Cognition and Intelligence
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Transcript of Cognition and Intelligence
COGNITION AND INTELLIGENCE
Chapters 7 and 8
What is Cognition? Cognition is our ability to think…
Organize thoughtsSolve problemsThink rationallyImagine an image in our mindConstruct sentencesMake decisions
How are our thoughts organized? Schema
Mental framework to help us organize thoughts
Popular Schemas (aka Schemata):○ School- What does this include? What is
expected of you? How does it look?○ Others?
“Concepts” are examples of schemata
How are our thoughts organized? Concepts
Mental categories for classifying specific people, things, or events
Allow us to group new experiences with old ones… Like placing all socks (soccer socks, ankle socks, stockings) into one drawer
Prototypes- a member of a concept with the most typical features○ Can help us to make quick decisions about
new experiences.. Does it fit into this concept because it resembles the stereotype?
○ “Protypical” genius… does the jock “align”? ○ Stereotypes?
Concepts and Prototypes Which do you see as the most “typical”
example of the concept dog?
How do we solve problems? How do we solve problems?
InterpretationStrategyEvaluation
Interpretation of the Problem First step= Problem Representation
Interpreting or defining the problem○ What is the cause of this issue?○ I.E. Gun violence in the U.S.
Verbal vs. Visual○ How can I approach this problem? Should I write it down?
Draw a picture? Chart? Graph? Web?○ I.E. Identifying correlations between murderers, weapons, SES
background, mental health- VISUALLYGaining expertise consists of your ability to represent and
categorize problems so that they can be solved quickly and effectively○ i.e. calling football plays, making chess moves, etc… you can
practice!!!
Now for the solving: Strategies Trial and error-
Works best when there are a limited amount of choices otherwise it is too time consuming○ i.e. trying different keys to open a lock
Information retrieval- recalling how problems were solved in the past..
Can help or hinder!○ i.e. how do other countries solve violence issues?○ **problem: could the issue be the result of something
different? Back to problem representation.
Strategies (cont.) Algorithms-
guarantees a solution but can be tedious Heuristics- rules of thumb; no guaranteed
solutionHill climbing- moving towards goal (process of
elimination)Subgoals- break problem into small, more
manageable partsMeans-end analysis- looking at the whole picture;
more flexible than hill-climbing Working backward- knowing goal and working
backwards from there (shopping?)
Obstacles to Problem-Solving Motivation Emotional Arousal Mental Set- our tendency to approach a
problem in a certain way but that excludes different approaches to a problemNeed flexibility!!
Functional Fixedness- assigned meaning to a problem
**Abandoning the problem for a while may lead to insight upon return (i.e. Incubation)
Return to your Worksheet! What problem solving devices did you
use? What obstacles did you encounter? Other real world examples? How can you use this to make better
decisions in the future?
Decisions- How do we make them? Compensatory Model
Rational decision-making model in which choices are systematically evaluated on various criteria
i.e. pros and cons, ratings Non-compensatory
“going with your gut”Role of emotion/intuitionNot willing to allow one feature your decision
“make up for” another, lacking feature of your decision
Decisions- How do we make them? Representativeness
A heuristic by which a new situation is judged on the basis of its resemblance to a stereotypical model
Who is sensitive, smart, and creative: football player or stage actor?
AvailabilityA judgment or decision is based on information that
is most easily retrieved from memoryHow fresh is something in your mind?Are there more words that start with “r” or have “r” as
the third letter?Jackie was cruel to you three weeks ago but did you
a favor yesterday… which is more “available”?
Put your Decision Making Skills to the Test! Read the decision-making scenarios
and employ your devices, making sure you try to avoid the heuristics that may lead you astray!
Decision Making Cont. Confirmation Bias- The tendency to look for
evidence in support of a belief and to ignore evidence that would disprove this believe.“All short people have “Napoleon Complexes”Other stereotypes??
FramingPerspective or phrasing of information that is used to
make a decision (how it is presented)“This contraceptive is 90% effective”“You have a 1 in 10 chance of getting pregnant”You are at risk of losing something vs. have the
opportunity to gain something? (i.e. gambling)
Decisions Under Pressure Stress causes decision making to
deteriorate Training under emergency situations is
critical to prepare people for efficient and effective decision making in unanticipated situations
Emotion can also hinder decisionsAmygdala is active! It is up to your Frontal
Lobe to calm it down!
