Thinking and Intelligence

Learning objectives.1 The basic elements of thought.2 Whether the language you speak affects the way you think.3 How subconscious thinking, nonconscious thinking, and mindlessness help us and can also cause trouble

Elements of cognition Concept Mental category that groups objects, relations, activities, abstractions, or qualities having common properties Basic concepts have a moderate number of instances and are easier to acquire. A prototype is an especially representative example. Proposition A meaningful unit, built of concepts, expressing a single idea Schema An integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning a particular topic Image A mental representation that resembles what it represents

Your turn To get a hamburger, go to a fast-food restaurant and wait in line behind the counter. When it is your turn, tell the person by the cash register that you want a hamburger. The person will tell you how much it costs. Give them enough money. In a few minutes someone behind the counter will give you a hamburger. This kind of mental representation is best described as a: 1. Concept 2. Proposition 3. Schema 4. Image

How conscious is thought? Subconscious processes Mental processes occurring outside of conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary Nonconscious processes Mental processes occurring outside of and not available to consciousness

Types of conscious processes Implicit learning When you have acquired knowledge about something without being aware how you did so, and without being able to state exactly what you have learned Mindlessness Mental inflexibility, inertia, and obliviousness in the present context

What do you know? Mental processes occurring outside of conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary is the definition of: A. Subconscious processes B. Nonconscious processes C. Implicit learning D. Mindlessness

Learning objectives.4 Why algorithms and logic can t solve all of our problems.5 The difference between deductive and inductive reasoning.6 The importance of heuristics and dialectical reasoning in solving real-life problems.7 How cognitive development affects the ways in which people reason and justify their views

Reasoning The drawing of conclusions or inferences from observations, facts, or assumptions

Algorithms and logic Deductive reasoning A tool of formal logic in which a conclusion necessarily follows from a set of premises. Inductive reasoning A tool of formal logic in which a conclusion probably follows from a set of premises.

Apply what you know All professors have doctorates. This person is a professor. Therefore, this person has a doctorate. This is an example of which type of reasoning? A. Inductive B. Deductive

Heuristics and dialectical thinking Heuristic A rule of thumb that suggests a course of action or guides problem solving but does not guarantee an optimal solution Dialectical reasoning A process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared, with a view to determining the best solution or resolving differences

Reflective judgment Skills Question assumptions Evaluate and integrate evidence Relate evidence to theory or opinion Consider alternative interpretations Reach defensible conclusions Reassess conclusions in face of new evidence

Stages of reflective judgment

What do you know? Basing your decision to purchase a new car on the evidence about its performance effectiveness is an example of which stage of reflective judgment? A.Prereflective B.Quasi-reflective C.Reflective

Learning objectives.8 How biases in reasoning impair the ability to think rationally and critically. Why people worry more about rare but vivid disasters than about dangers that are far more likely.10 How the way a decision is framed affects the choices people make

Exaggerating the improbable Affect heuristic The tendency to consult one s emotions instead of estimating probabilities objectively. Availability heuristic The tendency to judge the probability of a type of event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances.

What do you think? Suppose you had to choose between two health programs to combat a disease expected to kill 600 people. Which would you prefer: a program that will definitely save 200 people, or one with a onethird probability of saving all 600 people and a twothirds probability of saving none? A. The first health program B. The second health program

Avoiding loss Framing effect The tendency for people s choices to be affected by how a choice is presented, or framed; for example, whether it is worded in terms of potential losses or gains.

Learning objectives.11 Why people often value fairness even above rational self-interest.12 How the need to justify the expenditure of time, money, and effort affects how people think about a group they joined or a product they bought

The fairness bias The Ultimatum Game: Your partner gets $10 and must decide how much to share with you. You can accept or reject the offer, but if you reject it, neither of you get any money. It is rational to accept any offer: you always end up with more money if you accept than if you reject the offer. In industrial societies, offers of 50% are typical. Offers below 20 30% are commonly rejected.

The hindsight bias The tendency to overestimate one s ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known. The I knew it all along phenomenon

The confirmation bias The tendency to pay attention only to information that confirms one s own beliefs Test this rule: If a card has a vowel on one side, it has an even number on the other side. Which 2 cards to turn over? 1. Cards 6 and 7 2. Cards J and 6 3. Cards J and 7 4. Cards E and 6

Biases due to mental set Mental set Tendency to solve problems using procedures that worked before on similar problems Mental sets make learning and problem solving more efficient. Not helpful when problem calls for new approach

The nine-dot problem Mentally trace a line to connect all dots. Use only 4 lines.

