Cognition and Language Chapters 8, 19 (Bernstein), pages 280 -322, 780 -782
INTRODUCTION COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY the study of the mental processes by which the information humans receive from their environment is modified, made meaningful, stored, retrieved, used, and communicated to others. Many cognitive psychologists work with neuroscientists to study the brain activity involved in these mental processes. This collaboration is called cognitive neuroscience. We will be covering cognition and language together because they often involve the same mental processes.
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THOUGHT THE CIRCLE OF THOUGHT (the Five Core Functions of Thought) to describe, elaborate, decide, plan, and guide action usually occurs so quickly and is so complex that it’s difficult to analyze individual pieces of the circle of thought The Circle of Thought is an information-processing system. It receives information, represents information with symbols, and manipulates (does something with) those representations. In this system, thinking is defined as the manipulation of mental representations. In other words, it’s “doing something with what’s in our head. ”
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THOUGHT THE STAGES OF INFORMATION PROCESSING 1. Info about the stimulus reaches the brain via sensory receptors. No attention is required. 2. Info must be perceived and recognized. Attention and perceptual processes are used. Info is consciously elaborated in STM to think about its relation to knowledge stored in LTM. 3. Once the stimulus is recognized, it becomes necessary to decide what to do with it and make a plan. This stage demands attention, too. 4. In response selection, one response is chosen from the options available. 5. Execution of the response occurs last. The response usually affects some part of the environment, providing new info that is “fed back” to the system to be processed (and thus repeating these stages).
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THOUGHT MEASURING INFORMATION PROCESSING: Mental Chronometry Mental chronometry--timing of mental events--gives clues about info processing stages. Reaction time is the time elapsing between the presentation of a stimulus and an overt (observable) response. It is the total time needed for all stages of information processing. Factors influencing reaction time include: a. the complexity of the decision. The larger the number of possible actions that might be carried out in response to a set of stimuli, the longer the reaction time. b. Expectancy affects reaction time. Expected stimuli are perceived more quickly and with greater accuracy than those that are surprising. Stimulus-response compatibility occurs if the relationship between a set of possible stimuli and possible responses is a natural or compatible one. In any reaction time task there is a speed-accuracy tradeoff; quick responses lead to an increase in errors, while an error-free performance calls for an increase in reaction time.
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THOUGHT EVOKED BRAIN POTENTIALS EEG To analyze mental events more directly than reaction time, psychologists look at evoked brain potentials--the small temporary changes in voltage on an electroencephalogram (EEG) that occur in response to specific events. Each peak in an EEG reflects the firing of large groups of neurons, within different areas of the brain, and at different times during the information-processing sequence. The pattern of the peaks provides information that is more precise than overall reaction time. A large positive peak called P 300 occurs between 300 and 500 milliseconds (thousandths of a second) after a stimulus is presented. P 300 s are sensitive to factors that alter the speed of perceptual processes, the first stages of information-processing. P 300 s are normally larger in response to unusual or surprising stimuli than to unchanging or predictable ones.
