Language

the grouping of spoken, written, or gestured symbols used to convey information

Productivity

the creation of new messages. Humans can connect unrelated information to form new ideas or messages

Imitation of gestures (word sounds)

the ability to mimic speech sounds, but not necessarily other sounds from the environment, to learn to produce speech

Symbolic representation

a mental symbol (i.e., sound, picture, or gesture) is used to represent an object, number, or thought. Ex) a visual drawing of a computer can be used to symbolize a computer but our vocalization and spelling of c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r are not directly related to its use or meaning

Naming objects

the ability to verbally name an object, which involves cognitive processes of storing and retrieving information

Social communication

aspects of communication which rely on interpersonal relationships, conveying thoughts, feelings, and intentions

When children are exposed to tonal languages they

become skilled at detecting pitch differences and are substantially more likely to exhibit perfect pitch compared to those exposed to intonation languages

Perszyk and Waxman (2019)

found that babies learning to speak English were able to form categorical connections and distinguish between familiar and new items if the language was similar to English (German), but not if the language was Cantonese, which is quite different.

Grammar

the general rules of language

Syntax

structure and order of words within a language

Wernicke's aphasia (fluent aphasia)

fluent speech that sounds normal in rhythm and grammar but often lacks meaning; comprehension is poor

Broca's aphasia (nonfluent aphasia)

speech is slow, effortful, and nonfluent, though comprehension is relatively preserved.

Behaviorism and B.F. Skinner

argued that environmental influences strongly dictated language development

Noam Chomsky

urged the consideration of biological constraints on development

verbal behavior

ideas from operant conditioning are applied to language to focus on language as a form of behavior. Posits that language is formed from a series of reinforcements

Theories of operant conditioning to children's language

Parents who encourage, praise, or elaborate their child's play behavior have children who reach language milestones earlier

Nativism

the belief that certain abilities are built into our brains

language acquisition device (LAD)

a hypothetical mechanism in the brain responsible for the faculty of language. No area was found but there is a substantial amount of evidence that biology and genetics constrain language development

Critical period

a theoretical stage of development when it is necessary for children to receive environmental stimulation in order to promote healthy development-- more often referred to as a

sensitive period

throughout development, the neurological system is more malleable during early development but is still modifiable later in life with the proper environmental stimulation

Emergentist perspective

argues that there is not an innate, inherited biological region responsible for language, but rather language evolves overtime as a result of the neurobiological system, similar to other traits that are shaped by the environment through evolution

difference between nativist and behaviorist approach

a nativist approach would focus heavily on how inherited speech bias and early flexibility prepare us to learn language, whereas an behaviorist perspective would emphasize that our development of speech is dependent on our exposure to, and familiarity with, our native language

Mental lexicon

the storage of words and related concepts

Phonemes

the smallest sound unit of language

Morphemes

the smallest unit of language comprehension

Semantic

the meaning of a word

Wittgenstein (1953) argues

that we don't store exact definitions of items. Rather, we store a general sense of information and define category membership by overlaps in similarity

Family Resemblance Theory

a categorization theory which argues we classify an item based broadly on its similarity or dissimilarity to other members within a related category

prototype

the most common, or typical, form a word assumes when we imagine it.

prototype theory

Concepts are lists of characteristic (or average) rather than defining features

Exemplary Theory

People remember instances and associated properties

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

a theory which posits the structural differences in language can alter one's perception and understanding of reality. Also known as linguistic relativity

Luchin (1942)

tests initial experience, explaining how a problem influences later solutions and approaches ○ He experiment's participants were given the following problem: there are 3 water jars, each with the capacity to hold a different, fixed amount of water; the subject must figure out how to measure a certain amount of water using these jars. It was found that subjects used methods that they had used previously to find the solution even though there were quicker and more efficient methods available. The experiment shines light on how mental sets can hinder the solving of novel problems. ○ Overall, their mental set (a person's expectation of how to solve a problem) was influenced by their prior interaction and created a set effect (a fixation, limiting their application of new solutions)

steps to finding solutions to a problem

1) initial state: recognizing what the problem is 2) strategy application: implement a solution 3) Desired solution: the problem is solved

functional fixedness

the tendency to view an object as only having one function, the one that is commonly used for, and neglecting to see other possible uses

Mental sets

the tendency to persist with a previous solution approach

Duncker and Lees (1945)

gave participants a box containing candle, tacks, and a match. Their challenge was to affix the candle to a nearby corkboard so that the candle did not drip wax on the table below. Participants frustratingly tried to create possible solutions but were rarely successful. In a different condition, Duncker provided participants with a candle, a collection of tacks outside of their box, and matches. By just changing the presentation of the items and removing the tacks from their box, participants were much better able to use all the items for a solution. They were less likely to become fixated on the box's function as a holder for tacks, but instead saw the utility of co-opting the box as a shelf for their candle.

algorithms

a precise set of rules applied in order to solve a problem

trial-and-error

- Apply a sequence of possible strategies until solved Example: trying to find the right key for a lock

Heuristics

short-cut rules that are applied to solve problems. They may not also lead to accurate solutions but work to provide quick, efficient solutions.

Means-end heuristic

a problem-solving strategy which involves the problem solver to envision the desired, goal-state, and take whatever measures necessary to attain that goal

Representative heuristic

a problem-solving strategy which involves the problem solver mentally comparing something to our stored prototype of an event, object, or person

Availability heuristic

a problem-solving strategy which predicts we make judgments based on how easily instances of the same or related events are to retrieve from our memory, or how easily available those memories are

Creativity process steps

1. preparation 2. incubation 3. illumination 4. evaluating

Preparation

gathering knowledge and proficiency with a topic

Incubation

requires the idea to sit on the back burner of your mind while you consciously work on something unrelated

Illumination

follows a period of slight pre-awareness, but it is often reported to come as a surprise.

