Post on 11-Feb-2016
description
CHAPTER 7:COGNITION, LANGUAGE, AND
INTELLIGENCE:HOW DO WE THINK?
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
THINKING: HOW WE USE WHAT WE KNOW
• Cognition – way in which we store and use information
• Thinking – use of knowledge to accomplish goal
• Knowledge – information stored in LTM • Mental representation – bits of memory
that represent objects, events, people • Sensory• Meaning
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
VISUAL IMAGES: HOW GOOD IS THE MENTAL PICTURE?
• Image-scanning experiments• Suggest that visual images may have the same
properties as the actual stimulus• North American map demonstration
• Suggests that an approximate visual image plus some general knowledge is stored
• Mental representation relies on both visual images and verbal knowledge
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
CONCEPTS: HOW WE ORGANIZE WHAT WE KNOW
• Store mental representations of related objects in same mental category
• Concepts – mental categories containing related bits of knowledge• Organized around meaning of information• Stored in verbal or propositional form• Used to perceive, think about, and deal with world
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
ORGANIZING CONCEPTS INTO CATEGORIES
• Tend to organize into hierarchical categories
• Superordinate category• Most general level (fruit)
• Basic level category• Used to most often think about world (orange)• First level acquired by children
• Subordinate category• Less general, more specific (naval oranges)
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
PROBLEM SOLVING: WHERE DOES OUR THINKING GET US?
• Some problems have obvious solutions, others do not
• General problem solving has six stages• Identify problem• Represent problem• Plan a solution• Execute plan• Evaluate plan• Evaluate solution
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
LANGUAGE: COMMUNICATION, THOUGHT,
AND CULTURE• Humans have well-developed, syntactical
verbal system to represent the world• Much of knowledge represented in
memory as words
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
HOW HUMANS ACQUIRE LANGUAGE
• Innate view• Born with a language acquisition device or biological
make-up that gives innate knowledge of language syntax• Nurture view
• Language is a means for solving the problem of needing to communicate
• Both play a role—Nature vs. Nurture
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
COOING AND BABBLING: BABY STEPS TO LEARNING ONE OR MORE
LANGUAGES• Newborn to 1 month – can categorize
vowel sounds• 2 months – cooing
• Vowel sounds like “ooo” and “ah”• 4 months – babbling
• Consonant sounds like “ka ka ka”• 7 months – babbles specific to native
language (phonemes)• 1 year – communication with others
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
COOING AND BABBLING: BABY STEPS TO LEARNING ONE OR MORE LANGUAGES
(CONT.)
• In bilingual household children acquire both languages at high level of proficiency
• Exposure in elementary school can lead to near-native proficiency; afterward, very difficult
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
FROM “MAMA” AND “DADA” TO FULL CONVERSATIONS
• First words are objects• Uttering one word sentences (e.g. “Milk!”)
• Overextension – one word symbolizes all similar instances
• Telegraphic speech – two-word sentences convey meaning
• Followed by rapid acquisition• By age 6, large vocabulary and mastery of grammar and
pragmatics
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
LANGUAGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE
• Lev Vygostsky – Sociocultural Theory• influence of language in the development of culture
• Older and knowledgeable society members pass on culture by engaging in conversations• Pass on values, beliefs, customs
• Children store these dialogues and later use this knowledge to guide behavior
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
ARE HUMANS THE ONLY ANIMALS TO USE LANGUAGE?
• Some researchers suggest animals have language abilities
• Consider difference between language and communication• Language is a system of communication with set
vocabulary and grammar• Communication can be unstructured
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
DEFINING AND MEASURING INTELLIGENCE
• What is intelligence?• Abilities allowing a person to adapt to her
or his environment and behave in a goal-directed way
• Precise definition is elusive • Measurement is challenging
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
ALFRED BINET: MEASURING INTELLIGENCE BY MEASURING
COGNITIVE ABILITIES• Along with Theodore Simon, appointed to
develop measure of intelligence for French school children, place in special education programs
• Intelligence is capacity to find and maintain purpose, adapt and evaluate strategy to reach purpose and adjust, if necessary
• Mental age – how child’s abilities compared to average child of same age
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
LEWIS TERMAN: THE INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT AND THE STANFORD-BINET
• American revision of Binet and Simon’s work
• Introduced the intelligence quotient/IQ• IQ = (MA/CA) X 100
• MA = Mental Age• CA = Chronological Age
• Average IQ would be 100 where MA = CA
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
DAVID WECHSLER’S INTELLIGENCE SCALES
• Developed test in response to shortcomings of Stanford-Binet• One number cannot express “intelligence”• Objected to use of mental age for adults
• Test yields scores on subscales measuring different mental abilities
• Average ranges from 85 – 115
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS
• Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (PDPSI) • 2 1/2 - 7 years
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition (WISC-III)• 6 -16
• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) • over 15
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
TESTING THE TEST: WHAT MAKES A GOOD INTELLIGENCE TEST?
• Reliability• Test yields consistent measurements for the same
individual over time• Validity
• Test measures what it is designed to measure• Predictive validity
• Test predicts some future behavior• Cultural bias
• Degree to which test is invalid for cultural minority members
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
THE NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE: THE SEARCH CONTINUES
• E.G. Boring, “intelligence is what the tests test”
• Historically spent more time measuring than defining intelligence
• Does timing alter a person’s performance?
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
INTELLIGENCE AS A SINGLE FACTOR
• Charles Spearman• One general level of intelligence that
underlies separate mental abilities• Generalized intelligence or “g”
• Determines how well individual functioned on cognitive tasks
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
HOWARD GARDNER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
• Humans possess many different intelligences
• Intelligence is a biopsychological potential to process information that can be activated in cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of cultural value
• Identified 9 different intelligences• Intelligence profile
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
GARDNER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
• Linguistic• Spatial• Logical-Mathematical• Musical• Bodily-Kinesthetic• Interpersonal• Intrapersonal• Naturalistic• Existential
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
ROBERT STERNBERG’S TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE
• Successful intelligence helps us function in our world
• Analytical: ability to use logic to reason through problems
• Practical: ability to adapt to environment; common sense
• Creative: ability to use knowledge of world in novel situations
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
DANIEL GOLEMAN’S THEORY OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
• Intelligence alone does not guarantee success; must factor in emotional intelligence
• Emotionally intelligent person is confident self-starter, ethical and adaptable – sets goals, works toward them without letting obstacles stop them
• Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
NATURE VERSUS NURTURE
• Genes or environment?• Natural selection • Today’s question is, “Is the trait mostly
genetic or mostly environmental?”• Best way to study contributions of genes
and environment
Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning
GENDER AND INTELLECTUAL ABILITIES: ARE WE REALLY ALL THAT DIFFERENT?
• Many stereotypes about differences in female and male intellectual abilities• These affect self- and other-perception and beliefs about
abilities• Many researchers conclude that men and
women do not differ in “g”• Differences found tend to be small and
vary across cultures