gifted Retarded

45
2. What is Intelligence?

• American Association of Psychologists (APA)
  defined intelligence as an individuals ability
  to understand complex ideas, to adapt
  effectively to environment, to learn from
  experience, to engage in various forms of
  reasoning, and to overcome obstacles by taking
  thought
• Provides the basis for academic achievements

46
3. Theories of Intelligence

• Intelligence is made up of a number of mental
  abilities (factors)
• Spearmans g factor
• General intelligence
• s factor represents specific abilities
• Thurstones specific factors
• Primary mental abilities verbal comprehension,
  numerical ability, visual and spatial abilities,
  perceptual speed, word fluency, memory
  reasoning.
• Are those different ways of assessing g or
  distinct intelligences?

47
4. Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Howard Gardner (handout)
• Number of different intelligences
• Critics

48
5. Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

• Robert Sternberg
• Analytical
• Academic ability
• Creative
• Ability to cope with novel situations and
  generate multiple solutions to problems
• Practical
• Street smarts
• Some texts componential, experiential,
  naturalistic

49
6. Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

• Robert Sternberg
• Analytical
• Academic ability
• Creative
• Ability to cope with novel situations and
  generate multiple solutions to problems
• Practical
• Street smarts
• Some texts componential, experiential,
  naturalistic

50
7. Emotional Intelligence

• The ability to apply knowledge about emotions to
  everyday life, involves an awareness of and an
  ability to manage ones own emotions,
  self-motivation, empathy, and the ability to
  handle relationships. (EQ)
• Intrapersonal and interpersonal skills (empathy)
• Self-insight and self-control (self-motivation)
• Allows for coping with stress, depression, and
  aggressive behavior

51
8. Emotional Intelligence

• Managing emotions does not mean suppressing them
  not does it mean giving free rein to everyday
  feeling.
• Goleman (1995)A life without passion would be a
  dull wasteland of neutrality, cut off and
  isolated from the richness of life itself (p.56)
• We manage our emotions by expressing them in an
  appropriate manner.

52
9. Creativity and Intelligence

• Creativity-the ability to produce original,
  appropriate, valuable ideas /or solutions to
  problems
• Creative people
• Do things that are novel and useful
• Take risks
• Defy limits
• Appreciate art and music
• Relationship between intelligence test scores and
  standard measures of creativity is only moderate.

53
10. Divergent and Convergent Thinking

• Divergent thinking
• Freely associate to elements of problem
• Best used in measuring creativity
• Convergent thinking
• Thought is limited to present facts
• Best used in intelligence testing
• Interrelated

54
11. Savant Syndrome(Rein Man?)

• An unusual combination of genius and low
  performance in different areas
• Autistic individuals
• The puzzle of savant syndrome is slowly unraveled

55
12. Measurement of Intelligence

• Franz Gall (1758-1828)- measuring skull
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (SBIS)
• Binet-Simon - produced childs mental age
• SBIS adapted for intelligence quotient (IQ)
• IQ reflects relationship between mental and
  actual age
• (Mental Age / Chronological Age)x100IQ

56
13. Measurement of Intelligence

• Wechsler Scales (the latest WAIS-III)
• 16 and older (but has for kids as well)
• Deviation Score
• Separate subscales
• Verbal and performance tasks
• Three IQ scores are obtained 1. Verbal IQ2.
  Performance IQ3. Full Scale IQ

57
14. Approximate Distribution of IQ Scores
58
15. Differences in Intellectual Functioning

• Socioeconomic and Ethnic Differences
• Consideration of social class
• Lower-class U.S. children score 10 15 IQ points
  lower than middle- and upper-class
• Consideration of ethnicity
• Impact of social class
• Asian Americans more likely to graduate high
  school and complete college

59
16. Do Intelligence Tests Contain Cultural Biases?

• Tests may measure familiarity with dominant
  middle-class culture
• Caesar is to salad as______ is to brandy.
• a. Churchill b. Napoleon
  c. Hitler d. Lincoln
• Culture-free Intelligence Tests
• Cattels Culture-Fair Intelligence Test
• European American children outperform African
  American children on culture-free test

60
17. Sample Items from Cattells Culture-Fair
Intelligence Test
61
18. Gender Differences in Intelligence Tests

• Intelligence tests do not show overall
  differences in cognitive ability
• Girls superior to boys in verbal ability
• Boys excel in visual-spatial ability
• Boys tend to score higher on math tests
• Group scores represent greater variation within
  the group than between the groups

62
Nature and Nurture in IntelligenceDo You Think
of Intelligence as an Inherited or a learned
Characteristic?
63
19. Genetic Influences on Intelligence

• Francis Galton (1822-1911)- heredity
• Environmentalists- intelligence product of ..
• Kinship studies
• IQ scores of identical twins (MZ) are more alike
  than for any other pairs
• Moderate correlations between fraternal twins,
  siblings and parents and their children
• Weak correlations between children and their
  foster parents and between cousins

64
20. Genetic Influences on Intelligence

• Twin Studies
• IQ scores of MZ twins reared together have higher
  correlation than MZ twins reared apart
• Being reared together is related to IQ
  similarities
• Minnesota Center for Twin and Adoption Research
  (Bouchard (1997), - reported that various types
  of twin studies have consistently yielded
  heritability of .60 to .70 for intelligence

65
21. Genetic Influences on Intelligence

• Adoption Studies
• Stronger relationship between IQ scores of
  adopted children and their biological parents
  than between children and adoptive parents

66
22. Heritability of Intelligence

• Heritability is between 40 and 60
• About half the difference between your IQ score
  and the IQ scores of other people can be
  explained by heredity
• Environment is also important
• Being reared together is related to IQ
  similarities

67
23. Findings of Studies of the Relationship
between IQ Scores and Heredity
68
24. The Complex Web of Factors That Affect
Intellectual Functioning