Evaluating

assessing whether an inspired idea is indeed a creative and worthy solution

Confirmation bias

the tendency to pay attention to information consistent with one's existing beliefs and ignore or discard information inconsistent with their beliefs

Subjective difference

elicited from the framing of scenarios and influences our thinking and decision making process

Framing

presenting the same situation in a way that emphasizes certain benefits or risks

Intuition

knowing something inherently or automatically, without the need for conscious reasoning

System 1 thinking

this system predominantly relies on emotional systems and stored experiences to guide thinking

System 2 thinking (logical thinking)

this system relies on logical, rational thinking, which countermands initial, intuitive thought processes

Intelligence

the ability to gain knowledge by learning and solving problems

general cognitive ability (g factor)

a statistical construct that represents the common variance among cognitive abilities.

Francis Galton

a psychologist and statistician (among other specialties) (1822-1911), Galton focused on measuring varied abilities of people using empirical methods to ensure precise assessment. He hypothesized that a person's g factor was the product of heredity and believed that intelligence was related to how well one used one's senses.

Binet-Simon Test

the first written measure of intelligence- focused on behavioral measures of intelligence-- introduced the idea of "mental age"

Direction

the ability to know what to do and how to do it

Adaptation

the ability to create strategies for implementing this knowledge and monitoring its progress

Criticism

the ability to step back and find errors in one's thinking

Deviation IQ

Weschler's solution to the problem of Terman's method of measuring intelligence (see IQ) that one's IQ goes down with age. Weschler replaced comparing mental age and chronological age with comparing one's performance to the average score on a test for a large number of people of the same age. How one's score deviated from this average score was used to calculate one's IQ. The average IQ for any age is always 100 points, and one standard deviation (at any age) is always 15 points.

Performance-Based Tests

Designed to assess an individual's ability to detect non-obvious patterns and use them to answer a question

Raven's Progressive Matrices

example of a performance-based measure of intelligence where people infer a pattern and then select an option that best completes the pattern

General intelligence

an overarching cognitive ability which influences all kinds of tasks a person does

Charles Spearman's theory

there was a general cognitive ability, or g, which explained someone's overall reasoning abilities. He thought intelligence was made up of two levels. High-order level of general intelligence and lower-order specialized abilities that are specific to certain subjects or tasks

Raymond Cattell

elaborated on Spearman's theory and proposed that general intelligence (g) was at the top of a hierarchical structure that compromised two major intermediary factors: fluid general intelligence (Gf) and crystallized general intelligence (Gc).

Fluid general intelligence

the ability to think flexibly and to handle complex and novel situations

Crystallized intelligence

the ability to solve problems by applying previously accumulated knowledge, such as when you do a multiplication problem.

cognitive flexibility

the ability to change how one is formulating a problem and to redirect one's attention accordingly. It often involves breaking out of standard and/or automatic forms of behavior

development of eugenics

Idea that certain races and classes naturally have different levels of intelligence-- based on inaccurate interpretation of Darwin's Theory of Evolution

fixed trait

intelligence is fixed because personal failure is due to lower intelligence

malleable trait

personal failure can be overcome with more effort or different strategies

The Wisdom Paradox

Goldberg's name for the fact that we seem to get wiser with age even though our intelligence goes down with age. This is probably due to the fact that intelligence is a fixed trait, while rationality and skill are abilities that can be increased with training and practice

Emotional intelligence

the ability to be aware of your own and others' emotions. It's compromised of 1) the ability to perceive emotions accurately; (2) the ability to use emotions to facilitate thought; (3) the ability to understand emotions; (4) the ability to manage emotions

emotional intelligence table

recognition to the self: self-awareness; regulation of the self: self-management; recognition socially: social awareness; regulation socially: relationship management

Triarchic theory of intelligence

Robert Sternberg's theory that intelligence is comprised of three factors including analytical, creative, and practical. The three work together for successful achievement of goals.

Analytical intelligence

when the components are applied to the kinds of problems found in standard IQ tests

Creative intelligence

occur when the components are applied to unfamiliar situations where novelty is important

Practical intelligence

when the components are applied to real world settings

Successful intelligence

Sternberg's phrase for the optimal coordination of analytical, creative, and practical intelligence to be successful at achieving one's goals

Multiple intelligences

Gardner's theory which argues there are more than one kinds of intelligence that are distinct from each other, such as musical intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, and visual-spatial intelligence

multiple intelligences in educational theory

assume people have different learning styles based on dominant type of intelligence, but there isn't much evidence for enhanced performance outcomes when incorporating learning styles

Learning styles

a theory of learning which argues each person has a specified learning type. Learning is maximized when content is delivered in a method matching one's type

semantic dementia

the meaning of objects gets mixed up and confused due to temporal lobe damage on the right lower side of the brain where dying neurons are

semantic dementia

the meaning of objects gets mixed up and confused due to temporal lobe damage on the right lower side of the brain where dying neurons are

semantic dementia

the meaning of objects gets mixed up and confused due to temporal lobe damage on the right lower side of the brain where dying neurons are

Etymology

the ability to discern important information

Intelligence

- Originally defined as ability to discern true or important information from false or unimportant information -Today defined as ability to gain knowledge by learning and solving problems