Chapter 7 Objectives Cognition 10 28 2014 Chapter 7 Cognition o What is a heuristic What are two common heuristics that people use when asked to reason about a problem A heuristic is a rule of thumb a simple rule that is intended to apply to many situations o Educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down the possible solutions to a problem a cognitive shortcut Two common heuristics used are o Representativeness Heuristic Used for categorizing objects and simply assures that any object or person that shares characteristics with the members of a particular category is also a member of this category The tendency to judge the frequency or likelihood of an event by the extent to which it resembles the typical case In a series of 10 coin tosses which is more likely HHTTHTHTTH HHHHHHHHH The same chance because each coin toss is 50 50 o Each toss is independent of each other one Based on our estimation of the frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to recall relevant information from memory or how easy it is to think related examples what pops into your head There are more words with n as the second to last letter But it was probably easier to think of words ending in ing o Running jumping skipping flying o Availability Heuristic o How are heuristics and biases involved in judgments and decision making Problem solving is one aspect of decision making There are several different ways to think to solve problems o Trial and error mechanical solution trying one solution after another until you get the right one These often involve solving by rote or a learned set of rules o One type of rote solution is an algorithm They are step by step procedures for solving types of problems and will always result in a correct solution math formulas computer s systematic search systems o Heuristic rule of thumb Unlike a algorithm a heuristic is just an educated guess based off what you know simple rules intended to apply to many situations Google search help bar Generally faster than algorithm but will not always lead to the right solution Working backwards to get the solution subgoals Aha moment when the solution seems to appear in a o Insight flash Usually based on reorganization of the material o What is functional fixedness How does it apply to problem solving A block to problem solving that comes from thinking about objects in term of only their typical functions Problem in problem solving because we don t recognize things as being useful if we don t usually use them in that manner wouldn t think to use a key as a screwdriver o Do people reason logically Cite at least one specific example to support your answer Convergent thinking logical method for problem solving that is based on only having one answer There are barriers that cause people to not always reason logically o Functional Fixedness see definition above a kind of mental set o Mental Sets The tendency for people to persist in using problem solving patterns that have worked for them in the past o Confirmation Bias The tendency to search for evidence that fits one s beliefs while ignoring any evidence to the contrary o What are some ways to improve thinking Using divergent thinking and creativity o The person starts at one point and comes up with many different ideas or possibilities for the answer o Stimulate divergent thinking by brainstorming keeping a journal free writing and mind or subject mapping Mental exercises and physical exercise o Emotion and cognition are certainly related What do the authors conclude on p 343 344 about emotional intelligence as a construct Emotional intelligence o The accurate awareness of and ability to manage one s own emotions to facilitate thinking and attain specific goals and the ability to understand what others feel o First introduced by Salovey and Mayer and later popularized by Goleman originally suggested emotional intelligence was a more powerful influence on success than modern views of intelligence o Participants who would be suspected to have high emotional intelligence also scored higher SAT scores leading Mayer to conclude that those that have high emotional intelligence tend to also be smarter in the traditional sense o What is intelligence One way to answer this question might be to compare and contrast the major theories of intelligence that we discussed in class Is it a single skill or a set of skills and abilities Intelligence is the ability to learn from one s experiences acquire knowledge and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems Intelligence is a set of skills and abilities Theories o Spearman s g Spearmen applied statistical techniques to intelligence He believed that superiority in one type of intelligence testing in the early 1900s meant superiority in all He found that performance on a wide variety of mental tests could be explained in part by g g stands for general intelligence A common factor that contributes to performance on all of mental tests Is g enough View there is 2 types of intelligence Fluid Intelligence The natural ability to solve problems relatively uninfluenced by experience You would probably do better than older adults Crystalized Intelligence Knowledge and abilities acquired through experience Ex Vocabulary Older adults would probably do better than you o Cognitive Approach Analyze internal mental processes to try to determine intelligence instead of just looking at test performance Intelligence reflects in part the speed of transmission among neural pathways Is intelligence A single overall ability Several specific abilities o Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner What about athletic ability Could it be a kind of Through case studies Gardner came up with a theory of intelligence 7 intelligences Table on pg 329 in textbook Gardner s theory originally had 7 intelligences He has added Naturalistic Intelligence Existential Intelligence tentative Big deep thoughts of life o Triarchic Theory Robert Sternberg Is Gardner really talking about multiple talents Perhaps intelligence should be broadly conceived Sternberg came up with three intelligences Analytic Intelligence able to break down problems into parts and anlysis Tend to perform well on standardized tests o High g Creative Intelligence ability to deal with new and different concepts and form new ways of solving problems How well can you cope with a new task o Quick Learner Practical Intelligence ability to use info to get along in life
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