Exam 3 Flashcards
(42 cards)
Framing of Questions
framing of questions changes people’s choices, although framing has no impact on expected utility of options
Estimating Probability
subjective probability systematically deviates from actual probability
Over Estimating: of low probability events. Betting on the national lottery.
Underestimating: of high probability events. Negative consequences of drunk driving
Heuristics
rules of thumb that are cognitively undemanding and often produce approximately accurate answers. A mental shortcut for decision making
Why do we use heuristics?
Drawbacks: Might not consider all options bc trying to preserve glucose. People use heuristics even though they can cause decision errors. Heuristics are quick and cognitively undemanding (we don’t like thinking hard).
Benefits: Can be used regardless of amount of information available, quick process for decision making is useful in our rapidly changing world
Representativeness Heuristics
typical members of a category are assigned a high probability of occurance,
- Neglecting Base Rate
- Gambler’s Fallacy
Neglecting Base Rate
Representativeness Heuristic- people take less account of prior odds (base-rate info) than they should.
(Class example- more likely woman is a bank teller than a bank teller and feminist, but because we know of previous activism, we think it is representative of her and more likely)
Gambler’s Fallacy
Representativeness Heuristic- mistaken belief that future tosses of a coin are not independent of past events. People mistakenly expect small samples to look random like large samples do
Fast & Frugal Heuristic
Recognition Heuristic- cognitive process that searches for minimal information. Reaches a decision quickly.
Recognition Heuristic
Fast & Frugal Heuristic- If one of two objects is recognized and the other is not, we infer that the recognized object has higher value/more importance (class ex: Americans had a hard time deciding if San Diego or San Antonio had higher population- Germans had only heard of San Diego, so easily chose it)
Language
a system of symbols used to communicate ideas among two or more individuals. They are arbitrary and abstract symbols with meanings attached
1.children can learn them 2. adults can speak & understand 3. capture normally comm. ideas 4. enable communication among groups
Origin of Language
started 50,000 years ago, 2 theories:
- Language developed from gestures, but possible they coevolved
- Language evolved as a consequence of our large brains- problem with this is that language is so complicated, seems unlikely brain development came first, more likely they coevolved as social interaction increased- most likely that social interaction increased, causing gestures, language and brain structures to evolve
Why communication is important
share thoughts and emotions with others, social glue, useful way to divide tasks
Apes & Language
Washoe: first non human (female chimp) to learn to communicate using American sign language. 350 words of American Sign Language. Raised in environment similar to human baby. Learned signs with referrent present, learned 350 words of ASL, sometimes combining them. (6 yr old child knows 16,000 words).
Productivity
the ability to create novel sentences that can be understood by others. Grammar gives us ability to be productive
Language Acquisition
Universal Grammar: Chompsky, 1950’s, Language Acquisition Device
Feral Children: Genie, found at 13 was able to learn vocab but not grammar. Couldn’t form questions or put words in order, lacked productivity. Many feral children also have low IQ/Mental Retardation
Pragmatics
addresses the various ways in which speakers communicate their intentions depending on the social context
Ambiguity
the meaning of the sentence depends on an understanding of the context and the speaker’s intention
The Cooperative Principle
Grice (1975) listeners must speak cooperatively and mutually accept one another to be understood in a particular way
4 maxims of conversation
Maxim of Quality- tell the truth
Maxim of Quantity- Say just as much as is necessary
Maxim of Relevance- Stick to the point
Maxim of Manner- Be Clear
Broca’s Aphasia
left frontal lobe, specializes in language production, caused by damage to Broca’s area. Also known as expressive aphasia or agrammatic aphasia near motor cortex. (Can’t produce speech.)
Wernicke’s Aphasia
left temporal lobe, for language comprehension. Also called receptive aphasia, fluent aphasia, comprehension aphasia. Can make sentences, but not choose correct words. (Cannot understand language)
Problem Solving vs. Decision Making
Decision Making: Options are present, concerned with preferences
Problem Solving: generate their own options, concerned with solutions, focus is on the factors influencing the choice of strategies
Problem Space
Initial State: conditions at the Beginning of problem
Goal State: conditions at the End of problem
Subgoals: Intermediate states. Various conditions that exist along the pathways between initial and goal states
Operators: a legal move resulting in a transition from one state to another
Well Defined vs. Ill Defined Problems
well Defined: described clearly in terms of initial state, a goal state and subgoals. Often require directed & reproductive thinking.
ill Defined: elements of the problem space are not clearly defined (writing an essay, planting a garden), often require undirected and productive thinking
