Ch 10-12 Flashcards
(32 cards)
How many words can be produced per second in normal speech? How many in a day? What kinds of information are required to produce words? Describe the research question that involves how different types of word information are retrieved and assembled.
about three words each second;~16,000 words
Some researchers argue that speakers retrieve grammatical, semantic, and phonological information of a word at the same time (Damian & Martin, 1999; Saffran & Schwartz, 2003). According to this approach, for example, you look at an apple and simultaneously access the grammatical properties of apple, the meaning of apple, and the phonemes in the word apple.
Evidence for the “independent access” perspective These results suggest that we do not acquire all the different kinds of information at exactly the same moment. Instead, we literally use split-second timing. Given the complexity associated with scientifically investigating language production, however, no clear answers to these types of debates currently exist.
Describe the three types of speech errors known as slips-of-the-tongue. Provide original examples of each.
Briefly describe Dell’s explanation of speech errors.
Slips-of-the-tongue are errors in which sounds or entire words are rearranged between two or more different words: Sound errors
Morpheme errors, which occur when morphemes (the smallest meaningful units in language, such as -ly or in-) are exchanged in nearby words—for example, self-destruct instruction → self-instruct destruction.
Word errors, which occur when words are exchanged—for example, writing a letter to my mother → writing a mother to my letter
we are likely to create a word (e.g., leading), rather than a nonword & we seldom create a word that begins with an unlikely letter sequence; In almost all cases, the errors occur across items from the same category
words we are currently pronouncing are influenced by both the words we have already spoken and the words we are planning to speak (Dell, Burger, & Svec, 1997).Usually, we utter the sounds that are most highly activated, and usually these sounds are the appropriate ones. However, each sound can be activated by several different words some not the correct ones.
What are the three stages of sentence production?
Define “prosody.”
Define “narrative.” What are the three types of gestures, and how are they used in the production of words?
What is embodied cognition?
During the first stage, often referred to as message planning, we mentally plan the gist, or the overall meaning of the message we intend to generate. In other words, we begin by producing speech in a top-down fashion
Grammatical encoding: choosing word, grammatical form, morphology and words order
In the third stage, often referred to as phonological encoding, we convert the units of the planned utterance into a sound code, and this information is used in order to generate the correct movements of the mouth and vocal tract during the speaking act
the prosody of an utterance, or the “melody” of its intonation, rhythm, and emphasis (Keating, 2006; Plack, 2005; Speer & Blodgett, 2006; Watson & Gibson, 2004). A speaker can use prosody to clarify an ambiguous message
One category of discourse, or language units that are larger than a sentence is the narrative, the type of discourse in which someone describes a series of actual or fictional events.
Types of gestures/ embodied cognition(The proposal that people often use their own bodies and motor actions in order to express their abstract thoughts and knowledge)
(1) Iconic gestures are gestures with a form that represents the concept about which a speaker is talking. For example, a speaker telling her friend about a car crash that she witnessed on the way to work might vigorously push her left and right fists together as she explains the impact.
2) Deictic gestures involve pointing to some object or location while speaking, and are often accompanied by words such as “This” or “That.” Notice
(3) Beat gestures, on the other hand, are gestures that occur in a rhythm that matches the speech rate and prosodic content of speech. These gestures do not convey specific information to a listener, but may be made by a speaker to help that speaker maintain a current speech pattern.
word, a gesture can sometimes help activate the relevant information (Brown, 2012).Gestures can also facilitate learning
Define “pragmatics.” Explain why the study of pragmatics is so important. Describe the following research areas, and explain how they are related to pragmatics:
common ground
directives
framing
Pragmatics focuses on the social rules and world knowledge that allow speakers to successfully communicate messages to other people (De Groot, 2011; Degen & Tanenhaus, 2014; Flores Salgado, 2011; Goldenberg & Coleman, 2010; Holtgraves, 2010). Two important topics in the research on pragmatics are common ground and an understanding of directives. We also consider a concept called framing, which examines why we sometimes have trouble communicating with people who have different perspectives.
Common ground occurs when conversationalists share the similar background knowledge, schemas, and perspectives that are necessary for mutual understanding; Additional research confirms that people who work together collaboratively can quickly and efficiently develop common ground
A directive is a sentence that asks someone to do something (direct/indirect)
Framing: frame is our mental structure used to simplify reality (individual differences)
Summarize the research on writing.
