Chapter 08 Learning (How Do We Learn) Week 4 A Study Guide
what do psychologist use to explain emotional intelligence?
-A level of Social Intelligence (the know how involved in understanding social situations and managing ourselves successfully. -Four abilities: Perceiving Understanding Managing Using -Emotionally Intelligent People are both socially aware and self aware. -They can read other peoples emotions, know what to say to grieving friend, encourage a workmate, and manage conflict, delay gratification. -Contributes to life success, key aspect consisting of perceiving, understanding, managing, and using emotions.
Some problems can be solved through trial and error other methods we use what?
-Algorithms: a step by step process that guarantees a solution.
To be diagnosed with an intellectual disability, a person must meet what two criteria?
-An intelligence test score indicating performance in the lowest three (3) percent of the population or around 70% or below. -Difficulty adapting to normal demands of independent living as expressed in three areas or skills: Conceptual: language, reading, and concepts of money, time, and number. Social: Interpersonal skills, being socially acceptable, following basic rules and laws, avoiding being victimized Practical: Health and personal care, occupational skill and travel. Note: In mild forms, intellectual disability, like normal intelligence, results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors
************Discuss the history of Testing?
-Began in 20th century France, Alfred Binet developed Mental Age Tests: -Stanford Binet Test: widely used American revision By Terman at Stanford Univ. of Binets original intelligence test.
Discuss how children acquire language?
-Children: -Learn grammar as they discern patterns in the language they hear. -What ever language we experience as children, spoken or signed we lean its specific grammar and vocabulary. -Begin speaking mostly in nouns (kitty, da-da) rather than verbs and adjectives. Critical Periods: -Receptive Language: Development from simplicity to complexity. - Four (4) months of age recognize differences in speech sounds, read lips, prefer to look at face that matches sound. Recognize facial movements for sounds "ah" "ee". -Ability to understand what is said and said to and about them. -Break language they hear into individual words (adults find hard to do when learning a new language) Productive Language: -Ability to produce words matures after Receptive Language. -Babbling Stage: around 14 months nature allows a wide variety of sounds. Sample all the sounds they can make. Around 10 months babbling has changed so that a trained ear can identify household language. -One Word Stage: -Occurs around 1st birthday. -Use of sounds usually only one barley recognizable syllable, such as (ma, da). -Begins to sound more like family language. -One word may equal a sentence "Doggy" (look at the dog out there) Two Word Stage: - Occurs around 18 months, word learning expands rapidly, one word each week to one word each day. -Entered around second birthday. -Use Telegraphic Speech: at two years old contains mostly nouns and verbs. -Moving out of Two Word Stage, quickly begin speaking in longer phrases. -By elementary school, understand complex sentences.
Explain how confirmation bias, heuristics, fixation and over confidence can interfere with problem solving?
-Confirmation Bias: in real life this can have grave results. We prefer information that supports or belief. We get hung up on an incorrect view of a problem Heuristics: by attempting to speed through a problem because we think we know the answer or solution without using a more methodical approach. Our likely hood of error is increased as we attempt to speed through the problem - solution process. (Representative Heuristics: believing that a person, situation, fits with in a specify prototype without evaluating the possibility that our outlook may be wrong.) (Availability Heuristics: ). distorts our judgements of risk. Fixation: once we get hung up on an incorrect view of a problem, it is hard to approach it from a different point angle (point of view) gives us the inability to to come to a fresh perspective. This is an obstacle in problem solving. -Fixedness: does not allow up to come to fresh perspective, (or view the issue or problem from a different angle) -Over Confidence: we believe we are right even with out double checking ourselves (overstating the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements). It effects life and death decisions, sometimes the less we know the more definite we sound.
What is the Intelligence Quotient Test?
-Developed by German psychologist William Sterns. -defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus) IQ=ma/ca x100. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance of a given age is assigned a score of 100. -original IQ formula worked fairly well for children but not for adults. -Most intelligence tests including Stanford - Binet, no longer compute an IQ. -Instead the assign a score that represents a test takes performance relative to the average performance (arbitrarily set at 100) of others the same age. -68% of those taking intelligence test fall between 85 and 115.
