Thinking, Language, and Intelligence 1

Question 1

thinking

Answer 1

aka cognition
mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is processing information—organizing it, understanding it, and communicating it to others
includes memory
more than stream of consciousness, also images

Question 2

mental images

Answer 2

representations that stand in for objects or events and have a picture like quality
used in thought process

Question 3

kosslyn study

Answer 3

participants look at map of desert island, then start at one place and look for another place
greater physical distance on map between two locations, longer it took participants to scan image for second location

Question 4

kosslyn second study

Answer 4

ask if frogs have lips and stubby tail, most people visualize frog then rotate image and zoom in

Question 5

important research thing

Answer 5

tend to engage mental images in our mind much like we engage or interact with physical objects, rotating object in mind takes time not instantaneous

Question 6

actual image vs mental image brain

Answer 6

actual: info goes from eyes to visual cortex of occipital lobe, processed by other areas of the cortex that compare info to info already in memory
mental: areas of cortex associated with stored knowledge send info to visual cortex, where image is perceived in mind’s eye

Question 7

PET scans show

Answer 7

areas of visual cortex activated during process of forming image, evidence for role of visual cortex in mental imagery

Question 8

fMRI scans show

Answer 8

overlap occurs in brain areas activated during visual mental imagery tasks as compared to actual tasks involving visual perception
activity in frontal cortex, temporal lobes, parietal lobes, occipital lobes

Question 9

frontal cortex, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, for fMRI card

Answer 9

cognitive control, memory, attention and spatial memory, visual processing

Question 10

activity for mental vs visual imagery

Answer 10

more activity in visual cortex during perception than in imagery, sensory input activates area more strongly than memory input
areas activated during visual imagery subset of those activated during visual perception
most similarity in frontal and parietal regions rather than temporal and occipital regions

Question 11

overlap

Answer 11

not in temporal and occipital regions (memory and vision functions) but more overlap in visual nature of tasks

Question 12

concepts

Answer 12

ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities
use concepts to think about objects or events without having to think about all the specific examples of the category
tool in problem solving

Question 13

concepts can also

Answer 13

contain identification of new objects

Question 14

formal concepts

Answer 14

rigid/strict definitions
concepts defined by specific rules or features
math full of these, ex square
concept must fit very specific features to be considered true example

Question 15

natural concept

Answer 15

fuzzy concepts that people form not as a result of a strict set of rules, but rather as the result of experiences with these concepts in the real world
important in helping people understand their surroundings in a less structured manner than school-taught formal concepts, form basis for interpreting those surroundings and the events that may occur in everyday life

Question 16

prototype

Answer 16

concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept
ex apple for fruit
different prototypes for different exposure, experiences, cultures, places

Question 17

how do prototypes affect thinking

Answer 17

people look at potential examples of a concept and and compare them to the prototype to see how well they match

Question 18

how identify objects

Answer 18

combination of cognitive processes including concepts, prototypes, and mental images

Question 19

schema

Answer 19

mental generalizations about objects, places, events, and people

Question 20

script

Answer 20

a kind of schema that involves a familiar sequence of activities

Question 21

problem solving

Answer 21

type of thinking that people engage in every day and in many different situations

Question 22

problem solving bold

Answer 22

occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways
aspect of decision making

Question 23

decision making

Answer 23

identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives

Question 24

mechanical solution

Answer 24

aka trial and error
trying one solution after another until finding one that works
can involve solving by rote

Question 25

rote

Answer 25

learned set rules

Question 26

types of problem solving

Answer 26

trial and error (mechanical solution), algorithm, heuristics, insight

Question 27

algorithm

Answer 27

specific, step by step procedures for solving certain types of problems
will always result in a correct solution if there is one
can be very long and tedious to get right answer

Question 28

heuristic

Answer 28

rule of thumb
a simple rule that is intended to apply to many situations
mental shortcut
educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down the possible solutions for a problem

Question 29

types of heuristics for problem solving

Answer 29

representativeness heuristic, availability heuristic, working backwards

Question 30

representativeness heuristic

Answer 30

used for categorizing objects and simply assumes that any object or person that shares characteristics with the members of a particular category is also a member of that category
can create and sustain stereotypes

Question 31

availability heuristic

Answer 31

based on estimation of frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to recall relevant information from memory or how easy it is to think of related examples
can create and sustain stereotypes

Question 32

tversky and kahneman

Answer 32

ask which think is more common, K as first or third letter
69% say first letter but third more common
example of availability heuristic

Question 33

working backward

Answer 33

works most of the time

Question 34

subgoals

Answer 34

smaller goals within a big goal

makes goal easier to attain

Question 35

insight

Answer 35

kohler and sultan the chimp
aha moment, sudden and rapid solution
may be similar problem to one have already seen
usually based on reorganization of information

Question 36

functional fixedness

Answer 36

problem solving difficulty
involves thinking about objects only in terms of their typical uses
alton brown has a book about multitaskers aka tools that can become kitchen utensils
is a kind of mental set

Question 37

mental set

Answer 37

the tendency for people to persist in using problem solving patterns that have worked for them in the past
people are hesitant/unable to think of other ways to try to solve the problem

Question 38

confirmation bias

Answer 38

tendency to search for evidence that fits one’s beliefs while ignoring any evidence to the contrary
similar to mental set except set is a belief rather than a method of solving problems

Question 39

framing

Answer 39

how a question of problem is worded

affects response or solution`

Question 40

creativity

Answer 40

coming up with entirely new ways of looking at the problem or unusual, inventive solutions
solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways
can be stimulated
creative people are less prone to common barriers of problem solving

Question 41

convergent thinking

Answer 41

problem is seen as having only one answer and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to (converge on) that single answer by using previous knowledge and logic
focuses on common features
works well for routine problem solving but may be of little use when more creative solution is needed

Question 42

divergent thinking

Answer 42

reverse of convergent thinking
person starts at one point and comes up with many different, or divergent, ideas or possibilities based on that point
has been attributed to creativity and intelligence

Question 43

most productive divergent thinking occurs

Answer 43

when person is doing some task or activity that is more or less automatic because tasks take up some attention processes, leaving remainder for creative thinking
divergent thinkers often make links at level of consciousness just below alert awareness so ideas can flow freely without being censored by higher mental processes

Question 44

how to stimulate divergent thinking

Answer 44

brainstorming, keeping a journal, free writing, mind or subject mapping

Question 45

problems with problem solving and decision making

Answer 45

functional fixedness, mental sets, confirmation bias

Question 46

csikszentmihalyi creativity findings

Answer 46

1. creative people usually have a broad range of knowledge about a lot of subjects and are good at using mental imagery
2. creative people aren’t afraid to be different—more open to new experiences, tend to have more vivid dreams and daydreams
3. creative people value their independence
4. creative people are often unconventional in their work, but not otherwise