What are the cognitive components used in writing?
What is prewriting?
Do Demonstration 10.5. What does this demonstration reveal about producing sentences?
What is the revision phase of writing?
Most adults write fairly often;You are more likely to write in isolation. This observation does not mean, however, that there isn’t a social component to writing. Many times, you write with the goal of communicating a message, thought, or idea to someone else, and you are likely to tailor the form and content of a written message to your intended audience (or, the person who will be reading what you wrote). Writing also takes more time, especially because writing uses more complex syntax. In addition, people revise their writing far more often than their talking (Biber & Vásquez, 2008; Harley, 2001; Treiman et al., 2003).
Writing and speaking also differ in other ways. When you speak, you are more likely to refer to yourself. When speaking, you also interact more with your listeners, and you have a better opportunity to establish common ground with them (Chafe & Danielewicz, 1987; Gibbs, 1998; Harley, 2008). Writing consists of three phases: planning, sentence generation, and revising (Mayer, 2004). However—like the similar stages we discussed in connection with spoken language—these tasks often overlap in time
Define “bilingual.” What is the difference between simultaneous bilingualism and sequential bilingualism? What are the important facts about bilingualism?
Describe the social context of bilingualism and the strengths and weaknesses of bilingualism.
A bilingual speaker is someone who is fluent in two different languages (Harley, 2008; Schwartz & Kroll, 2006). The related term multilingual speaker refers to someone who speaks more than two languages.
Some bilinguals learn two languages simultaneously during childhood, an arrangement called simultaneous bilingualism. Other bilinguals experience sequential bilingualism; their native language is referred to as their first language, and the nonnative language that they acquire is their second language
social context educational system cultural repression Judgment and discrimination political bias
Strengths: Bilinguals acquire more expertise in their native (first) language ;aware that the names assigned to concepts are arbitrary (metalinguistics) ; Bilinguals perform better on concept-formation tasks and on tests of nonverbal intelligence that require reorganization of visual patterns ;Bilingual children are better at following complicated instructions and performing tasks where the instructions change from one trial to the next; Bilinguals excel at paying selective attention; more sensitive to some pragmatic aspects of language; later onset of dementia
The disadvantages of being bilingual are relatively minor. People who use two languages extensively may subtly alter how they pronounce some speech sounds in both languages (Gollan et al., 2005). Bilingual individuals may also process language slightly more slowly, in comparison to monolinguals. Furthermore, bilingual children may have somewhat smaller vocabularies for words that are used in a home setting
Describe the literature on second language proficiency as a function of age of acquisition.
age of acquisition refers to the age at which you learned a second language.
Several studies report that adults and children are equally skilled in learning words in their new language
those who acquire a second language during adulthood are more likely to have a foreign accent when they speak their new language
once we control for years of education in the United States, age of acquisition is not related to an individual’s mastery of English grammar not related but might be effected if the 2 languages are different
What is problem solving? Identify the three features of a problem, and provide several original examples.
Define “understanding” as it relates to problem solving.
Describe why attentional processes are important in problem-solving tasks.
The term problem solving refers to the processes necessary to reach a goal, typically in situations where the solution is not immediately obvious. Although the nature of these problems may differ, every problem includes three components: (1) the initial state, (2) the goal state, and (3) the obstacles
In problem-solving research, the term understanding means that you have constructed a well-organized mental representation of the problem based on both the information provided in the problem and your own previous experience
Understanding in PS research refers to the construction of an organized mental representation of the problem based on factual information and relevant personal experience. PS requires judging which information is most relevant to the problem and relies on other cognitive functions such as attention (suppressing competing thoughts), memory (recall and retrieval of similar situations), and decision making (consider possible acts and likely outcomes). There are several topics related to understanding:
(1) method of representation - The way the different parts are translated
(2) situated cognition (context)
(3) embodied cognition ( how our own bodies help understand the problem).
