Chapter 10 Thinking and Language: Cognition, Problem Solving, and Causes of Irrationality

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Chapter 10 Thinking and Language Cognition,
Problem Solving, and Causes of Irrationality

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The Cognitive Perspective

• Cognition refers to mental activities associated
  with processing, interpreting, understanding, and
  communicating information.
• Cognitive Psychology studies
• Concept Formation
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Judgment Formation

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How We Think

• For Classification/Efficiency Purposes Humans
  Create
• Symbols object or an act that stands for
  something else
• Think about things that are not present

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How We Think

• For Classification /Efficiency Purposes Humans
  Create
• Concepts mental grouping of similar objects ,
  events, ideas, or people.
• Concepts are often organized into hierarchies.

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Types of Concepts
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Prototype Activity (Myers)
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How We Think

• Humans usually form concepts by creating a
• Prototype mental image or best example of a
  category. Allows us to incorporate items easily.

To most people, a robin is birdier than a
Penguin
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An Items Failure To Match A Prototype Leads to
Trouble Classifying It.
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Methods of Problem Solving

• 2. Algorithm methodical, logical pattern or
  procedure that guarantees a solution to a
  particular problem.
• Looks at all possible combinations or has a
  SPECIFIC FORMULA to solve the problem.

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Methods of Problem Solving

• 3. Heuristics mental shortcut, rule of thumb
  strategies which allow us to solve problems
  efficiently and usually quickly.
• Short-cuts that involve our preconceptions.

Who would you rather have baby sit your child?
Answer is based on your heuristic for appearance.

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Algorithms vs. Heuristics

• Unscramble
• S P L O Y O C H Y G
• -Algorithms go through all 907,208 combinations
• -Heuristics would take out YY, etc.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vk0xgjUhEG3U

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Algorithms vs. Heuristics

• Advantages and Disadvantages?

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Methods of Problem Solving

• 1. Trial and Error guess and check

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Methods of Problem Solving

• Insight sudden realization of how to solve a
  problem without a real strategy involved.
• The Light-Bulb going off when you get an idea.
• A-ha moment

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Kohlers Chimpanzee Study Illustrates Insight
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vfPz6uvIbWZE
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Kohler and Chimp Insight
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vfPz6uvIbWZE
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Kohler and Chimp Insight
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vXcMI1NAew3o
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Insight Problems PowerPoint
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Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Confirmation Bias human tendency to search for
  information that confirms your preconceptions (we
  dont search out information that refutes them)
• Saddam Hussein WMDs
• Your own examples?

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Child Custody Handout (Myers)
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Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Fixation refers to the inability to see a
  problem from a new perspective.

How would you arrange six matches to form 4 equal
lateral triangles?
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Solution to Matchstick Problem
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Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Mental Set tendency to approach a particular
  problem in a particular way.
• You usually use strategies that have been
  successful in the past at solving problems even
  though it may not be most efficient strategy for
  the new problem.

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The Three Jugs Problem
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Solution to the Jugs Problem

• B-A-2Cdesired amount of water.
• Problem 6 7 had easier solutions though which
  were probably blocked by mental set.

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6 7 Solution
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Candle Mounting Problem
Using these materials, how would you mount the
candle on a bulletin board?
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Candle Mounting Solution

• Inability to solve this problem may result from
  functional fixedness. Have to recognize that a
  box need not always serve as a container

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Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Functional Fixedness tendency to think of
  objects only in terms of their usual functions.

CAN EQUAL
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Overconfidence

• We tend to overconfident in our thinking and our
  decision making because we
• do not realize how flimsy our evidence is
• ignore examples that conflict with our opinions.
• tend to bring about things they believe in.

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Overconfidence

• Can you think of a time you were overconfident in
  a decision/answer?
• Examples from history

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Possible Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Representative Heuristic is a MENTAL SHORTCUT
  for judging the likelihood of things in terms of
  how well they seem to match our prototypes.
• May lead us to make incorrect assumptions.

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Possible Obstacles to Problem Solving

• A stranger tells you about a person who is
  short, slim, and likes to read poetry. Is this
  person more likely to be a professor or a truck
  driver?

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Example of Representative Heuristic Errors

• Below is Fred. He is muscle-bound, uses
  steroids, and enjoys getting into fights. Is he
  more likely to be a high school teacher or a
  wrestler from the WWE.

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Possible Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Availability Heuristic is a MENTAL SHORTCUT
  where we judge the likelihood of an event based
  on how readily the event comes to mind.
• What types of things can effect the availability
  of things in our memory?
• Is the letter k more likely to occur as the first
  or third letter in a word?

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Availability Heuristic Can Lead Us to
Irrationally Fear Things Which Are Unlikely.

• EX People tend to be more fearful of the
  dangers of airplane travel than of traveling in
  an automobile.
• EX People tend to be more fearful of being
  raped by a stranger even though it is more likely
  they will be raped by someone they know.

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Discovering Psychology Movie on Decision Making
and Judgment(15 min.)