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THOUGHT NEUROIMAGING PET Using positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (f. MRI), and other techniques, scientists can watch what happens in the brain during information processing. Studies have found that frontal lobes are important for making decisions and solving problems. Frontal lobes are especially active when a problem-solving task is new and difficult. Once a skill is well-learned, frontal lobe involvement decreases and the hippocampus is activated. f. MRI
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS The Ingredients of Thought CONCEPTS categories of objects, events, or ideas with common properties Formal Concepts clearly defined by a set of rules or properties such that each member of the concept has ALL the defining properties and no nonmember does (ex. squares) Natural Concepts have no fixed set of defining features but instead share a set of typical or characteristic features; members need not possess all of the characteristic features, but must have more than just one; include object categories (ex. bird), abstract idea categories (ex. justice), and temporary goal-related categories that help people make plans (ex. things to pack for a trip) Prototype a member of a natural concept which possesses all or most of its characteristic features (ex. a robin is a prototypical bird) PROPOSITIONS a mental representation that expresses a relationship between concepts; can be true or false (ex. Two boys pushed a girl on the playground. ) ; general ideas that can be conveyed in a variety of ways; part of the network of associations that are the basis for our knowledge of the world SCHEMAS generalizations we develop about categories of objects, places, events, and people (ex. the appearance of a doctor, a fireman, and a secretary); sets of propositions form from these; help us understand the world and predict life by creating expectations (about objects, places, events, and people)
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS The Ingredients of Thought SCRIPTS schemas about familiar sequences of activities (ex. what happens when you go to a restaurant); used to interpret new information and events and place them into the familiar framework of the script; easy to misinterpret events when scripts are violated MENTAL MODELS clusters of related concepts that represent people’s understanding of particular situations or arrangements of objects (a 3 -D mental model of a room based on your understanding of the concepts of color, window, door, ceiling, and wall); when incorrect or incomplete, we are more likely to make mistakes IMAGES mental representations of visual information; referred to as analogical representations because the manipulations performed on images are analogous, or very similar, to those that would be performed on the objects themselves (ex. bouncing a ball in “your mind’s eye” takes the same amount of decision time as actually performing it) COGNITIVE MAPS mental models of familiar parts of your world; as people move around an environment, they build a cognitive map--a mental layout of the spatial world (ex. the route you take and the surroundings of your movement between 3 rd and 4 th periods)
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: REASONING Our thinking capacity is based largely on our ability to manipulate mental representations--the ingredients of thought. REASONING is the process through which we generate and evaluate arguments, and reach conclusions about them. FORMAL REASONING (Deductive Reasoning) the process of following a set of rigorous procedures to reach valid, or correct, conclusions called deductive reasoning because it takes a general rule and applies it to deduce conclusions about specific cases sometimes relies on the application of mathematical formulas to existing data in order to generate new data Algorithms systematic methods that always produce a correct solution to a problem, if a problem exists Rules of Logic sets of statements (in the form of “if-then” statements) that provide a formula for drawing valid conclusions about the world
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: REASONING More on FORMAL REASONING. . . Rules of logic have evolved into a system for drawing correct conclusions from a set of statements known as premises. Syllogisms logical arguments containing two or more premises and a conclusion (an inference based on the premises and the rules of logic) Premise 1: This class is open only to seniors. Premise 2: I am not a senior. Conclusion: I cannot take this class. A syllogism’s validity depends both on the accuracy of the premises AND the ability to draw correct inferences from them. Reasoning errors can lead to later problems in problem-solving and decision-making. Belief Bias when people believe bias based on what they already know or wish; may cause someone to accept illogical conclusions Confirmation Bias a tendency to seek evidence and reach conclusions that are consistent with existing beliefs Limits on Working Memory If the amount of material to be mentally manipulated exceeds the capacity of STM, logical errors can result.
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: REASONING Still MORE on FORMAL REASONING. . . Create an example of an algorithm to find a particular item in a department store. Create a syllogism with at least two premises and a logical conclusion. Create a syllogism with belief bias. Create a syllogism based on confirmation bias.
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: REASONING INFORMAL REASONING (Inductive Reasoning) the process of evaluating a conclusion, theory, or course of action on the basis of the believability of evidence used by jurors in deciding guilt or innocence of the accused also used by psychologists when conducting an experiment no foolproof methods for informal reasoning uses mental “shortcuts” or “rules of thumb” for problem-solving called heuristics easy to use and frequently work well can also bias cognitive processes and cause errors because they lack the defined set of rules of algorithms three heuristics (each potentially problematic) that people seem to use intuitively to make judgements: anchoring heuristics, representativeness heuristics, & availability heuristics