(4) Attention- focusing on the appropriate part
Describe the following methods of representing problems and the issues associated with each:
symbols
matrices
diagrams
visual images
Symbols refer to turning part of the problem (for example the goal as on algebra equations) into a symbol (2x=y+10). A common error of using symbols is accidentally reversing the roles of the symbols (2y=x+10). Another common mistake is misremembering relational statements resulting from an oversimplification of the sentence
Matrices: A matrix is a grid consistent of rows and columns representing possible combinations of items. Especially helpful for complex problems containing categorical information. use the appropriate labels for a matrix
Diagrams are useful to represent abstract information such as instruction to assemble something or large amounts of information in a useful and concise way. Hierarchical tree diagram - Show various relationships and options between categorized items. Diagrams help “clear” space in working memory, they are easy to master and focus on the most relevant information.
The use of visual imagery that is useful when a resolution requires going out of the boundaries of traditional representations or when we are required to construct a figure.
What is the situated-cognition approach? Provide an original example of it. How is the situated cognitive approach different from the traditional approach to problem solving? How is the approach related to the concept of ecological validity? What is embodied cognition, and why is it important?
The situated cognition approach argues that our ability to solve a problem is tied into the specific physical and social context in which we learned to solve that problem.
The traditional cognitive approach to thinking emphasizes the processes that take place inside an individual person’s head. The
situated cognition approach argues that the traditional cognitive approach is too simplistic. The situated cognition perspective also suggests that college students can learn especially effectively during internships and other practical
High ecological validity : In real life, for example, we interact with other people who provide information and help us clarify our cognitive processes
Embodied cognition: we solve certain kinds of problems more quickly or more accurately if we are allowed to move parts of our body. The motor representation of words or thought process proved in research to prompt better recall( tip of the tongue), helpful in creating making spatial representations / mental maps and instructing other people when working on a physical object.
Define “algorithm” and “heuristic,” and explain how they differ from each other.
What is the exhaustive search method?
Describe the analogy approach. Your description must include the definitions of problem isomorphs, surface features, and structural features.
What encourages the use of analogies?
“Algorithm” and “heuristic’’ describe problem solving methods. “Algorithm” always produces a solution but the process may be inefficient and unsophisticated as it is time consuming and produces too many possibilities to explore. A heuristic is a general rule that is usually correct and used as a benchmark to ignore some alternatives and explore only those most likely based on the similarity to the heuristic (for example: searching for only pronounceable words within a string of letters) . Heuristic does not necessarily produce a correct solution and is likely to miss possible viable solutions . According to research, we are more likely to succeed in everyday PS by using heuristics compared to algorithm.
Exhaustive search method? Is an example of the Algorithm method, in which possible answers are being called within a specific system (for example by alphabetical order).
the analogy approach in problem solving refers to employing a solution based on a similar, earlier problem. “problem isomorphs” : the set of problems that have the same underlying structures and solutions, but different specific details.Efficient use of analogies requires having both problem solving skills and a developed metacognition. Analogies develop understanding and ability to recognize underlying structures that make it easy to transfer knowledge across different contexts and domains.
Describe the means-end heuristic, and provide an original example of its use.
Briefly summarize the research on the means-end heuristic, especially as it relates to Demonstration 11.5 ( the elves and the goblins) Describe the computer simulation known as GPS. Explain how GPS is related to the means-end heuristic.
The means-end heuristic is a PS approach that focuses on dividing the problem into smaller units (subproblems). After dividing the problem, each unit is then assigned a desired goal and possible means to achieve it that will prompt a resolution of the whole problem (what methods are needed in order to get to the final result).
Working memory is especially active when people are planning one of these movement sequences
Sometimes the correct solution to a problem requires you to move backward, temporarily increasing the difference between the initial state and the goal state. Research confirms that people are reluctant to move away from the goal state
In 1972, Newell and Simon developed a now-classic computer simulation called General Problem Solver. General Problem Solver (GPS) is a program whose basic strategy is means-ends analysis. he GPS was the first program to simulate a variety of human symbolic behaviors. More recently, John Anderson and his colleagues have designed and tested many computer simulations for solving problems similar to the Elves-and-Goblins one, as well as problems in algebra, geometry, and computer science. The GPS was discarded as it could not be applied to real-life less clear cut situations. These projects are related to Anderson’s ACT-R theory,
Describe the hill-climbing heuristic. Provide an original example.
Outline its strengths and weaknesses.