What are the factors associated with creativity?
-Expertise -Imaginative Thinking Skills - A venturesome Personality -Intrinsic Motivation - Creative Enviorment
Describe the value of thinking in images?
-Mental practice relies on thinking in images. -Once a skill is learned, even watching that skill triggers brain activity in the same areas that are active when we use the skill. -Imagined pain activities the same neural networks that are active during actual pain. -To benefit from your fantasy time, its better to imagine how to reach your goal than focused on your desired destination.
********Discuss the difficulty of defining intelligence and presents arguments as a to whether intelligence should be considered one general ability of many specific abilities?
-People assign this term to the qualities that enable success in their own time and place. - Intelligence: the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Arguments for Intelligence: -
describe the criteria for judging intelligence tests?
-Standardization: defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group. -Normal Curve: curves highest point is the average score. Moving out from the average toward either extreme we find fewer people. (a bell shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes, most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes. -Reliability: Gives consistent scores, no matter who takes the test or when they take it. any standardized test will not say much unless it is reliable. (the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test on alternative forms of the test or on retesting.) Validity: the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed. A test can be reliable but not valid. Predictive Validity: the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict. (They should predict future performance and some extent they do.)
Explain why critical periods are an important concept in children's language learning?
-Their is a period for mastering certain aspects language before the language window closes. -The window closes gradually, later than usual exposure to language at age 2 or 3 unleashes their brains idle language capacity, producing a rush of language. -At around age 7 if not exposed to language or exposed to low quality they lose their ability to master any language. -After language window closes learning a new language is difficult.
Describe Modern Test of Mental Abilities such as WAIS?
-Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale WAIS -most widely used individual intelligence test. -Version for kids Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children WISC -consists of 15 subtests broken into verbal and performance areas. -Similarities -Vocabulary -Block Design -Letter - Number Sequencing -Yields both overall intelligence score and separate scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, processing speed. -Helps to realize Binte's aim: to identify those who could benefit from special educational opportunities for improvement
When making complex decisions, we benefit by letting a problem "incubate" while we attend other things, how does this help in our decision is making?
-When approaching a difficult decision involving a lot of facts, we are wise to gather up as much information as we can, and give our selves time to not think about. -Our ever active brain, non conscious thinking (reasoning, problem solving, decision making, planning) is surprisingly wise.
Define cognition
-all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating information. -Forming Concepts: mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people. -Form Concepts by developing Prototype: a mental image of best example of a category.
What is Wernicke's area?
A brain area usually in the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension and expression
What is down syndrome?
A disorder of varying intellectual and physical severity caused by an extra copy of Chromosome 21 in the persons genetic make up. -People diagnosed with a mild intellectual disability / just below the score of 70 may be able to live independently. chromosome 21 hypotonia, flat face, small ears, nose, chin hearing loss, language delays, artic
What is the Broca's area?
A frontal lobe area, usually in the left hemisphere, (Left Frontal Lobe) that helps control language expression by directing the muscle movements of involved speech.
What is algorithm?
A methodical, logical, rule or procedure that guarantees you will solve a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier but also more error prone Heuristics.
What is insight?
A sudden realization of the solution to a problem; contrasts with strategy based solutions.
What is the definition of Confirmation Bias?
A tendency to search for information that supports your preconceptions and to ignore or distort evidence that contradicts them.
Define Cognition and compare algorithms, heuristics, and insight as problem solving strategies?
A. Cognition: all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Concepts: is one activity of cognition, through forming mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or people Problem Solving Strategies: Algorithms: a step by step procedure that guarantees a solution. Methodical, logical rule of following procedures that guarantees we will solve a particular problem. Taking time and effort often a lot of time and effort. Heuristics: Simpler thinking strategies that algorithms. Allows us to make decisions and solve problems efficiently usually speedier but more error prone than algorithm Insight: an abrupt, true seeming, and often satisfying solution. A sudden realization of the solution to a problem, contrasts with strategy based solutions.
What is Intuition?
An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning.
Creative requires a certain level of what?
