Chapter 8: Thinking, Language and Intelligence Flashcards
Cognition
A mental activity that involves thinking and understnading
Cognitive psychology
Based on the ideas that knowledge about world is stored in the form of representations
Taking makes use of two types of mental representations, what are they?
Analogical representations
Symbolic representations
Analogical representations
Have characteristics of real objects, such as maps which are analogical representations and correspond to geographical divisions
Symbolic representations
Abstract and have no relation to an object
These can be about the words, numbers, or ideas
Categorisation
In order t organise a memory, people group things together on the basis of common characteristics
This is an efficient way of thinking, because the amount of knowledge is reduced
Concept
A mental representation of a category of related objects, s that not every object has to be stored separately
What are the two other way of forming a concept?
Prototype
Example model
Prototype
The best example for that category
Example model
All the examples of the object together form the concept
What can schemas lead to?
Stereotypes
Script
Type of schema that helps to understand the sequence of events in situations is called a script
Scripts describe the correct behaviour in a given situation and the order in which they are likely to occur
Heuristics
Mental shortcuts
What can a heuristic lead to?
Confirmation bias
Hindsight bias
Framing is also often used when making decisions, what is it?
People emphasise the disadvantages or advantages of one of the alternatives
Representativity heuristics
The tendency to place a person or object in a category if this person or object is similar to the prototype of that category
Why do emotions also serve as heuristics?
Because they provide feedback for making quick decisions
Somatic markets
Physical reactions
A gut feeling that tells one that something is a bad idea