The hill climbing heuristic refers to the tendency to choose the option that seems most directly leading us closer to our path when confronted with two choices
The hill climbing heuristic refers to the tendency to choose the option that seems most directly leading us closer to our path when confronted with two choices. For example, when walking in downtown Toronto, even without the GPS you can navigate towards the waterfront easily by choosing the path that gets you closer to the CN tower. .The strengths of the heuristic lies in its ability to generate a possible right solution when very little factual information is available and alternatives are limited or too ambiguous. The downside is that we are less likely to choose indirect paths that may have implications later on.
Describe how someone becomes an expert within a domain. Explain how expertise is related to top-down processing. Describe how experts differ from novices.
Experts high performance in their field discipline may be related to a superior long-term memory for the discipline specific knowledge combined with detailed structure of their concepts
People with expertise use top-down processing effectively when they solve problems—that is, they take advantage of factors such as their knowledge, memory, and strategies. In contrast, both mental set and functional fixedness can interfere when we try to solve a problem; both these factors rely too heavily on top-down processing. Stereotypes—such as stereotypes about gender—may also encourage people to rely on overactive top-down processing, leading to poor problem-solving performance. Finally, if the problem requires insight, we must also overcome overactive top-down processing in order to approach the problem from an unfamiliar perspective.
Experts and novices differ substantially in their knowledge base and schemas. Experts may solve problems especially well if they have had training in a variety of relevant settings, and if the training includes immediate detailed feedback. Experts differ from novices with respect to their memory for information related to their area of expertise or if fits to a particular schema. When experts encounter a novel problem in their area of expertise, they are more likely than novices to use the means-ends heuristic effectively . They are also more likely to approach a problem systematically, whereas novices are more likely to have a haphazard approach
experts are more likely to emphasize the structural similarity between problems. In contrast, novices are more likely to be distracted by surface similarities (use of analog approach)
On some tasks, experts may solve problems faster because they use parallel rather than serial processing
Define “mental set.” Summarize the research on mental sets. How are mental sets related to mindsets?
Define “functional fixedness.” Provide an original example in which you overcame functional fixedness.
How are functional fixedness and mental set related?
Mental set is the tendency to keep using the same solutions used previously despite having easier alternatives. Mental sets represent overactive top-down processing and are related to a concept called “fixed mindset” (Carol Dweck ,2006). A fixed mindset is when a person is convinced that based on their existing knowledge and perceived skills they are only able to perform or not perform certain tasks
Functional fixedness describes the tendency to assign fixed functions to an object and fail to consider how its features might make it suitable for other purposes. EXAMPLE: When I lived by myself for the first time I forgot to get a can opener that I really needed at the moment. Eventually I opened the can using a screwdriver and a hammer
Both rigid over functional top down processing and relying on schemas & automatic responses
Define “gender stereotype.” Describe stereotype threat, and summarize the research findings that illustrate this phenomenon. What are the two factors that help to explain this effect?
Gender stereotypes are the assumptions we apply to a person based on their sex. A typical gender stereotype is that men are more skilled than women in solving mathematics problems
stereotype threat refers to how being an active awareness of a person to being a member of a negatively stereotyped group have a negative effect on the performance of that individual in a related task
Contributing factors: One factor is that stereotype threat can produce high arousal that interferes with working memory function. Anxiety causes a reduced function .A second factor is that females who are taking a difficult math test may work hard to suppress the thought that they are supposed to perform poorly ( As we pointed out in Chapter 3, thought suppression requires great effort, which reduces the capacity of working memory even further.)
Describe insight problems and non-insight problems. Explain how they differ in terms of top-down processing and metacognition. What do these differences suggest about improving problem solving?
The problem-solving situation in which a problem initially seems impossible to solve, but then an alternative approach suddenly bursts into consciousness. The problem solver immediately realizes that the new solution is correct. If top-down processing inappropriately dominated your thinking, and you were considering the wrong set of alternatives it blocked the reslution. Once released from the mental set it gave room to insight ;when people work on insight problems, they experience a sudden leap in confidence when they are close to a correct solution a sudden burst of confidence
noninsight problem
A problem that a person solves gradually, by using memory, reasoning skills, and a routine set of strategies. typically do benefit from top-down processing ; people’s confidence builds gradually for problems that do not require insight
The potential difference between noninsight problems and insight problems suggests some strategies. You might begin to solve a problem by contemplating whether you have had previous experience with similar problems. Top-down processing will be especially useful when you approach a noninsight problem. From time to time, however, you should also consider whether the problem might require insight. You’ll need a different approach to solve an insight problem, because there are no clear rules for these problems (Chi, 2006). You might try to represent the problem in a different way or think about a different meaning for an ambiguous word; An insight problem forces you to search for the answer “outside the box” by abandoning your customary top-down assumptions and looking for novel solutions.
