Language & Thought

Question 1

What is thinking?

Answer 1

Manipulating mental representations for a purpose

Question 2

What are mental models?

Answer 2

Representations that describe, explain or predict the way things work

Question 3

What does categorisation involve?

Answer 3

Recognising an object as a member of a category

Question 4

What is a concept?

Answer 4

A mental representation of a category

Question 5

What are defining features?

Answer 5

Qualities that are essential/necessarily present in order to classify objects as members of a category

Question 6

How can objects be categorised?

Answer 6

By comparison with defining features and by similarity/dissimilarity to prototypes

Question 7

What is a prototype?

Answer 7

An abstraction across many instances of categories (i.e. a typical example of a category of things)

Question 8

How are many concepts organised?

Answer 8

Hierarchically

Question 9

What does efficient thinking require?

Answer 9

Choosing the right level of abstraction in a hierarchy of concepts

Question 10

What are the three levels of categorisation in a hierarchy?

Answer 10

• Superordinate: Category members share few common features (e.g. mammal)
• Basic: Broadest, most inclusive level, category members share common attributes (e.g. dog)
• Subordinate: Category members share specific attributes (e.g. kelpie)

Question 11

At which hierarchy level do people categorise most quickly?

Answer 11

Basic

Question 12

True or false: Categorisation is a functional process

Answer 12

True

Question 13

What is reasoning?

Answer 13

The process by which people generate and evaluate arguments and beliefs, typically to try to solve problems

Question 14

What are the two types of reasoning?

Answer 14

Inductive and deductive

Question 15

What is inductive reasoning?

Answer 15

Reasoning from specific observations to generate propositions, relies heavily on probabilities

Question 16

What is deductive reasoning?

Answer 16

Drawing a conclusion from a set of assumptions or premises (e.g. syllogisms)

Question 17

What does a syllogism consist of?

Answer 17

Two premises that lead to a logical conclusion, e.g.
A. All dogs have fur
B. Kelly is a dog
Conclusion: Kelly has fur

Question 18

What is analogical reasoning?

Answer 18

The process by which people understand a novel situation in terms of a familiar one

Question 19

What is analogical reasoning influenced by?

Answer 19

The similarity of the situations, the ease of mapping their elements and the reasoner’s goals

Question 20

What is problem solving?

Answer 20

The process of transforming one situation into another to meet a goal

Question 21

What is the difference between a well-defined and an ill-defined problem?

Answer 21

A well-defined problem has a correct answer and applying certain procedures leads to a solution.
An ill-defined problem often has an unclear solution (no one correct answer)

Question 22

What are three problem solving strategies?

Answer 22

Algorithms (systematic procedures), mental simulation (mental rehearsal) and hypothesis testing (educated guess/testing)

Question 23

What is functional fixedness?

Answer 23

Restricting the use of an object to its usual uses

Question 24

What is mental set?

Answer 24

The tendency to keep using the same problem solving techniques that have worked in the past

Question 25

What is confirmation bias?

Answer 25

The tendency for people to search for confirmation of what they already believe, overlooking information that contradicts their belief

Question 26

How can irrelevant/misleading information affect problem solving?

Answer 26

When problems are complex it is easier to focus on irrelevant/misleading information

Question 27

How can assumptions affect problem solving?

Answer 27

By preventing certain solutions

Question 28

How can barriers to problem solving be overcome?

Answer 28

Restructure the problem and represent it in a novel way

Question 29

What is decision making?

Answer 29

The process of weighing the pros and cons of different alternatives in order to make a choice

Question 30

What is the weighted utility value?

Answer 30

A combined judgement of the importance of an attribute and the extent to which a given option satisfies it (e.g. $5 for lunch = cost of different options is given a higher weighting)

Question 31

What is expected utility?

Answer 31

A combined judgement of the weighted utility and the expected probability of obtaining an outcome

Question 32

What is explicit cognition?

Answer 32

Conscious manipulation of representations

Question 33

What are heuristics?

Answer 33

Cognitive shortcuts that allow for rapid, but sometimes irrational, judgements/choices

Question 34

What is a representativeness heuristic?

Answer 34

Probability of an event is based on how similar it is to a typical prototype of that event

Question 35

What is an availability heuristic?

Answer 35

Events more easily remembered are judged as more probable

Question 36

What is bounded rationality, or satisficing?

Answer 36

People are rational within the bounds imposed by their environment, goals and abilities - leads to making good-enough judgements, rather than optimal judgements

Question 37

What is implicit cognition?

Answer 37

Cognition outside of awareness (i.e. unconscious)

Question 38

'Aha' experiences are an example of what type of problem solving?

Answer 38

Implicit

Question 39

What is the framing effect?

Answer 39

Decisions are influenced by how a decision is stated

Question 40

What encourages a risk-aversion strategy?

Answer 40

A choice framed in terms of gains

Question 41

What encourages a risk-taking strategy?

Answer 41

A choice framed in terms of losses

Question 42

What are expected emotions?

Answer 42

Emotions people predict they will feel for a particular outcome

Question 43

What are immediate emotions?

Answer 43

Experienced at the time of the decision

Question 44

What are the two types of immediate emotions?

Answer 44

Integral (associated with a decision) and incidental (unrelated to the decision)

Question 45

What does connectionism, or parallel distributed processing, suggest?

Answer 45

Most cognitive processes occur simultaneously through the action of multiple activated networks

Question 46

What is language?

Answer 46

The system of symbols, sounds, meanings and rules for their combination that constitutes the primary mode of communication among humans

Question 47

What does the Whorfian hypothesis of linguist relativity suggest?

Answer 47

Language shapes thought

Question 48

What are the four properties of language?

Answer 48

Symbolic, semantic, generative and structured

Question 49

What are the two unique features of language?

Answer 49

Hierarchy and rules

Question 50

What are phonemes?

Answer 50

The smallest speech units, e.g. th

Question 51

What are morphemes?

Answer 51

The smallest units of meaning, e.g. -ing

Question 52

What are phrases?

Answer 52

Groups of words that act as a unit and convey meaning

Question 53

What are sentences?

Answer 53

Organised sequences of words that express a thought or intention

Question 54

What are semantics?

Answer 54

The rules that govern the meaning of morphemes, words, phrases and sentences

Question 55

What is syntax?

Answer 55

The rules that govern to placement of words and phrases in a sentence

Question 56

What is syntax an aspect of?

Answer 56

Grammer

Question 57

What is discourse?

Answer 57

The way people ordinarily speak, hear, read and write in interconnected sentences

Question 58

How do people represent discourse?

Answer 58

- Exact wording - Gist/general meaning - Suspended reality (e.g. 'imagine you are..') - Communication - Conversation

Question 59

What does non-verbal communication include?

Answer 59

- Vocal intonation - Body language - Gestures - Physical distance - Facial expressions - Touch - Non-verbal vocalisation (e.g. throat clearing)

Question 60

What is the concept of universal grammar?

Answer 60

An innate, shared set of linguistic principles that underlies the grammatical forms found in all cultures