Explaining Our Decisions Hindsight bias-
Tendency to view outcomes as inevitable and predictable after we know the outcome and to believe we could have or did predict what happened
“Hindsight is 20:20” Counterfactual thinking
Imagined alternatives… “If only….”Attempts to reverse a course of events that led to
a negative experience; explaining atypical or abnormal events, etc to regain sense of control”
What Happens When We Are Wrong? Overconfidence-
we are more confident about our thoughts and our experiences than we should be
Belief perseverance- we cling to what we originally believed and have
difficulties accepting opposite truths Intuition-
fast, unreasoned, automatic feeling and thought Justification
Whether it’s conscious or not, we justify our decisions- think back to choice blindness!
Your decisions? What are some major decisions you’ve
had to make in the past? For example, in relationships you have
with friends, family, or significant others? College decisions?
Intelligence How do we define
intelligence? Are you intelligent? Is there a difference
between males and females?
Intelligence Exactly what makes up intelligence is a
matter of debate David Wechsler’s Definition
Act purposefullyThink rationallyDeal effectively with the environment
THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
Early Theories of Intelligence Charles Spearman
Believed intelligence is generalPeople who are bright in one area are usually
bright in other areas as well“g” factor
L. L. ThurstoneBelieved that intelligence is made up of seven
distinct, independent abilities○ Spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability,
verbal meaning, memory, word fluency, and reasoning
○ What is still missing?!
Contemporary Theories of Intelligence Robert Sternberg
Triarchic theory of intelligence posits three types of intelligence (prototype of 3 grad school applicants)
Analytical intelligence includes the ability to learn how to do things, solve problems, and acquire new knowledge (Alice)
Creative intelligence includes the ability adjust to new tasks, use new concepts, and respond well in new situations (Barbara)
Practical intelligence includes the ability to select contexts in which you can excel and solve practical problems (Celia)
Which one are you?!
Contemporary Theories of Intelligence
Logical-mathematical Linguistic Spatial Musical
Bodily-kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalistic
Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
Contemporary Theories of Intelligence Daniel Goleman
Proposed theory of emotional IntelligenceEmotional intelligence has five components
○ Knowing one’s own emotions○ Managing one’s own emotions○ Using emotions to motivate oneself○ Recognizing the emotions of other people○ Managing relationships
According to Gardner, what type of intelligence are the following people displaying a high level of?
Tiger WoodsNick CannonBarack ObamaJustin TimberlakeBeyonceAlbert Einstein
CopernicusF. Scott FitzgeraldGeorge WashingtonBrittany SpearsMia HammMonet
Comparing Contemporary Theories
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Sternberg’s Triarchic Intelligences
Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence
Logical-MathematicalLinguistic
Analytical
SpatialMusicalBody-Kinesthetic
Creative
Interpersonal Practical Recognizing emotions in others and managing relationships
Intrapersonal Knowing, managing, and motivating yourself with emotions
Intelligence Tests: How do we measure “smartness”? Binet-Simon scale
First test of intelligence, developed to identify children who might have difficulty in school
Binet developed the concept of mental age in children
Mental Age = age at which you perform intellectually - may or may not correspond with chronological age
Stanford-Binet scaleL. M. Terman’s adaptation of the Binet-Simon scaleEugenics, Immigration Act of 1924
Stern introduced the I.Q. score
Intelligence Tests The Wechsler Intelligence Scales
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Third Edition is the most commonly used test of intelligence for adults
WAIS-III is divided into to parts, one that focuses on verbal abilities and one that focuses on performance skills
Also a version for children, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition
Intelligence Tests Group Tests
Intelligence tests that can be given to large groups
Advantages○ Quick scoring○ No examiner bias○ Easier to establish norms
Disadvantages○ Less likely to detect someone who is ill or confused○ Might make people nervous○ Learning disabled children often perform worse
Intelligence Tests Performance tests
Tests that minimize the use of languageUsed to test very young children or people
with retardationAlso can be used to test those unfamiliar
with English Culture-fair tests
Tests designed to reduce cultural biasMinimize skills and values that vary from
one culture to another
What Makes a Good Test? Reliability
Ability of a test to provide consistent and stable scores
What does the IQ predict? SAT? Correlation?
ValidityAbility of a test to measure what it was
designed to measure
What Makes a Good Test? Standardization uniform rules for
administering, taking and scoring the test.
Norms – performance benchmarks established during test development used to establish “average” performance.
Representative Sample – group used to establish norms that adequately reflects the demographics of those who will be taking the test.
