Myers EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY 5th Ed

2. Thinking Cognition mental activity associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering Cognitive Psychology the study of these mental activities concept formation problem solving decision making judgment formation study of both logical and illogical thinking

3. Thinking Concept mental grouping of similar objects, events, or people Prototype a mental image or best example of a category matching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

4. Thinking Algorithm methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem contrasts with the usually speedier–but also more error-prone use of heuristics

5. Thinking Heuristic rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms sometimes we’re unaware of using heuristics

6. Thinking Unscramble S P L O Y O C H Y G Algorithm all 907,208 combinations Heuristic throw out all YY combinations other heuristics?

7. Thinking Insight sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem contrasts with strategy-based solutions Confirmation Bias tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions Fixation inability to see a problem from a new perspective impediment to problem solving

8. Thinking--Insight Wolfgang Kohler’s experiment on insight by a chimpanzee

9. The Matchstick Problem How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles?

10. The Candle-Mounting Problem Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?

11. Thinking Functional Fixedness tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions impediment to problem solving

12. The Matchstick Problem Solution to the matchstick problem

13. The Candle-Mounting Problem Solving this problem requires recognizing that a box need not always serve as a container

14. Heuristics Representativeness Heuristic rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes may lead one to ignore other relevant information

15. Heuristics Availability Heuristic estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common Example: airplane crash

16. Thinking Overconfidence to be more confident than correct to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments

17. Thinking Framing the way an issue is posed how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments Example: What is the best way to market ground beef--as 25% fat or 75% lean? Belief Perseverance clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

18. Language Language our spoken, written, or gestured works and the way we combine them to communicate meaning

19. Language We are all born to recognize speech sounds from all the world’s languages

20. Language Babbling Stage the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language beginning at 3 to 4 months One-Word Stage the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words from about age 1 to age 2

21. Language Two-Word Stage beginning about age 2 the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements Telegraphic Speech early speech stage in which the child speaks like a telegram – “go car” – using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting “auxiliary” words

22. Language

23. Language Genes design the mechanisms for a language, and experience activates them as it modifies the brain

24. Language New language learning gets harder with age

25. Language Linguistic Relativity Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think

26. What is Intelligence? Intelligence mental abilities needed to select, adapt to, and shape environments abilities involved profit from experience solve problems reason effectively meet challenges and achieve goals

27. Origins of Intelligence Mental Age a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet chronological age typical of a given level of performance child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8

28. Origins of Intelligence Stanford-Binet the widely used American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test revised by Terman at Stanford University

29. Origins of Intelligence Intelligence Quotient (IQ) defined originally the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 IQ = ma/ca x 100) on contemporary tests it is the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

30. Are There Multiple Intelligences? Factor Analysis statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one’s total score General Intelligence (g) factor that Spearman and others believed underlies specific mental abilities measured by every task on an intelligence test

31. Are There Multiple Intelligences? Savant Syndrome condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an amazing specific skill computation drawing Creativity ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

32. Savant Syndrome

33. Are There Multiple Intelligences? Imaginative Thinking ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions Emotional Intelligence ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions critical part of social intelligence

34. Assessing Intelligence Aptitude Test a test designed to predict a person’s future performance aptitude is the capacity to learn Achievement Test a test designed to assess what a person has learned

35. Assessing Intelligence Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) most widely used intelligence test subtests verbal performance (nonverbal)

36. Assessing Intelligence Standardization defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested “standardization group” Normal Curve the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes most scores fall near the average; fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

37. The Normal Curve

38. Assessing Intelligence Reliability the extent to which a test yields consistent results assessed by consistency of scores on two halves of the test alternate forms of the test retesting the same individual Validity the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is suppose to

39. Assessing Intelligence Content Validity the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest driving test that samples driving tasks Criterion behavior (such as college grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity

40. Assessing Intelligence Predictive Validity success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior also called criterion-related validity

41. Intelligence Mental Retardation a condition of limited mental ability indicated by intelligence scores below 70 produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life varies from mild to profound Down Syndrome retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in genetic make-up

42. Intelligence

43. Intelligence Creativity the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas components of creativity expertise imaginative thinking skills venturesome personality intrinsic motivation creative environment

44. Genetic Influences The most genetically similar people have the most similar scores

45. Heritability the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes variability depends on range of populations and environments studied Genetic Influences

46. Genetic Influences

47. Nature and nurture Genetic Influences

48. The schooling effect Genetic Influences

49. Genetic Influences Group differences and environmental impact

50. Genetic Influences The Mental Rotation Test of Spatial Abilities