Define “creativity.” How is creativity related to problem solving?
Describe Guilford’s divergent production approach.
Describe the three observations listed by Matlin and Farmer on the nature of creativity.
Creativity as related to problem solving, refers to the ability to produce a number of viable solutions that are both useful and original.
According to the divergent production approach, the number of different ideas generated by a problem solver demonstrates the ability to overcome functional fixedness and correlate with high test results. However, the number of solutions is not necessarily the best way to measure creativity.
Creativity includes both convergent (producing a single response) and divergent (producing multiple responses) styles of thinking
Creativity activates multiple brain areas and structures in both hemispheres of the brain
Both conscious/ deliberate attention and unconscious attention can produce creativity
Define “intrinsic motivation” and “extrinsic motivation.” Summarize the research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they relate to creativity. What do the findings suggest about how to encourage creativity?
Define “intrinsic motivation” Refers to an inner source for motivation usually based on interest/ passion, personal challenge or other internal gratification.
Define “extrinsic motivation.” Refers to an outside source for motivation usually in the form of a reward or expected earning
Summarize the research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they relate to creativity. According to research high levels of extrinsic motivation correlate with decreased creativity compared to situations that involve higher intrinsic motivation.
In a study by Prabhu and colleagues (2008) intrinsic motivation combined with certain personality traits such as self-efficacy highly correlated with creativity whereas persistence was not correlated with creativity. The downside of the findings is they were based on self-reports and may not reflect the actual creativity level of the participants.
What do the findings suggest about how to encourage creativity? We do know that people are more likely to be creative when they are working on a task that they truly enjoy
Define “deductive reasoning” and “decision making.” How are they different? Describe “conditional reasoning” (or “propositional reasoning”). Provide an original example of conditional reasoning. Define “syllogism,” and provide an example. How are syllogisms different from conditional reasoning problems?
eductive reasoning is a type of thinking that relies on several assumptions that are considered to be “true”. Those assumptions provide the foundation for the process of considering and making further judgments or conclusions based on formal logic. Decision making is a type of thinking that involves assessing and evaluating alternatives in order to choose the appropriate one. The main difference is that decision making requires comparing and evaluating given information whereas deductive reasoning requires formulating a series of conclusions to reach a decisionIn decision making unlike deductive reasoning, some information may be missing or contradictory. The decision making process does not always have an established set of rules on how to come to a conclusion.The uncertainty of decision making both in the process and the result is more common than the certainty of deductive reasoning. In addition, emotional factors frequently influence our everyday decision making
Conditional reasoning is the most common deductive reasoning task and describes the relationships between conditions that together “lead” to a specific deduction. For example one common form is the “if.. then” reasoning :
Syllogism is another form of deductive reasoning task that consists of two statements and a conclusion. The statements assumed to be true and refer to quantities by including terms such as: all,none,some,etc. In a syllogism the conclusion may be valid, invalid or indeterminate : ome psychology majors are friendly people.
Some friendly people are concerned about poverty.
Therefore, some psychology majors are concerned about poverty.Notice that your everyday experience tempts you to conclude, “Yes, the conclusion is valid.” After all, you know many psychology majors who are concerned about poverty. Many people would automatically respond, “valid conclusion.” In contrast, with a little more explicit thinking, you’ll reexamine that syllogism and realize that the strict rules of deductive reasoning require you to respond, “The conclusion is indeterminate
Define the “propositional calculus.” Given the statement, “If it is sunny, then it must be hot,” specify the following types of conditional reasoning situations.
affirming the antecedent
affirming the consequent
denying the antecedent
denying the consequent
Which of the above will lead to a valid conclusion, and of those two, which is the most difficult to solve?