Scoring the IQ Test Raw Score -
number of questions answered correctly; doesn’t tell much about performance
Standard Score -score that tells you how you did compared to other test
takers – a much better read of performance○ Percentile Score -
what percentage of test takers you scored better than○ What does it mean to score in the 85th percentile?
You scored better than 85% of the test takers IQ = Mental Age/Chronological Age x 100
Most common IQ score?100! Why?
The “Normal” (Bell) Curve:Approximate Distribution of IQ Scores in the Population
Criticisms of IQ Tests Test content and scores
Critics argue that IQ test measure a narrow set of skills
Some feel that the tests merely measure test taking ability
Tests may discriminate against minorities Use of intelligence tests
Could result in permanent labeling IQ and success
Relationship does exist, but may be the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy
Case of Gladys Burr?
What Determines Intelligence? Nature
Biological similarities in Adoption Studies – ○ IQ scores of child more closely correlated with
biological mother than adoptive mother.Identical Twins reared apart –
○ after identical twins reared together, identical twins reared apart have the highest correlation of IQ scores.
Correlation of IQ Scores of Family Members
What Determines Intelligence? Nurture
Isolated or Deprived Environments ○ individuals living in culturally or physically
impoverished environments have lower IQ scores
Adoption Studies and Improved Environment ○ children demonstrated elevated IQ scores
after being moved from crowded orphanage to parents with high socioeconomic status
What Determines Intelligence? Family Structure?
Intellectual Climate – numerical calculation of the level of intellect in a household, based on the number of family members and their ages.
Example Calculation – adults = 30, teens = 15, children = 5, and newborns = 0:○ 2 adults:
30+30=60/2=intellectual climate of 30○ 2 adults and a newborn:
30+30+0=60/3=intellectual climate of 20Intellectual climate goes down most when there
are many children born in rapid succession.
Heredity vs. Environment:Which is More Important? There is general agreement that both
heredity and environment affect IQ scores
Debate centers around the relative contribution of nature (heredity) and nurture (environment) to the development of intelligence
Males vs. Females Today’s Conclusions
Overall, men and women do not differ significantly in general intelligence
Women show slight advantage in verbal and mathematical computation skills while men show an advantage in spatial ability
Men are more likely to fall in the extremes of intelligence range
There is no explanation for why these minimal differences exist – are they cultural or inborn?
Is there a difference in the way we think?
Determinants of Intelligence Culture
Difference in academic performance between American and Asian students are found from first grade through high school in mathematics and reading
May be related to a difference in cultural attitudes toward ability and effort
Stability of IntelligenceIQ stays relatively steady over course of life
Extremes of Intelligence: Giftedness Definition
top 3% of IQ scores, typically over 132 Superior IQ combined with ability in academics,
creativity, and leadershipGiftedness is often in specific areas“Globally” gifted people are rare
Specialized Programs of Study?
Extremes of Intelligence: Mental Retardation• Definition
• IQ < 70; lowest 3% of IQ scores• not a result of accident• onset before age 18• substantial limitations in functioning.
• Causes – drug abuse during pregnancy, genetic disorders, lack of fetal nutrition
• Levels• Mild - 90% of cases• Moderate - 6% of cases• Severe - 3% of cases• Profound - 1% of cases
• Some people with retardation show savant performance on particular skills
Mental RetardationLevel of Retardation IQ Range
Mild Low 50s-70sindividual may be able to function in society normally, be minimally self supporting, function at level of an 11 year old.
Moderate Mid 30s-low 50scan attain vocational training and do some things independently; function at level of 8 year old.
Severe Low 20s-mid 30scannot learn to talk or take care of basic needs until the age of 6. Very limited functioning.
Profound Below 20 or 25constant care needed; usually other serious complications and neurological deficiencies are present.
Creativity Defined as the ability to produce novel and socially
valued ideas or objects Creativity and Intelligence – Early studies suggested
that there was little relationship between the two, however, later research indicates otherwise: creative individuals tend to have higher IQs AND creative individuals are perceived as being more intelligent as well.
Creativity Tests – Open-ended questions; scoring is based upon the number
and originality of a person’s answers○ Torrance Test – Individuals explain a picture, its origins, and
consequences○ Mednick’s Remote Association Test (RAT) – given three words – you
come up with a fourth word that the other three can be combined with e.g. hand, lone, win (answer = some)
Take the tests! RAT, Torrance IQ Test EQ Test