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: REASONING The Anchoring Heuristic (or Adjustment Heuristic) rule of thumb that relies on a starting or reference point to begin with and then adjust to accommodate information allows us to make snap judgments based on a beginning frame of reference We make adjustments to accommodate new information but the initial judgment or starting point--the “anchor”-- keeps our adjustments from moving too far. This may bias our judgments. e. g. , __________________________________
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: REASONING The Representativeness Heuristic rule of thumb that relies on how well a situation matches a generalization or prototype we have about an established concept rather than numerical probabilities used to help make quick decisions can lead to errors such as stereotyping or misrepresentation of a certain segment of the population People tend to make judgments based on how well a particular description fits the more general population. e. g. , __________________________________
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: REASONING The Availability Heuristic rule of thumb that relies on the most easily accessible information known to the person to assist in problem-solving involves judging the likelihood of an event or correctness of a hypothesis by how easily the hypothesis or examples of the event can be brought to mind People tend to choose the alternative that is most mentally “available” but not always the most accurate. e. g. , __________________________________
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: PROBLEM-SOLVING What IS a problem? Simply put, you have a problem if where you are is not where you want to be. What is the most effective approach to solving a problem? Circle of Thought--identify the problem in the elaboration stage, formulate a plan for solving it, execute the plan, then evaluate results to make sure problem has been solved Unfortunately, people’s problem-solving efforts are not always so systematic. Other problem-solving strategies include: MEANS-END ANALYSIS WORKING BACKWARD ANALOGIES INCUBATION INSIGHT
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: PROBLEM-SOLVING MEANS-END ANALYSIS (also called DECOMPOSITION) relies on the identification of a final goal AND the steps needed to achieve that goal final goal is identified FIRST, then subgoals or behaviors determined that are necessary for the final goal to be achieved involves continuously asking yourself where you are in relation to your final goal and then deciding on the means by which you can get one step closer to it after a subgoal reached, re-evaluation of each subsequent goal is needed to stay on track basically involves breaking down a problem into smaller, more manageable sub-problems WORKING BACKWARD “working backward” from the end goal helps avoid getting side-tracked with dead-end choices on the way to a goal runs counter to the way we have learned to think
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: PROBLEM-SOLVING ANALOGIES involves finding similarities between a current problem and prior problems allows the application of previously successful techniques on current problems may limit or obstruct an individual’s ability to solve a problem if the techniques being considered doesn’t really apply to the current problem INCUBATION stepping back from a problem to allow the problem to solve itself often helpful to step back and stop thinking about a problem for a while time away from the problem allows for a fresh perspective to emerge and possibly a better solution INSIGHT (also known as the “EUREKA EFFECT” or the “AHA MOMENT”) sudden realization of a solution to a problem that often occurs during incubation useful when faced with a problem that appears to have no solution
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM-SOLVING Multiple Hypotheses Due to limited working memory, people have difficulty entertaining more than two or three hypotheses or probably solutions at one time. Additionally, heuristics may lead people to choose a solution that most easily comes to mind and seems to fit the circumstances rather than consider one that is actually correct. Mental Sets A mental set simply means an individual’s mind is “set” on or has a tendency to approach new problems with strategies that may have worked in the past, even when better alternatives should be obvious. A mental set may also restrict perception of the problem itself. Mental sets limit our ability to “think outside the box” because we are locked into previously successful strategies.
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM-SOLVING Functional Fixedness Functional fixedness is the inability to see an object as being useful for anything other than its intended purpose. Because of stubbornness in functional fixedness, some people cannot solve problems that might otherwise have easily been solved with a little creativity. Ignoring Negative Evidence The absence of symptoms or events can provide important evidence for or against a hypothesis, but people are less likely to notice when symptoms or events that should be present are NOT there. Confirmation Bias People tend to confirm--rather than refute--a chosen hypothesis or belief even in the face of strong evidence against it. Confirmation bias is a form of the anchoring heuristic familiar to just about everyone because we all have a tendency to ignore information contrary to our own personal beliefs and accept information that confirms those beliefs.
