Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

CHAPTER 7:Thinking and Language

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Thought and Language

Concepts

Solving Problems

Making Judgments

Language

The Relationship Between Thought and Language

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Concepts

Concept A mental grouping of persons, ideas, events,

or objects that share common properties

Prototype A “typical” member of a category, one that

has most of the defining features of that category

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Concepts A Semantic Network

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems Representing the Problem

Image A mental representation of visual

information

Mental Models Intuitive theories about the way things work

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems Representing the Problem

Mental-Rotation Tasks

Imagine a Capital letter T. Rotate it 90 degrees to the right. Put a triangle to the left of the figure, pointing to the right. Rotate the figure 90 degrees to the right. Which of these figures is the correct one?

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems Representing the ProblemCan Baboons Mentally Rotate Objects?

Baboons were trained to use joystick

Shown sample stimulus Then shown two comparison

stimuli, one was the rotated form of the sample

Task was to select the comparison stimulus that matched the original sample

Baboons learned to pick the correct stimulus 70% of the time

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving ProblemsGenerating SolutionsTrial and Error

A problem-solving strategy in which several solutions are attempted until one is found that works

Algorithm A problem-solving procedure that is guaranteed

to produce a solutionHeuristic

A mental shortcut that allows one to make judgments that are quick but often in error

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving ProblemsGenerating Solutions

Tower of Hanoi ProblemThe task is to move three rings from peg A to peg C.Only the top ring on a peg may be moved.A larger ring cannot be placed above a smaller one.

Hint:It helps tobreak the task into subgoals.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving ProblemsGenerating Solutions

The Cheap-Necklace Problem

Make a necklace for 15¢ or less. It costs 2¢ to open a link; 3¢ to close a link.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems Generating Solutions

The Nine-Dot Problem

Connect all 9 dots.Use only 4 lines.Do not lift your pencil

from the page after you begin drawing.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving ProblemsGenerating Solutions

Duncker's Candle Problem

Using only the objects shown in the picture, mount the candle to the wall.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems Solution to the Cheap-Necklace Problem

Using all four chains is not necessary to solve the problem. Solving this problem may require an incubation period followed by insight into the solution.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems Solution to the Nine-Dot Problem

People do not realize that they their lines can be drawn outside the box.

Failure to solve this problem is often due to representation failure.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems Solution to Duncker's Candle Problem

The thumbtack box can also be used as a shelf.

Failure to solve this problem is often due to functional fixedness.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems “Blind Spots” in Problem SolvingFunctional Fixedness

Tendency to think of objects only in terms of their usual functions

Mental Set Tendency to return to a problem-solving strategy that worked in

the past

Confirmation Bias Inclination to search only for evidence that will verify one’s

beliefs

Belief Perseverance Tendency to cling to beliefs even after they have been discredited

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Making Judgments A Conditional-Reasoning Problem with a Familiar Context

Each card has a drink on one side, a person’s age on the other.

Are the beer drinkers all over 21 years old?

Test this idea using as few cards as possible.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Making Judgments Biases in JudgmentRepresentativeness Heuristic

Tendency to estimate the likelihood of an event in terms of how typical it seems

Availability Heuristic Tendency to estimate the likelihood of an event in

terms of how easily instances of it can be recalled

Illusion of Control Tendency for people to believe that they can control

chance events that mimic skill situations This may explain why some people gamble.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Making Judgments Biases in Judgment, continued

Anchoring Effect The tendency to use the initial value as a

reference point in making a new numerical estimate

Framing Effect Biasing effects on decision making due to the

way in which a choice is worded

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Solving Problems and Making JudgmentsSteps in Critical Thinking

Critical ThinkingThe process of solving problems and making decisions through careful evaluation of evidence

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Language Characteristics of Human Language I

Semanticity The property of language that accounts for the

communication of meaning Phonemes

• Basic, distinct sounds of a spoken language Morpheme

• The smallest meaningful unit of a language Phrase

• A group of words that act as a unit to convey meaning Sentence

• An organized sequence of words

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Language Characteristics of Human Language II Generativity

The property of language that accounts for the capacity to use a limited number of words to produce an infinite variety of expressions

Syntax• Rules of grammar that govern the arrangement of

words in a sentence

Displacement The property of language that accounts for the capacity

to communicate about matters that are not in the here-and-now

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Can Animals Learn Language?

Many apes of several species have learned various different signing systems.

Is it language? Semanticity: “Language apes” satisfy this criterion. Generativity: Apes can use the same words in

different orders to initiate different actions. Displacement: Researchers say apes refer to past

events, but most evidence is anecdotal. This debate continues.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

The Relationship Between Thought and Language The Linguistic-Relativity Hypothesis

The hypothesis that language determines, or at least influences, the way we think

This leads to a prediction that people of different cultures, who speak different languages, must think in different ways.

Evidence indicates that language influences but does not completely determine thought.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

The Relationship Between Thought and Language

Labels Can Distort MemoryParticipants were

shown figures on the left, with different labels.

When asked to redraw the figures, the new drawings fit the labels they had been given.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

The Relationship Between Thought and Language Culture, Language, & ThinkingThe Dani – aboriginal

people of Papua New Guinea – have only two words for colors.

Mola (all colors on the left) and Mili (all colors on the right)

They can distinguish among the different colors, however.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Psychological Impact of Sexist Language Guidelines for Nonsexist LanguageCommon Sexist Terms Nonsexist Alternatives

Man, mankind People, human beings

Manpower Work force, personnel

He, his He or she, his or her

Freshman First-year student, frosh

Chairman Head, chair, chairperson