What is dual process theory?
a system for categorizing the four kinds of reasoning used in analyzing statements that are made up of antecedents and consequents. When working on a conditional reasoning task, a person can perform two possible actions: (1) affirm part of the sentence, saying that it is true; or (2) deny part of the sentence, saying that it is false.
Affirming the antecedent - the if part is true- conclusion valid
Affirming the consequent- the “then” part is valid- invalid conclusion(error)
denying the antecedent- the “if” part is false- invalid conclusion(error)
denying the consequent -the “then” part is true- conclusion valid
affirming the antecedent- it is sunny. Therefore it must be hot. ( valid)
affirming the consequent- It is hot. Therefore it is sunny. (invalid)
denying the antecedent- It is not sunny. Therefore it is not hot. (invalid)
denying the consequent -It is not hot. Therefore it is not sunny. (valid)
According to the dual process theory people use two types of cognitive processing: Type1 the automatic processing that is used for depth perception, recognizing facial expressions and stereotyping. Type 2 processing is a little slower and more controlled, involves focused attention and usually more accurate. Both types of processing are used when people perform conditional reasoning (theme 4 - cognitive processes are interrelated: conditional reasoning requires working memory, general knowledge, mental imagery and language skills).
Describe the two factors that affect error rates in conditional reasoning tasks, and provide examples. Describe the belief bias effect, provide an example of it, and explain how it is related to top-down processing.
Conditional tasks that include negative words are harder to solve and most likely to be resolved wrongly (theme 3 people can handle positive information better than negative information)
Conditional tasks that include abstract items are harder to solve and most likely to be resolved wrongly
he belief-bias effect occurs in reasoning when people make judgments based on prior beliefs and general knowledge, rather than on the rules of logic.- over relying on top down processing. When we see a conclusion in a reasoning task that looks correct in the “real world,” we may not pay attention to the reasoning process that generated this conclusion
Describe the standard Wason selection task. Explain how it is related to conditional reasoning.
What is the confirmation bias? How do people show evidence of such a bias on the Wason task?
How is performance affected if the abstract information is replaced with concrete information? Provide your own examples of the confirmation bias.
The standard Wason selection task presents people with four cards marked with a letter on one side and a number on the other side. Participants are then told that any card with a vowel has an even number on its turned down side. Results demonstrated that most people will work to affirm the rule instead of disproving it, hence demonstrating “confirmation bias”
In most of the recent research on the Wason Task, psychologists focus on versions in which the numbers and letters on the cards are replaced by concrete situations that we encounter in our everyday lives. As you might guess, people perform much better when the task is concrete, familiar, and realistic (Evans, 2011; Mercier & Sperber, 2011).For example, Griggs and Cox (1982) tested college students in Florida using a variation of the selection task. This task focused on the drinking age, which was then 19 in the state of Florida. Specifically, the students were asked to test this rule: “If a person is drinking beer, then the person must be over 19 years of age” (p. 415). Each participant was instructed to choose two cards to turn over—out of four—in order to test whether people were lying about their age.
Griggs and Cox (1982) found that 73% of the students who tried the drinking age problem made the correct selections, in contrast to 0% of the students who tried the standard, abstract form of the selection task.
Several studies point out that the confirmation bias can be applied in medical situations. For example, researchers have studied people who seek medical advice for insomnia (Harvey & Tang, 2012). As it happens, when people believe that they have insomnia, they overestimate how long it takes them to fall asleep. They also underestimate the amount of time they spend sleeping at night. One explanation for these data is that people seek confirming evidence that they are indeed “bad sleepers,” and they provide estimates that are consistent with this diagnosis.
What are decision-making heuristics?
Describe the representativeness heuristic. Provide an original example of it. Explain the relationship between the representativeness heuristic and prototypes.
How is the representativeness heuristic used in everyday decision making? type 1 processing; prototypes; schemas
Decision-making heuristics are general strategies that simplify and fasten the decision making process by reducing the difficulty to make a decision usually by relying on Type 1 processing.
Representativeness heuristic refers to the tendency to assume a random looking outcome is more likely hence more representative. Example: Assuming that a cube toss is more likely to generate the random sequence 5335533 then 333555 as the first sequence seems more random. This heuristic is so persuasive that people often ignore important statistical information (sample size and base rate) and fail to consider the probability of two combined characteristics.
