Chapter 10: The Thinking Mind- Thinking, Language, and IntelligenceWhat do we think about?Cognition- internal mental processes including information processing, thinking, reasoning, and problem solvingStudy of cognition covers perception, learning, memory, thinking, language, and intelligenceKnowledge- the entire body of information acquired through study, investigation, observation, and experienceTo manage this, the body uses symbols or mental representations to signify informationThoughts as ImagesMental image- a representation of any sensory experience that is stored in memory and can be retrieved for use laterChildren use visual images in their thinkingIt is possible that language becomes an increasingly important way to organize thinking during childhood and might actually begin to overwrite or interfere with the ability to directly access visual images.Concepts- an organizing principle derived from experienceThoughts as ConceptsHumans as well as pigeons and monkeys demonstrate concept formationDog example. How do you describe a dog to someone that doesn’t know that it is? Dog is a concept that is hard to describeFeature detection model- people determine the truthfulness of statements by considering overlapping features.Prototypes and ExemplarsPrototype- a representation of a category formed by averaging all members of the categoryAverages do not provide much information about the range of features that can be found in a categoryExemplar- a specific member of a category used to represent the categoryProvide a better way of thinking about the variability of a categoryConcepts as TheoriesTheories- sets of facts and relationships between facts that can be used o explain and predict phenomenaConcepts can guide our thinking and be continually tested for accuracy against new, incoming informationConcepts do not exist in isolationThey can be viewed as part of a vast, interconnected network of memoriesWe test our theory that the new item fits the category by comparing it to the prototypes and exemplars of a conceptConcepts and SchemasSchema- expectations, personal experience and a set of beliefsPeople who are told a new fact about a very typical instance of a category are more willing to extend the new fact to all members of a category, whereas a new fact about an atypical category member is less likely to be widely appliedConcepts and the BrainWhen asked to name animals, participants showed activation in the visual cortexWhen naming tools, activation in frontal and parietal lobes associated with movementConcept formation also starts with experience however, this experience interacts with existing structures in the brain that help to organize our incoming informationIf forming concepts helps us to organize appropriate response, our ancestors’ ability to form types of categories very quickly might have conferred a significant survival advantage.How do we solve problems?Primary purpose of thinking is to guide behaviorProblem- a situation in which a current state is separated from an ideal state by obstaclesProblem solving- the use of information to meet a specific goal1) Understand the problem2) Make a plan3) Carry out the plan4) Look backUnderstand the ProblemRepresent or frame the problem in a useful wayThe mental representation we form relate to how we see the problemBig, long-term problems are easier to solve if they are broken down into components, or intermediate goalsThe representation of a problem can be improved by recognizing any personal bias you might have toward particular solutions.Your amount of self-efficacy, or belief in your abilities to succeed, might also influence they way you conceive a problemFunctional fixedness- a possible barrier to successful problem solving in which a concept is considered only in its most typical formMake a PlanFirst generate possible solutions and then choose the best one to implementGenerating SolutionsRequires creativity and timeGenerating the most solutions raises your chances of finding one that will workSome people dislike risk so intensely that they fial to consider a full rane of alternative solutionsJudging and discarding solutions too early in the process also leads to failureAlgorithms- a precise, step-by-step set of rules that will reliably generate a solution to a problemNot time efficient unless run by a computerHeuristics- a shortcut to problem solving; also known as a “rule of thumb”Faster than algorithmsTypically require far less info than algorithmsBut do not guarantee a solutionAvailability heuristics- a rule of thumb in which the frequency of an event’s occurrence is predicted by the ease with which the event is brought to mindHearing about plane crashes after 9/11, more people chose to drive than flyRepresentativeness heuristic- a rule of thumb in which stimuli similar to a prototype are believed to be more likely than stimuli that are dissimilar to a prototypeLook at person, cab driver or proff? Less likely to be a prof even if most descriptions fit because there are thousands of truck drivers but not many professorsHeuristics are most likely to fail when a correct solution requires a relatively sophisticated understanding of probabilityRecognition heuristic- a rule of thumb in which a higher value is placed on the more easily recognized alternativeLarger cities, people choose the one they recognize mostDecide on a SolutionAffect heuristic- a rule of thumb in which we choose between alternatives based on emotional or “gut” reactions to stimuliEmotional responses to each choice to guide our decisionsBased on our past experience with similar choicesUtility theory- we compute the expected outcomes of our choices and select the best likely one.Calculated by multiplying measures of the usefulness of the outcome by its expected probabilityEven when utility is held constant, people show a preference for one solution or the other based on how the solutions are framed75% made over 25% lostThe way a problem is framed can have a large effect on whether or not it will be solvedCarry out the planOne of the most critical elements in successfully implementing your solution is planningLook BackYou need some type of measurement of success to know if you are getting closer to your goalEvaluation is an ongoing process, but it is especially important once a solution has been fully implementedThe Biological Psychology of Decision MakingDamage to the orbitofrontal cortex reduces an individual’s ability to make sound