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: DECISION MAKING We make decisions every day. Decisions made when the outcome is uncertain are called risky decisions or decisions under uncertainty. There a number of strategies that help us deal with this kind of decision making. EVALUATING OPTIONS Multi-attribute decisions involve weighing options that have both positive and negative features or attributes. These decisions are complicated by difficulties in comparing the attributes and in estimating the probabilities of various outcomes. e. g. , __________________________________
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: DECISION MAKING COMPARING ATTRIBUTES People tend to focus on the one feature or attribute in a decision that is important to them. In addition, in many important decisions it may be impossible to compare the attributes of options in terms of money or other objective criteria. UTILITY is the term used to describe the subjective, personal value of each attribute. Another way of looking at utility is as a measurement of satisfaction received by choosing that option in a decision. When making a decision, we want to maximize the utility (satisfaction) and minimize the potential dissatisfaction. e. g. , __________________________________
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS Thinking Strategies: DECISION MAKING ESTIMATING PROBABILITIES To make a good decision, people should take into account not only the attributes of the options, but also the probabilities and risks of their possible outcomes. The best decision is the one that maximizes EXPECTED VALUE--the average benefit a person could expect to receive if the decision were repeated on several occasions. The formula for expected value is (probability of gain X size of gain) minus (probability of loss X size of loss). e. g. , __________________________________
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS BIASES & FLAWS IN DECISION MAKING 1. Positive utilities are NOT mirror images of negative utilities. When people feel worse about losing a certain amount than they feel good about gaining the same amount, this is called loss aversion. This occurs when people make decisions with the intent of avoiding negative outcomes rather than achieving positive ones. e. g. , _________________________________ 2. utility of a specific gain depends on your starting point. This brings to mind Weber’s law, and how much a difference in value means to you depends on how much you already have. In other words, the more you have, the less it means. e. g. , _________________________________ 3. Another flaw in decision making is people’s tendency to be unrealistically confident in their accuracy of their predicted outcomes. e. g. , _________________________________
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS BIASES & FLAWS IN DECISION MAKING 4. People are also biased in how they perceive probability. There is a tendency to overestimate rare probabilities and underestimate frequent ones. This tendency is amplified by the availability heuristic, vivid memories of rare events, and intense publicity given such events. The gambler’s fallacy is a belief that future events in a random process will be changed by past events or influenced by preceding behaviors. This may lead to: the persistence of behaviors that are only rewarded now and then. decisions being made that often lead to unwanted outcomes. e. g. , _________________________________ 5. Another influence on the decision making process is the framing effect--influencing the decision by altering the words used in describing the decision. The way a question is worded, or “framed, ” can influence and bias a person’s decision. e. g. , _________________________________
LANGUAGE THE ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE A LANGUAGE has two basic elements: 1. symbols, such as words 2. grammar, a set of rules for combining the symbols From Sounds to Sentences (see chart on handout) Surface Structure and Deep Structure Surface structure is the order of words that people produce. It’s simply a string of words. e. g. , She cooked in the sun. (words put together to make a sentence) Deep structure is the abstract representation of the relationships expressed in a sentence. This is the underlying meaning of a sentence. e. g. , She cooked in the sun. (two possible meanings--she was cooking outside in the sunny weather OR the sun was beating down on her and burning her skin; depends on the context in which the sentence is used)
LANGUAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE Children develop language with impressive speed. The process begins in the earliest days of a child’s life and follows some predictable steps. THE FIRST YEAR tell difference between sounds of their native language and other languages; become attuned to the sounds that will be important in acquiring their native language babbling--patterns of meaningless sounds that resemble speech initially, infants around the world make same sounds but by 9 months lose sounds not necessary to their native language 10 -12 months, understand more words than can say; usually proper names and object labels at 12 months, begin to talk; first words often proper names and object labels; words often simplfied (e. g. , “duh” for “duck”) use gestures, intonations, facial expressions, and repetitions to make themselves understood overextend words, us all-purpose words, coin new words; build vocabularies one word at a time and tend to use words one at a time; make errors due to limited vocabulary
LANGUAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE THE SECOND YEAR one-word stage lasts about 6 months; around 18 months, vocabulary expands dramatically by age 2, vocabulary of 50 -100 words and the beginning of two-word sentences called telegraphic speech because they are brief (e. g. , “Milk gone. ”) three-word sentences are next; still telegraphic but more complete; usually have the basic subjectverb-object for of adult sentences (e. g. , “Mommy give book. ”) suffixes, prepositions, plurals, and irregular past tenses also begin to appear followed by adjectives rules of grammar overregularized (e. g. , “I runned in the house. ”) THIRD YEAR begin to use auxiliary/helping verbs, ask questions using what, where, who, and why, and begin to form complex sentences by age 5, most grammatical rules of native language have been acquired
LANGUAGE THE ACQUISITION OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIORAL THEORY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Behaviorists including B. F. Skinner believe language is developed through reinforcement and imitation/modeling. This theory does not explain children’s overgeneralization of rules. (e. g. , Children do not hear adults saying “I goed to the store” but misapply the rules of grammar and say it anyway. ) Neither conditioning nor imitation entirely explains how children learn language.