Aptitude (ability to lear)
___________ operates when we estimate how common and event is, based on its mental availability. Anything that makes information pop into mind its vividness, recentness, or distinctiveness can make it common place, this is know as what?
Availability Heuristic
Trace the course of language acquisition from the babbling stage through the two-word stage
Babbling Stage •Beginning at 3 to 4 months •Infants spontaneously utter random sounds •NOT initially an imitation of adult speech; however, by about 10 months, phonemes approximate phonemes used by caregivers. One-Word Stage •From about age 1 to 2 •Speech is mostly in single words •Comprehension is higher than produced speech Two-Word Stage •Approaching age 2 •Mostly two-word statements •Telegraphic Speech: Resembles the short messages once sent by telegram ("go car") •Child omits "auxiliary" words
Describe the effects of framing, belief perseverance, and intuition on our judgement and decision making?
Belief Perseverance: Our tendency to cling to our beliefs even when the evidence proves us wrong. To stand by our belief that our solution or point of view is correct while discounting challenging evidence. Once a belief takes root, it takes stronger to change theme than it did to create them. (Smart thinkers can avoid Belief Perseverance by considering the opposite) Framing: How an issue is presented (posed) can be a very powerful tool of persuasion. Framing can significantly affect our decision and judgments. (Nudging): Framing choices in a way that encourages people to make decisions that support their personal well being. Intuition: Unreasoned thinking an plague our efforts to solve problems, assess risk, and make wise decisions. -Intuition is recognition born of experience, implicit (unconscious knowledge) we learned and recorded in our brains but cannot explain. -Intuition is usually adaptive, our leaned associations surface as gut feelings, right or wrong. -Unconscious automatic influences are constantly affecting our judgements.
For people with brain damage, electrical stimulation of this area ____________________ can help restore speaking abilities?
Broca's area
How can over confidence have an adaptive value?
By believing that their decisions are right, and the have time to spare, self confident people tend to live happily. They make tough decisions more easily, they seem competent.
What is the High Extreme of Intelligence Test?
Children whose intelligence test scores indicate extraordinary academic gifts mostly thrive. Normally with IQ scores over 135. -Attain higher levels of education -Most likely to claim patents -Math Stars, or humanities professors, or write a novel -doctors, lawyers, professors, scientists, writers, -
What is Belief Perseverance?
Clinging to a belief even after evidence has proven them wrong.
When comparing High and Low intelligence scores who are these measured?
Compares to people who score at the two extremes of the normal curve
Insightful as we are, other cognitive tendencies may lead us astray, leading us to seek evidence for our ideas more eagerly than we seek evidence against them, what is this called?
Confirmation Bias
How many ingredients does Robert Sternberg believe Creativity has?
Expertise: solid knowledge base, furnishes the ideas, images, and phrases we use as mental building blocks. Imaginative Thinking Skills: the ability to see things in novel ways to recognize patterns and to make connections. A Venturesome Personality: seeks new experiences, tolerates gray areas, takes risks, and stays focused despite obstacles. Intrinsic Motivation: arises internally rather than from external rewards or pressures (extrinsic motivation) A Creative Environment: sparks, supports, and refines creative ideas a.
List four cognitive skills shared by the great apes and humans and outline the argument for and against the idea that animals and humans share the capacity for language?
From Concepts: Mental grouping of Similar objects, events, ideas, people. Create Insight: Sudden realization of the solution to a problem, Transmit Culture: Using different tools , grooming, and courtship Self awareness Altruism Cooperation And group aggression For Idea of shared language capacity: Against Shared language capacity:
**********. Discuss the evidence for genetic and environmental contributions to individual intelligence and explain what psychologists mean by the heritability of intelligence?
