Chapter 1

Thinking & Language

THOUGHT

Cognition—mental activitiesinvolved in acquiring, retaining,and using knowledge

Thinking—manipulation ofmental representations to drawinferences and conclusions

Mental image—representation ofobjects/events that are notpresent

CONCEPTS

Concept—mental category ofobjects or ideas based on sharedproperties

Formal concept—mentalcategory formed by learning rules

Natural concept—mentalcategory formed by everydayexperience

Examples of Concepts

Formal concept—follows rigidrules, not usually intuitive (Apolygon is…)

Natural concept—resultsfrom everyday experience(Name some mammals…)

Insight and Intuition

Insight—suddenrealization of how aproblem can be solved

Intuition—coming to aconclusion w/outconscious awareness ofthought processes involved

Problem Solving Strategies

y + z = r2

1.Algorithm: step-by-stepprocedure that guarantees asolution

2.Heuristic—strategy thatinvolves following a generalrule of thumb to reduce thenumber of possible solutions

Speedier than algorithms

More error-proned thanalgorithms

Can you unscramble this word,using heuristics?

SPLOYOCHYG

Heuristics

Heuristics make it easier for us to use simpleprinciples to arrive at solutions to problems.

S P L O Y O C H Y G

S P L O Y O C H G Y

P S L O Y O C H G Y

P S Y C H O L O G Y

Put a Y at the end, and see if the word

begins to make sense.

Functional Fixedness

type of mental set

inability to see an object ashaving a function other than itsusual one

Using only the objectspresent in the nextpicture, attach the candleto the bulletin board insuch a way that the candlecan be lit and will burnproperly

Mounting Candle Problem

Answer to candle problem

Most people do not think ofusing the box for anythingother than its normal use (tohold the tacks)

To solve the problem,you have to overcomefunctional fixedness

Functional Fixedness

A tendency to think only of the familiarfunctions of an object.

Problem: Tie the two ropes together.

Use a screw driver, cotton balls and a matchbox.

Functional Fixedness

Use the screwdriver as a weight, and tie it to theend of one rope. Swing it toward the other ropeto tie the knot.

The inability to think of the screwdriver as a weight is

functional fixedness.

Mental Set

Q: Why couldn’t you solve theprevious problems?

A: Mental set—a well-established habitof perception/thought

The Matchstick Problem: How would you arrange sixmatches to form four equilateral triangles?

The Matchstick Problem: Solution

Nine dots problem

W/out liftingyour pencil/re-tracing any line,draw 4 straightlines thatconnect all 9dots

Most people will not draw linesthat extend from the squareformed by the 9 dots

To solve the problem,you have to break your mentalset

Decision Making

Single feature model: make a decisionby focusing on only 1 feature

Additive model: systematicallyevaluate the important features ofeach alternative.

Elimination-by-aspects: rate choicesbased on features. Eliminate thosethat don’t meet the desired criteria,despite other desirable characteristics.

Availability Heuristic

Judge probability of an event byhow easily you can recall previousoccurrences of that event

How is retrieval facilitated?

1.How recently we have heard about the event.

2.How distinct it is.

3.How correct it is.

•Most overest. deaths fromnatural disasters b/c disasters arefrequently on TV

•Most underest. deaths fromasthma b/c they don’t make thelocal news

Representative Heuristic

Judge probability of an eventbased on how it matches aprototype

Can be good

Can also lead to errors

Most overuse this strategy

Rep. Heuristic

If you meet a slim, short, man whowears glasses and likes poetry, what doyou think his profession would be?

An Ivy league professor or a truckdriver?

Making Decision & FormingJudgments

Each day we make hundreds of judgments anddecisions based on our intuition, seldom usingsystematic reasoning.

Overconfidence

Intuitive heuristics, confirmation of beliefs, andthe inclination to explain failures increase ouroverconfidence. Overconfidence is a tendency tooverestimate the accuracy of our beliefs andjudgments.

At a stock market, boththe seller and the buyermay be confident abouttheir decisions on astock.

Exaggerated Fear

The opposite of havingoverconfidence ishaving an exaggeratedfear about what mayhappen. Such fears maybe unfounded.

The 9/11 attacks led to adecline in air travel dueto fear.

AP/ Wide World Photos

“We have nothing to fear butfear itself”

-F.D.R.

4 Influences on ourIntuitions of Risk:

1.We fear what our ancestralhistory has prepared us to fear(height, spiders, snakes, etc.)

2.We fear what we can’t control(flying, surgery, etc)

3.We fear what is immediate

4.We fear what is most readilyavailable in memory

Framing Decisions

Decisions and judgments may be significantly affecteddepending upon how an issue is framed.

Example: What is the best way to marketground beef — as 25% fat or 75% lean?

Belief Bias

The tendency of one’s preexisting beliefs todistort logical reasoning by making invalidconclusions.

God is love.

Love is blind

Ray Charles is blind.

Ray Charles is God.

Anonymous graffiti

Belief Perseverance

Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling toour beliefs in the face of contrary evidence.

If you see that a country is hostile, you are likelyto interpret their ambiguous actions as a sign ofhostility (Jervis, 1985).

Confirmation Bias

Only search for info confirming one’shypothesis.

If you believe that people act strange during a fullmoon, you will take notice of people acting strangelyduring a full moon, but be inattentive to the moon whenpeople act weird during other nights of the month. Atendency to do this over time unjustifiably strengthensyour belief in the relationship between the full moonand peoples’ actions.

Fallacy of Positive Instances

Remember uncommon events thatconfirm our beliefs & ignore those thatdo not

Plane crashes-planes are unsafe

Horoscopes

Barnum Effect

It is the tendency for people to accept verygeneral or vague characterizations ofthemselves and take them to be accurate.

A good example of this can be seen whenpeople believe what is said about them inpsychometric tests, personality profiles,horoscopes, etc

named after P. T. Barnum, who believed thata good circus had "a little something foreverybody." Even though the descriptions ordescriptive terms used in the inventories,typologies, and tests can apply equally well toother people, some individuals believe theyare unique to themselves.