Cognition- (aka thinking)

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Unit 6:

Cognition

Problem Solving

Techniques

Decision Making

Techniques

Acquisition and use of Language

HeuristicsAlgorithms Compensatory Models

Biological Factors

Cognitive Factors

Representativeness Heuristic

Availability Heuristic

Cultural Factors

Memory

Obstacles to Decision Making

Obstacles to Problem Solving

Information Processing

Model

StorageEncoding Retrieval

Subfield Plug:

Cognition involves a number of mental activities, which are listed below.

Cognitive psychologists study these in great detail.1. Concepts

2. Problem solving3. Decision making4. Judgment

formation

Concepts• A mental

grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people.

• Concepts are similar to Piaget’s idea of….

In order to think about the world, we form……..

SchemasThese animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of “dogs”.

http://www.sixdifferentways.com/gallery/becg/ball_chair_blue_005?full=1

We organize concepts into category hierarchies.

Courtesy of C

hristine Brune

Categories get fuzzy

• Is a whale a mammal?• Are penguins and kiwis birds?• Are 17 year old people children or adults• Heart attack symptoms

Can I read your mind?1. State a color.2. Name or draw a triangle.3. List the first type of motor vehicle that comes to

mind.4. Write a sentence5. Give me a hero.6. Describe a heroic act7. Game8. Philosopher9. Writer10. Pop Star

I gave schemata and tried to predict prototypes.

1. red or blue2. a picture of an equilateral triangle3. a car4. a short declarative statement, e.g., “The boy an

home.”5. Superman, Batman, or possibly a fireman6. a single act by a male, e.g. a rescue by a fireman7. monopoly or some other board game8. Socrates or Aristotle9. John Green, JK Rowling, or some other white

author10. Spears or Tay Swift

Our concept of men may include all of the following guys….

But they are based on our prototype (ideal) male…..

We base our concepts on ….

Prototypes

• A mental image or best example of a category.

• If a new object is similar to our prototype, we are better able to recognize it.

Problem Solving

Trial and Error

Ex: Randomly guessing which spot to hit in Battleship.

Algorithms• A methodical, logical

rule or procedure for problem solving.

• Ex: Solving Hangman by guessing “A”, then “B”, then “C”, etc.

• Usually by using a formula.

• They work but are sometimes impractical.

• Computers use algorithms

Algorithms

S P L O Y O C H Y GIf we were to unscramble these letters to form a word

using an algorithmic approach, we would face 907,208 possibilities.

HeuristicsA rule-of-thumb strategy that uses short cuts and prior knowledge to solve problems.

Ex: Solving Hangman by guessing vowels first, then common letters.

+ : Often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently. Faster.

- : Can be prone to error. Won’t always allow you to find the solution.

Who would you trust to baby-sit your child?

Your answer is based on your heuristic of their appearances.

Heuristics

Heuristics make it easier for us to use simple principles to arrive at solutions to

problems.

S P L O Y O C H Y GS P L O Y O C H G YP S L O Y O C H G YP S Y C H O L O G Y

Put a Y at the end, and see if the wordbegins to make sense.

Insight• A sudden and often

novel realization of the solution to a problem.“A ha!” moments.

•No real strategy involved

Insight

Humans and animals have insight.

Using boxes toobtain food

Insight

Brain imaging and EEG studies suggest that when an insight

strikes (the “Aha” experience), it

activates the right temporal cortex

(Jung-Beeman, 2004). The time between not knowing the solution and realizing it is 0.3

seconds.

From M

ark Jung-Beekm

an, Northw

estern U

niversity and John Kounios, D

rexel University

Do Now

• Please turn in your RM Review to the bin• Answer the following Qs:

– What is your concept of “college”? How was it formed?

– What is your prototype of “college”?

Hurdles/Obstacles to Problem Solving

Confirmation Bias

• We look for evidence to confirm our beliefs and ignore evidence that contradicts them.

• Example: Administration analysts in 2003 had a tendency to accept info which supported their presumptions about WMDs more readily than info which contradicted them.

Example: Confirmation BiasImagine that you are the judge in an only-child sole-custody case

following a relatively messy divorce. The facts of the case are complicated by ambiguous economic, social, and emotional considerations, and you decide to base your decision entirely on the following facts.

Question: To whom would you award sole-custody of the child?

Parent A: who has an average income, average health, average working hours, a reasonable rapport with the child, and a relatively stable social life;

Parent B: who has an above-average income, minor health problems, lots of work-related travel, a very close relationship with the child, and an extremely active social life.

Confirmation Bias Example

• For example, if you believe that during a full moon there is an increase in admissions to the emergency room where you work, you will take notice of admissions during a full moon, but be inattentive to the moon when admissions occur during other nights of the month.

Fixation

Fixation: An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This impedes

problem solving. Two examples of fixation are mental set and functional fixedness.

Match Problem

Can you arrange these six matches into four equilateral triangles?

Match Problem

Fixation• The inability to

see a problem from a new perspective.

Functional Fixedness

• The inability to see a new use for an object.

Think of as many uses as you can for a ……

Mental Set• A tendency to approach a problem in

a particular way, especially if it has worked in the past.

• May or may not be a good thing.

– Rows/hop example

The Jug Problem

The Jug Problem

B – A – 2C = desired amount of water

The Jug Problem

• For problems 6 and 7 (20 and 18), there are easier ways than using your formula from your mental set.

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein

Motivation• If you don’t attempt to solve a problem you

won’t.

Making Decisions & Forming Judgements

Representativeness Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind.

• Like thinking everyone from Pattonville is preppy, or someone with glasses is nerdy, or a blonde is not smart.

• If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence.

• She is an economics major at Harvard University.

Who went to Harvard?

Dan is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (but he looks like he did).

• Which answer sequence do you think is most likely to appear on a True/False Quiz:

A) T T T T T T

B) F F F T T T

C) T F F T F TChances are, you picked “C” because it best fits with your

idea of what a random sequence looks like.

In reality, all 3 options are equally likely.

• Below is Linda. She loves books and hates loud noises. Is Linda a librarian or a beautician?

Chances are, she is a beautician!!!

Availability Heuristic

• Judging a situation based on examples of similar situations that initially come to mind.

• Vivid examples in the news often cause an availability heuristic.

Which place would you be more scared of getting mugged or even murdered?

The Bronx, NY

Gary, Indiana

The crime rate of Gary, Indiana is MUCH higher than the Bronx. But when you think of crime, which town comes to mind?

If it comes to mind easily (maybe a vivid event) we assume it is common.

• Although diseases kill many more people than accidents, it has been shown that people will judge accidents and diseases to be equally fatal. This is because accidents are more dramatic and are often written up in the paper or seen on the news on t.v., and are more available in memory than diseases.

Heuristics can lead to Overconfidence…

• The tendency to be more confident than correct.

Belief Perseverance

• Clinging to your initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

Framing• 90% of the population will be saved

with this medication…..or• 10% of the population will die despite

this medication.• You should not drink more than two

drinks per day….or• You should not drink more than 730

drinks a year.Look at the following question and

think about how the question is worded may effect the way it is answered.

• How can businesses become more socially responsible?

• The way a problem is presented can drastically effect the way we view it.

Belief Bias

1. Democrats support free speech

• The tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning.

• Sometimes making invalid conclusions valid or vice versa.

2.Dictators are not Democrats.

Conclusion: Dictators do not support free speech.

See if you can figure out what these seven words all have in common?

1. Banana2. Dresser3. Grammar4. Potato5. Revive6. Uneven7. Assess

CREATIVITY

• Almost impossible to define.