LANGUAGE THE ACQUISITION OF LANGUAGE BIOLOGICAL THEORY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Children around the world acquire language at approx. the same rate which supports the belief that acquisition is at least partially innate. Noam Chomsky proposed humans have universal grammar--an innate mechanism that allows us to identify the basic dimensions of language Exposure to language triggers this innate knowledge and allows language to develop. Limited or no exposure to language will result in improper language development. The critical period theory of language states there is a timeframe (usually up to age 12) for the proper development of language, after which language learning is very difficult. Claims of a genetic predisposition for language also comes from studies of specific language impairment (SLI) in which children have trouble acquiring language. Also, the unique speech-generation properties of the human mouth and throat and the languagerelated brain regions (Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas) suggest humans are “prewired” or biologically programmed for language.
LANGUAGE THE ACQUISITION OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIORAL OR BIOLOGICAL? The development of language probably reflects the development of more general sensory, motor, and cognitive skills, not just language-specific mechanisms. We most likely develop language as our genetic predispositions interact with experience. BILINGUALISM Children raised in a bilingual environment before the end of the critical period seem to show enhanced performance in each language. Balanced bilinguals (those equally adept at two languages) are superior to others in cognitive flexibility, concept formation, and creativity.
LANGUAGE CULTURE, LANGUAGE, AND THOUGHT Benjamin Whorf claimed that language determines what we think--a process he called linguistic determinism. Linguistic determinism holds that language shapes our ability to discriminate among environmental stimuli and ultimately our perception. Whorf developed this theory to explain that not all cultures share the same words. e. g. , Inuits have over 100 words for snow; we basically have “snow. ” Critics of linguistic determinism point to the results of studies in which perceptual tasks among different cultural groups scored similarly regardless of linguistic differences. Neither view is wholly correct. While language does not determine what we think, it does play a role in how we think.
LANGUAGE DISORDERS & THE BRAIN language disorders, (also known as aphasias): neuropsychological disorders in which there are disruptions in the ability to speak, read, write, and understand language most aphasias result from damage to left side of brain, usually from stroke or trauma sometimes from neurodegenerative disease called FTD (frontotemporal degeneration), the gradual dying of the nerve cells in the brain’s temporal and front lobes, often on one side more than the other if FTD is focused on language-related regions of of the brain’s left hemisphere, result is called primary progressive aphasia language areas of the brain
LANGUAGE DISORDERS & THE BRAIN Broca’s Aphasia (expressive aphasia) loss of fluent speech due to damage to Broca’s area speaking the written word speak in halting, sputtering manner requiring great effort and causing much frustration tend to use concrete nouns and verbs in “telegraphic” speaking style make mistakes when naming objects (paraphasias), usually in how words sound (phonemic paraphasias) such as calling a pen a peb may have difficulty understanding what they see and hear http: //faculty. washington. edu/chudler/lang. html speaking the heard word
LANGUAGE DISORDERS & THE BRAIN Wernicke’s Aphasia (sensory aphasia) loss of ability to understand written or spoken language and to produce sensible speech speaking the written word everything everyone says sounds like nonsense to a person with this individuals with this speak fluently and effortlessly but with semantic aphasias (use of words with wrong meaning) http: //faculty. washington. edu/chudler/lang. html uses lots of adverbs and adjectives and articles but few nouns and verbs speech sounds nonsensical individuals with Wernicke’s aphasia do not recognize own mistakes; may get upset or frustrated when others don’t understand them speaking the heard word
LANGUAGE DISORDERS & THE BRAIN most language disorders result from damage to the left hemisphere communication problems can occur when the right hemisphere is damaged aprosodia: inability to understand or convey tone in expressing meaning expressive aprosodia speech is monotone; cannot express meaning through tone of voice receptive aprosodia can use correct tone of voice when speaking but has difficulty understanding other people’s tone of voice; cannot understand sarcasm “Anyone? ”
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