Need for cognitive consistency Cognitive dissonance A state of tension produced when a person holds two contradictory cognitions or when a person s belief is inconsistent with behavior

You try especially hard to reduce dissonance When you need to justify a choice or decision you freely made When you need to justify behavior that conflicts with your view of yourself When you need to justify the effort put into a decision or choice

What do you think? Although Bob s annual salary is $35,000, he recently bought a car that cost $75,000. Since then, Bob has been telling everyone he knows he bought the best car ever made. Which type of justification is Bob engaging in? A. Behavioral justification B. Decisional justification

Justification of effort The tendency of people to increase their liking for something they have worked hard for or suffered to attain A common form of dissonance reduction

What do you know? The tendency of people to increase their liking for something they have worked hard for or suffered to attain is an example of: A. Cognitive dissonance B. Dissonance reduction

Learning objectives.13 Both sides of the debate about whether a single thing called intelligence actually exists.14 How the original purpose of intelligence testing changed when IQ tests came to America.15 The difficulties of designing intelligence tests that are free of cultural influence

Defining intelligence Intelligence An inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, act purposefully, or adapt to changes in the environment g factor A general intellectual ability assumed by many theorists to underlie specific mental abilities and talents

Psychometrics The measurement of mental abilities, traits, and processes Factor analysis A statistical method for analyzing the intercorrelations among various measures or test scores; clusters of measures or scores that are highly correlated are assumed to measure the same underlying trait, ability, or aptitude (factor).

The invention of IQ tests Binet believed we should measure a child s mental age. Binet and Simon developed a test which measured memory, vocabulary, and perceptual discrimination. Mental age was divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100 to get an intelligence quotient. Now IQ scores are derived from norms provided for standardized intelligence tests.

What do you know? The first test of intelligence, developed by Binet and Simon, was created to assess intellectual giftedness among French school children. A. True B. False

The psychometric approach IQ scores distributed normally Bell-shaped curve Very high and very low scores are rare. 68% of people have IQ scores between 85 and 115..7% between 55 and 145

Wechsler tests performance tasks

What do you think? All intelligence tests have a cultural bias. A. True B. False

Can IQ tests be culture free? Attempts to make IQ tests culture fair or culture free have backfired because different cultures have different problem-solving strategies. Culture affects a person s... Attitude toward exams Comfort in settings required for testing Motivation Rapport with test provider Competitiveness Ease of independent problem solving

Expectations and IQ Scores are affected by expectations for performance Expectations are shaped by stereotypes Stereotype threat Burden of doubt one feels about his or her performance due to negative stereotypes about his or her group Stereotype threat affects African-Americans, Latinos/Latinas, low-income people, women, and the elderly.

Stereotype threat

Learning objectives.16 Which kinds of intelligence are not measured by standard IQ tests.17 The meaning of emotional intelligence and why it might be as important as IQ.18 Some reasons that Asian children perform much better in school than American students do

Sternberg s triarchic theory Componential (analytic) Comparing, analyzing, and evaluating This type of process correlates best with IQ Experiential (creative) Inventing solution to new problems Transfer skills to new situations Contextual (practical) Applying the things you know to everyday contexts

Domains of intelligence Emotional intelligence Ability to identify your own and other people s emotions accurately Ability to express your emotions clearly Ability to manage emotions in self and others Appears to be biologically based (Damasio, 14)

What do you know? An intelligence test developed using the cognitive approach is most likely to be well validated and standardized. A. True B. False

What do you know? Most intelligence tests developed using the psychometric approach assess emotional intelligence. A. True B. False

Comparison: The Psychometric and Cognitive Approaches to Intelligence

What do you think? Motivation is at least as, or more important than, intelligence in order to achieve success. A.True B.False

Motivation and intelligence Comparing 100 most successful men with 100 least successful, researchers found that motivation, not IQ, made the difference. Motivation to work hard at intellectual tasks differs as a function of culture. American children are as knowledgeable as Asian children on general skills.

Grades, IQ, and self-discipline

What do you think? Culture influences our beliefs about whether math ability comes from studying or is innate. A. True B. False

Beliefs about intelligence Asian parents, teachers, and students are more likely to believe that math ability comes from studying. What s the Secret of Math Success? Americans are more likely to view ability as innate. American parents had lower academic standards for kids. American children value education less.

Learning objectives.1 Whether animals can think.20 Whether some animal species can master aspects of human language

What do you think? Animals can think in some of the same ways that humans do. A. True B. False

Animal intelligence Cognitive ethology The study of cognitive processes in nonhuman animals Studies show that animals can Anticipate future events Use numbers to label quantities Coordinate activities with other animals

Theory of mind A system of beliefs about The way one s own mind and the minds of others work How individuals are affected by their beliefs and feelings

What do you think? Animals can be taught to communicate in ways that resemble language. A. True B. False

Animals and language Language is a critical element in human cognition. Many species can be taught to communicate in ways that resemble language. Chimpanzees and bonobos converse with humans using American Sign Language and symbol board systems. An African grey parrot was taught to count, classify, and compare objects using English words. Whether these behaviors are language depends on definition of language.

Thinking about animal thinking Anthropomorphism The tendency to falsely attribute human qualities to nonhuman beings Anthropodenial The tendency to think, mistakenly, that human beings have nothing in common with other animals