Language and Thoughts · Language and Thoughts Cognition ... Phonemes- smallest speech units ......
Transcript of Language and Thoughts · Language and Thoughts Cognition ... Phonemes- smallest speech units ......
COGNITION
Cognition-mental process involved in acquiring knowledge.
Language- symbols that convey meaning & rules for those symbols
Metacognition-thinking about your thinking. Symbol-An abstract unit of thought that
represents an object.
LANGUAGES IN THE US English,Spanish,ASL,French,Mandarin,German, Tagalog,Vietnamese,Italian,Korean,Russian,Polish,Arabic,Portuguese,Japanese,French Creole, Greek,Hindi,Persian,Urdu,Cantonese
ASL – used by more than 2 million people in the US. Other languages used by people with auditory disabilities: SEE & Pidgin
Language: Turning Thoughts into Words
Language: symbolic, semantic, generative, structured
Symbolic- one name for a variety of objects Semantic-meaningful Generative- can be put together in many ways Structured- grammar, rules
Structure of Language
Phonemes- smallest speech units (ex: “ch” and “th”) SOUNDS WITHIN THE WORDS
Morphemes- smallest units of meaning (stranger→strange, er)
Semantics- area of language with the meaning on words and combinations
Syntax- systems of rules that specify word arrangements (ex: noun and verb phrases)
Language Development
Fast mapping- learn a word based on exposure Overextension- wrong word used to describe
objects or actions (ex: ball for all things round) Underextension- wrong word for a certain object
(ex: doll → favorite doll only) Overregularization- grammatical errors (ex: “the girl
goed home”) Telegraphic Speech: meaning without content ex:
“give doll”
The growth of school children's vocabulary
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Learning More Than One Language Bilingualism- fluent in two different
languages 5,000 English and 5,000 Spanish by 1st
grade instead of 10,000 of one language. Catches up by adolescents.
Theories of Language Acquisition
Behaviorist (Skinner)- children learn languages through imitation, reinforcement, and other conditioning, nurture. “say ball, and mamma will give you the ball.”
Nativist (Chomsky)- infinite number of sentences in a language-innate, nature, LAD Ex. Even Genie the Wild child had language.
Culture, Language, and Thought
Benjamin Whorf Linguistic Relativity- one’s language
determines the nature of one’s thoughts Ex: English and Eskimo’s views on snow What do you believe? Does language
determine your thoughts or do your thoughts determine your language? Or is it circular?
Types of Problems Problems of inducing
structure: relations with numbers, words, symbols,
or ideas Problems of arrangement:
string problem and anagrams- insight
Problems of transformation: hobbits and orcs and water jar problem
Barriers of Effective Problem Solving
Irrelevant information Functional fixedness- to perceive an item
of its common use. Ex. Soup for table Mental set- people persist in using
problem solving strategies that have worked in the past
Unnecessary constraints
Approaches to Problem Solving
Trial and error- trying out possible solutions until one works
Algorithms- step-by-step procedure to a solution. Ex: Proofs
Heuristic- “Rule of thumb” in solving problems. Ex. I before E except after C
The Matchstick Problem
Move two matches to form 4 equal squares. Solution on page 319 of Themes & Variations 6th edition.
Culture, Cognitive Style, and Problem Solving
Herman Witkin Field dependence (external) vs. independence
(internal)- refers to individual’s tendency to rely primarily on external versus internal frames of references.
Related to cognitive, emotional, and social functioning
Decision Making: Choices and Chances
Involves evaluating alternatives and making choices among them
Herbert Simon’s theory of bounded rationality: people tend to use simple strategies in decision making that focus on only a few facets of available options and often results in “irrational” decisions that are less optimal
Taking Chances: Factors Weighed in Risky Behavior
Availability heuristic involves basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances comes to mind Divorce is terrible based on your experience. 911-flying is dangerous
Representatives heuristic- involves basing the estimated probability of an event on how similar it is to the typical prototype of that event. A man dressed in scrubs is a doctor.
Conjunction Fallacy Odds that two uncertain events happening together are
greater than alone Attributed to influence of representative heuristics Marriage counselors are less likely to get divorced (untrue) Bank tellers save more money than most people. (untrue)
Reasoning About Decisions Gamblers Fallacy- odds of a chance event
increase if the event has not occurred recently.
Reasoning About Decisions
Overestimating the improbable- the tendency of greatly overestimating the likelihood of dramatic, vivid, but infrequent events that receive heavy coverage. Suicide actually has a higher mortality rate than homicide. Mosquitoes are actually more dangerous than sharks or
alligators.
Confirmation Bias and Belief Perseverance Confirmation bias- tendency to seek
information that supports one’s decisions and beliefs while ignoring disconfirming information. Drinking age
Belief Perseverance-tendency to hang onto beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence. Friends or relatives in Europe.
Overconfidence Effect
People put more faith in their estimates, beliefs, and decisions instead of objective information.
Effects of Framing
How decision issues are posed or how choices are constructed
Ex: which company has the cheaper price