Psychology: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence Essay Example

strategy that may or may not work Not guaranteed to solve a given problem, they simplify problem solving by letting you reduce the number of possible solutions One common heuristics to break problem is subtotals (writing a paper) Working backward starting with the end point, you determine the steps necessary to reach your final goal (making a budget) Key successful problem solving = flexibility Insight and Intuition Insight: mull a problem over.

How a problem Is salary to a solved problem Rarely occur through the consciousness manipulation of concepts or information Intuition: though process involved Two stages: Guiding stage ; integrative stage Guiding stage: you perceive a pattern in the information you're considering, but not consciously Integrative stage: representation of the pattern becomes conscious usually in the form of a haunch or hypothesis New idea that integrates new information with existing knowledge stored in long term memory Obstacles to Solving Problems Functional Fixedness: When we view objects as functioning only in the usual or customary way. A Often prevents us from seeing the full range of ways in which an object can be used. Mental set: the tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that have worked in the past A Most likely to block insight in areas in which you are already knowledgeable or well trained Single-Feature Model: you base your decision on one single feature when the decision is a minor one it can be helpful Additive model: complex decisions.

Generate a list of factors that are most important, then rate each alternative for each factor using an arbitrary scale (-5 to +5) Elimination by aspects model: evaluate all the alternative one

characteristic at a time starting with the feature you consider most important Availability Heuristic Availability Heuristic: estimate the likelihood of an event on the basis of how readily available other instances of the event are in our memory Memories are easy to recall, more likely to occur Representatives Heuristic Representatives Heuristic: used to make an estimate. Estimate an events likelihood by comparing how similar its essential features are to our prototype of the event. Prototype most typical example of an object or event

The Characteristics of Language

Purpose of language is to communicate, to express meaningful information in a way that can be understood by others Language requires symbols- can be sounds, written words, sign language, formalized gestures Language is very flexible Every language has its own unique syntax or set of rules for combining words Important characteristic of language-generative(generate an infinite number of new and different phases and sentences) Displacement- communicate meaningfully about ideas, objects and activities that are not physically present. The Bilingual Mind: Are two languages better than one? Bilingualism: fluency in two or more languages, is the norm Balanced proficiency: when speakers are equally proficient in two languages Alchemist's disease/dementia: symptoms include deterioration in memory and other cognitive functions Animal Communication and Cognition Animal Cognition: reflects an active area of psychological research Intelligence: as the global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment Alfred Bines Alfred Bines: develop procedures to identify students who might require special help

Bines devised a series of tests to measure different mental abilities Did not have test abilities such as reading or mathematics Mental age: that was different from a child's

chronological age Believed that intelligence was too complex a quality to describe with a single number Lewis Lewis Termed: The test was translated and adapted by Stanford University psychologist His revision was called the Stanford-Bines Intelligence Scale Intelligence quotient/ 'Q: Termed adopted the suggestion of a German psychologist that scores on the Stanford- Bines test be expressed in terms of a single number World War 1 and Group Intelligence Testing Army psychologist developed the Army Alpha and Beta tests.

Army Alpha: administered in writing Army Beta: administered orally to recruits and draftees who could not read After world war one the test were adopted for civilian use David Heckler and the Heckler Intelligence Scales David Heckler: In charge of testing adults of widely varying cultural and socioeconomic back rounds and ages at a large hospital in NY Designed and intelligence test called the Heckler Adult Intelligence Scale published in 1955 Verbal score: represented scores on subtest of vocabulary, comprehension, knowledge of mineral information and other verbal tasks Performance score: reflected scores on largely nonverbal subtest, such as identifying the missing part in incomplete pictures, arranging pictures to tell a story, or arranging blocks to match a given pattern Heckler believed that intelligence involved a variety of mental abilities The subtest scores on the WAIS also proved to have practical and clinical value Provided an overall global IQ score Principles of Test Construction Achievement tests: designed to measure a person's level of knowledge, skill or accomplishment in a particular area such as mathematics or a foreign language Aptitude tests: designed to assess a person's capacity to benefit from education or training. Goal is to predict your

ability to learn certain types of info or perform certain skills Standardization Standardization: the test is given to a large number of subjects who are representative of the group of people for whom the test is designed Norms: an individual score is compared and interpreted Normal curve/ Normal distribution: IQ tests such as norms closely follow a pattern of individual differences Reliability Reliability: a good test must have.