Genetic Contributions: Many genes contribute to intelligence, Low percentage of genetic contribution for intelligence -Genetic influences become more apparent as we accumulate life experiences -Adopted children intelligence scores resemble more of their biological parents much more than of their adoptive families. -Over Time verbal abilities become more like their biological parents, Environmental Contributions: -Small genetic advantages can trigger social experiences that multiply our original skills -Environmental Conditions of severe deprivation can work in revers depressing physical and cognitive development -Poor environmental conditions that accompany poverty, depress cognitive development and produce stress the worsen cognitive performance -Environmental conditions are more predictive of intelligence scores -sensory deprivation, social isolation, poverty can slow normal brain development -Enriched environmental conditions don't lead to higher intelligence Heritability of Intelligence: Estimates range between 50% - 80% -Identical twins share same genes, share same mental abilities, music, math, and sports -Mental ability similarities between adopted children and their adoptive families lessen with age.
When we need make snap judgments _________ enables quick thinking that often serves us well, what does this?
Heuristics
What is Functional Fixedness?
In cognition the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, an obstacle to problem solving.
EEGs and FMRI show bursts of activity associated with sudden flashes of insight, these bursts of activity occur where _________________?
In the Right Temporal Lobe just above the ear.
What is the Low Extreme of Intelligence Test?
Intellectual Disability (formerly called mental retardation) a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by intelligence test score of 70 or below and difficulty adapting to the demands of life. -a developmental condition that is apparent before age 18. -sometimes has a physical cause Down Syndrome
As we judge the odds and make our decisions, we seldom take the time and effort to reason systematically, what is this called?
Intuition: our fast, automatic, unreasoned feelings and thoughts.
What is the availability heuristic?
Judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory, if an event comes readily to mind (perhaps because it was vivid) we assume it must be common.
What is Representative Heuristic?
Judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes, may lead us to ignore other relevant information.
What is Convergent Thinking?
Narrowing the available solutions to determine the single best solution to a problem. (SATs required Convergent Thinking, the ability to create a single answer.)
What are the abilities associated with Emotional Intelligence?
Perceiving: Emotions (recognizing them in faces, music, and stories) Understanding: Emotions (knowing how to express them in varied situations) Using: Emotions to facilitate adaptive or creative thinking
When something closely matches our ___________ of a ____________ we readily recognize it as an example of the ______________?
Prototype, Concept , Concept.
If people have a prototype (stereotype) the may unconsciously us this __________________ when judging individuals?
Representative Heuristic (the result, even if unintended can be racism, prejudice,)
To judge the likelihood of something by intuitively comparing it to particular prototype is the use of what?
Representative Heuristics
What are heuristics?
Simple thinking strategy that often allows you to make judgements and solve problems efficiently, usually speedier but also more error prone that Algorithms.
What do the abuses of the early intelligence tests serve to remind us?
That science can reflect scientists values. Behind a screen of scientific objectivity, ideology sometimes lurks.
What is Divergent Thinking?
The ability to consider many different options and to think in novel ways. (Example: Creativity tests how many uses can you think of for a brick)
What is Creativity?
The ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. (The ability to produce new and valuable ideas.)
What is heritability?
The proportion of variation among people in a group that we can attribute to genes. The Heritability of a trait may vary depending on the population and the environment.
The Representativeness and Availability Heruristics are some intuitive mental short cuts that can even lead what?
The smartest people to make dumb decisions.
What is the Babbling Stage
The stage in speech development, beginning around four (4) months, during which an infant spontaneously utters various sounds that are not all related to the household language.
What is the One Work Stage?
The stage in speech development, form about age 1 or 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words.
What is Over Confidence?
The tendency to be more confidence than correct. To overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements.
The linguist Noam Chomsky believed that language is an unlearned human trait, separate from other parts of human cognition, that humans are born with a built in readiness a disposition to learn grammar rules, what is this disposition called?
Universal Grammer
What is savant syndrome?
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing
What is intellectual disability?
a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life
What is general intelligence?
a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
What is a Prototype?
a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).
what is an intelligence test?
a method for assessing an individuals mental aptitude's and comparing them with those of others using numerical scores.
What is an aptitude test?
a test designated to predict a persons future performance, aptitude in the capacity to learn.
what is an Achievement Test?
a test designed to assess what a person has learned
What is Grammar?
in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
What is language?
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.
What is savant syndrome?
refers to having isolated "islands" of high ability amidst a sea of below-average cognitive and social functioning
What is intelligence?
the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
What is emotional intelligence?
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions
