PSYCH 3130 MIDTERM - PSYCHOLOGY OF THINKING UWO
problems with feature accounts (geometric and contrast)
(feature accounts are called that bc assumes youre counting features) -problem 1: feature selection is flexible and context specific - ie B found to be both similar AND different from a target -problem 2: potential features may be high in number or infinite depending on how you ask the questions
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
(linguistic relativity) - ones native language determines what you think about and your ability to perceive things - Whorf: "we dissect nature, we cut nature up" - challenges Plato, says that concepts and categories are determined exclusively by ones native language not by the natural nature of things - language determines thinking, cognition and perception
linguistic differences in time perception study
- English speakers talk about time horizontally VS Mandarin speakers talk about time vertically - FOUND: after vertical prime Mandarin were faster and reverse is true for English - BUT, subsequent studies found this result can be overwritten if you train English speakers on vertical time - then they exhibit the vertical rather than the horizontal prime effect
problem solving
- a function of concepts - can find solution in memory by comparing current problem to representations of similar previous problems - concept based problem solving
predictions and inferences
- a function of concepts - inductive inference: when an object/item is classified as belonging to a certain category we use that category to make predictions about other attributes that may not be immediately present but we know to be associated with that category
communication
- a function of concepts - most effective way to communicate with others is by referring to a known object/category
how to react
- a function of concepts -concept is. cognitive representation that can influence how a person reacts, once an object is classified as a member of a category we behave toward it as a member of that category - problem with this: racial stereotypes
assumption of minimality
- a thing must be closer/more similar to itself than it is to any other object ie: A:A < A:B -this is sometimes violated: study showed that if S is shown twice on screen subjects are faster to correctly say that the 2 tokens are similar than if the twice-shown letter is W. -the letter S is more similar to itself than the letter W is to itself -another ex: the letter C is more similar to the letter O than W is to itself as measured by inter letter confusions, its easier to confuse these 2 -study found letter M is more recognizes than letter H when presented quickly -"100" is seen as an anchor standard: things are similar to it not the other way around
naming advantage
- basic level categories have this - i.e. if a picture of Granny Smith - more likely to say "apple" and not "fruit" (superordinate) and not "Granny Smith" (subordinate) - we are most likely to use basic level names - but, if you are an expert, your basic level is actually the subordinate level
linear separability
- categories are linearly separable if one can categorize the examples perfectly by adding up and weighting the evidence from individual features - category set for which some linear function den partition the objects into the correct categories - nonlinearly separable are no more difficult to learn than linearly separable, but prototype model cannot learn nonlinearly separable categories - however exemplar model, relying on assumption that classification is based on remembered exemplar traces can
exemplar theory
- category is represented by many stored memory traces, called exemplars - ie rather than classify an animal as a "dog" because of its similarity with abstraction we classify it as such because its similar to many things we've already classified as a dog - strong appeal because it eliminates need for an abstraction process during acquisition - decisions are based on similarity to individual items stored in memory - makes predictions that prototype model cannot make like linear separability - exemplar model relies on remembered traces in memory and therefore CAN learn NONlinearly separable categories whereas prototype model can't
probabilistic view
- category membership is NOT definite - membership is GRADED: category members vary in how well they fit into the category - typical exemplars are recognized more quickly because they share more features with other category members - typical category member is closer to the centre of a category - this view explains why a dog with a missing leg is not considered to be less of a dog - 2 views: 1. prototype and 2. exemplar
forced choice tasks
- compare 2 items to a standard and force them to choose which is more similar - which is more like the standard
conceptual metaphors
- constrain and influence the thinking process - plays a role in how society thinks of itself and in politics - i.e. arguments as a war, on Iraq vs in Iraq, time as money
count nouns vs mass nouns study
- count nouns: entities/objects/kinds i.e. 1 horse - mass nouns: "pile" of leaves "dash" of salt etc - study: seeing if children learn to do this through expose to native language - FOUND: 2 year olds showed distinction between object and substance and suggests distinction may be acquired via language because both object and term were new
similarity is a domain general construct
- domain general process do not depend on a specific type of info - memory works the same for all things ie comparison, retrieval memory representations
naming common objects study
- evidence against sapir whorf (linguistic relativity) - spanish VS English: Spanish has 1 word for containers/jugs/etc. which is "Frasco" - if linguistic determinism is true, Spanish people should show less ability to classify them into different categories - BUT, did NOT find this - found English and Spanish do not differ
colour cognition study
- evidence against sapir whorf/linguistic relativity) - reasoned if language constrains thought, native language may constrain type of colours that can be perceived and used - looked at monolexic colours - reasoned that if there are languages with only 2-3 words for colours and if linguistic determinism is correct then speakers of that language should have difficulty categorizing colours with same name - tested Dani people who only have "mili" (cold, dark) and "mala" (light, warm) -used paired associate learning task - focal colours = best example i.e. for red focal means intensified by most English speakers as best example of red - FOUND: speakers of Dani language showed SAME advantage for focal over non focal colours that English speakers showed - this suggests that even though words to denote colours are little, they can perceive the same colour differences as English `
linguistic inferences
- example: Fox News: "Fair and Balanced News" implies other news stations are unfair and unbalanced - example: War in Iraq VS War on Iraq imp different things - how the war was being discussed has an effect on how its perceived
memory and language
- example: eyewitness car crash "smash" vs "bump" - "remember" broken glass week later - shows language has an effect on the mental representations that are being used to answer questions later on
rosch study
- found some exemplars possessed more attributes that were also shared by many members of the other category - these highly typical exemplars were often first to come to mind and were likely to be rated highly typical - this is problematic for classical view because classical would say these typical exemplars should not receive behavioural privilege (but they do)
linear separability studies
- have found as category size and complexity increases, so does reliance on linear reparability constraint - not only did subject find linearly separable categories easier to learn they also learned to classify prototypes and high typicality items as well - exemplar learning may help us learn irregular categories ie. dolphins as mammals and not fish
hierarchies and the basic level
- idea that concepts at each node can inherit properties from the nodes above - nodes below can either be a member of a subordinate category " is a " links or properties " has a " links - i.e. canaries can sing VS canaries have skin skin takes longer to verify because its P2 (have to travel 2 nodes)
classical view of concepts
- includes theories known as semantic network and hierarchal approaches - emphasize similarity within and between categories and organization of concepts in memory - emphasizes strict classes - 2 core assumptions: 1. necessary and sufficient features are qualifiers for category membership 2. categorization is absolute and all members are of equal standing
Kempton
- investigated real world consequences of metaphors - metaphors show real measurable differences in behaviour - feedback theory VS valve theory, which one you believe actually determines your behaviour - feedback theory: thermostat senses the temperature and turns the furnace on or off to maintain temperature - valve theory: thermostat controls amount of heat coming out like a valve - though only feedback is correct, both theories actually had effect on thermostat adjustment behaviour - valve people = more extreme adjustments
analogy
- language an be used via analogy and metaphor to guide understanding - good analogy relates concepts that may have a similar deep structure even though they may be different on the surface - listener of analogy has to attend to deep structure to realize the similarities - i.e. "an atom is like a solar system"
family resemblance
- members of a category/class resemble each other but dont hare one single defining characteristic - each member may be similar to al other members i.e. Wittgenstein games
laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers article
- ppl who multitasked on a laptop during lecture scored lower on a test than those who didnt multitask -people who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower than those who weren't in direct view -resuts show multitasking on a laptop is a distraction to user and to fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content
typicality effect
- problematic for classical view because it occurs hen people rate some category exemplar as better/more typical member than others
evidence for prototype theory
- random dot polygons study - found people abstract a prototype from their exemplar experience -found the previously unseen prototype and highly typical exemplars are strongly endorsed as category members - whereas low typicality is not endorsed - shows typicality gradient - shows learning new categories involves a prototype abstraction process
universal conceptual metaphors
- reflect a conceptual similarity between a physical thing and a psychological concept i.e. happiness is "up" - may be universal because all tied to physical state of being - physiological connection between being on top and being I power helps to explain why metaphors are universal and not tied to a specific language
rosch
- said basic level categories are the most abstract at which objects tend to have same shape, same motor movements and share parts
why study similarity
- similarity underlies many important cognitive constructs - similarity is a "domain general" costruct - similarity can be a diagnostic tool - experts: have a tendency to understand similarity between 2 things in a deeper way than novices do - if you're unfamiliar w something you rely more on surface information - similarity is grounded in direct perception: direct correspondence between assessment of 2 things and the physical description of those objects
prototype theory
- states category is represented by a central tendency; a prototype: a summary representation of the category - objects are classified by comparing them to the prototype, the object is classified into the category with the most similar prototype to it
pen is mightier than the keyboard article
-advantages of longhand vs laptop note taking -laptops impair learning bc their use results in shallower processing -laptops make ppl transcribe lectures verbatim rather than processing info and reframing it in their own words FOUND: - for factual Qs = no differences btw laptop and hand - for conceptual Qs = longhand did better because deeper processing is requires -even after warning ppl laptop does bad they still did worse -found this in all 3 studies
why categorize?
-all intelligent system categorize info -efficiency -learning would be impossible without categories
retrieval cues
-association strength: a good retrieval cue is one that has strong associations to the information -connections are strengthened by repeated associations to other things -the more close 2 things are together the more likely they are to act as retrieval cues
broadcast transmission/directional reception
-can be sent in many directions but perceived in one direction
surprisingly powerful influence of drawing on memory article
-drawing info is better than just writing it down -drawing improves memory by promoting integration of elaborative, pictorial and motor codes -when you draw stuff in order to remember you have spatial and visual motor code: your hand knows how to do things, you elaborate more -better in younger and older
second cognitive offloading study
-found less likely to use technology if you had to walk to sofa to get computer/ipod VS when ur at ur desk and comp is right infract of you -therefore if you want to avoid temptation of ur [hpne put it farther away from you
similarity and reasoning/prediction
-induction: arguments are stronger when composed of more similar premises -induction allows you to predict further outcomes, predict something you haven't seen based on what you've seen in the past -ie opening up a squash u think its going to look the same as other squash -if we found something new about one we'd probably say it happens in the other too because they're similar -we infer the similarities -the same is NOT true about animals that look the same but behave differently ie bore vs pig
using the internet to access information inflates future use of internet to access other info
-internet condition: use internet to answer trivia -memory condition: use memory -baseline: only participate in 2nd part of study - can use internet or memory -phase 1 = difficult Qs -phase 2 = easy Qs % of google used on 2nd set: -if used internet first = 83% -if used memory first = 63% -if baseline (nothing first) = 65% when you use internet first much more likely to use internet again more likely to continue to use the internet even if you already know the answer -this is a study of cognitive offloading
hierarchical system of knowledge representation
-knowlrdge is organized in this system as a hierarchy within a spreading activation system individual nodes represet concepts and facts and links between these nodes represent relationships between conceots -attrbutes of higher order nodes are tru of lower order nodes -subordinate facts and concepts inherit properties of superordinate levels -support for hierarchical models comes in form of sentence verification task
thinking and language
-language influences how and what you think about -resolving ambiguity aka garden path -inference -predictions -metaphor: constrains thought -attack ads, argument is war, time is money
gestalt approach
-mind is not a blank state but is designed to process information and deal with representations -productive thinking: solving a problem w insight -reproductive thinking: problem solving by remembered examples and rules using previously stored info
Baddeley Working Memory Model
-multipart system that temporarily holds and manipulates information as cognitive tasks are performed (central executive: visuospatial sketch pad - episodic buffer - phonological loop = long term memory) -visuospatial sketchpad = visual semantics, spatial processing, visual memory -central executive: planning, switching, inhibition -phonological loop: language, verbal processing and verbal encoding
bias in memory
-nfl domestic example: 70% of Americans said NFL has domestic problem in reality they are less violent than general population -people remember same event differently: Obama vs trump example -most people are unaware of base rates
similarity underlies cognitive processes like
-object recognition -memory -problem solving -reasoning and prediction
availability heuristic and risk
-risk is assessed on available evidence -if it comes to mind easily we're more likely to yuse it -can be a bias bc of the information that comes to us more readily
duration division of memory
-sensory duration = less than 7 seconds -WM: short, & plus or minus 2 chunks -LTM: no limit, declarative memory
cognitive control in media multitaskers article
-testing high VS low media multitaskers -low = focus on one thing at a time -found: low media multtiaskerswere not distracted by number of distracters no matter 0 or 6 distracters they always performed the same -high media multitaskers (people who think they're good at multitasking) actually did BAD at multitasking - they were distracted by distracters
similarity and object recognition
-visual representation of an object is compared to something internal - ie youve never seen that exact pic of a pumpkin ut you've seen a pumpkin so compare to that -comparison between perception what ur looking at and internal perception of what you've experienced in the past
theories of concepts
1. classical view 2. probabilistic view 3. theory view
criticisms of the dual process appriach
1. dual process theorists have offered multiple and vague definitions 2. proposed groupings have not been well aligned ie features of behaviours thought to belong to one system are not always observed together what has been suggested as 2 systems may be behaviour on a single continuum
2 possibilities why people categorize things
1. humans form categories and concepts that reflect natural structure of world 2. humans form concepts to help achieve goals
3 core assumptions of geometric model of similarity
1. minimality 2. symmetry 3. triangle inequality
2 core assumptions of classical view
1. necessary and sufficient features are qualifiers for category membership 2. categorization is absolute and all members are of equal standing
2 opposing accounts of probabilistic theory
1. prototype theory 2. exemplar theory
2 reasons people catgories
1. stimulus generalization: people categorize in part bc of natural tendency to categorize 2. efficiency: a concept is a reduction in amount of info to be retained about a whole group of thingsz -behavioural equivalence class -cognitive efficiency 3. concepts are natural: world of objects and things are somewhat self categorizing
how does memory work within the context of thinking?
1. things are recognized and grouped together because they are SIMILAR to each other 2. memory works by allowing present events to activate previously experienced events as a function of similarity
anchor standard
100 is seen as this things are similar to it not the other way around
pinker
21st century is more peaceful era why do we not think this 1. don't have direct experience of other ers 2. don't know base rates
assumption of similarity
A:B, B:A - comparison order should not matter -but in psychological space this may not always be true -study: found North Korea is more similar to china than china is the north korea -this shows comparison order DOES matter -how you ask questions frames the space of similarity
simultaneous scanning
Concept formation strategy that keeps in mind all possible hypotheses and tries to eliminate as many as possible with each instance selection - start with all hypotheses, delete falsified ones
subordinate level
HIGH within category similarity HIGH between category similarity
basic level
HIGH within category similarity LOW between category similarity - maximizes within category similarity while minimizing between category similarity - because of this, similarity and features are a reliable cue to category membership
superordinate level
LOW within category similarity LOW between category similarity
tversky expectations study
Ps study pics for upcoming test Half told they're going to be doing free recall test other Hal told recognition test later half got kind of test they were expecting and other half got different one found: Ps performed best on type of test they studied for
classical view
a category is represented by a set go necessary and sufficient features -category membership is all or none -classification = applying this set/definition to some object -square = 4 equal sides 4 right angles = each is necessary and both are jointly sufficient
conservative focusing
a concept formation strategy of actively formulating hypotheses and selecting instances to see if your hypotheses are correct by focusing on one attribute at a time and by selecting instances that vary only in that attribute -form hypothesis, select positive example, if not correct - vary one dimension
behavioural equivalence class
a concept is this means an organism treats many different things the same way
blocking
a failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it -ie tip of tongue phenomenon
absent mindedness
a form of forgetfulness that results from inattention -everyday memory failures in remembering info
garden path sentence
a sentence in which we make the wrong interpretation initially and must go back and correct ourselves. -when the surface structure leads to the WRONG deep structure
duality of patterning
a small number of meaningless units combined to produce meaning
interchangeability
a speaker can send and receive the same signal
triangle inequality
a straight line connecting 2 points is the shorted path between 2 points, should assume euclidian distance is the shortest path, ABC < AEC -ABC AED example triangle
psychology of thinking
a topic of study within cognitive psychology -concerned with complex mental behaviours such as problems solving, reasoning, decision making and becoming an expert
procedural memory
a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits ie rules of grammar
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events -sometimes retrieval happens outside of consciousness unconditional stimulus leads to unconditioned responses leads to CS -> CR -ie we like facebook notifications
retreival
accessing data from memory
transformational model
accounts for something geometric nd contrast cant: the similarity that exists when 2 things are linked by NON featured aspects -ie ice is closer to water than to steam because ice to water has 1 step and ice to steam has 2 steps therefore ice may be more similar to water than it is to steam based on notion that there is something similar about 2 things that can be transformed into the other
elaborative rehearsal
aka thinking rehearsal involves thinking about what the to be remembered information means ie how they relate to eachother, their surrounding et. requires more effort than simple maintenance rehearsal
language as a window into cognition
analysis of language can reveal subtle changes in cognition -vocab changes in Agatha chrisies miseries are an indication of dementia -elevated use of absolutist words is a marker specific to anxiety depression ad suicidal ideation
memory and retention
are hypothetical constructs because initial event and retrieval are all that can be accessed
sorting task
ask research ps to sort objects or pictures of objects into groups based on similarity as many groups as needed based on which things go best together
x ray study
asked radiologist and med school students to examine x ray images for 2 secs and provides diagnsois experts quickly developed schema and didnt need to process aspects of image that were familiar to them caveat to expert advtange is that if experts are expecting a certain pathology to emerge and rely on memory representations to fill the details they may miss abnormalities
not thinking
basic visual perception, memory consolidation and coordination of sensory motor activity
why are multitasking and incomplete evidence challenges
because they interfere with our ability to make informed decisions/access system 2
cognitive approach
behaviours are a result of thinking and thinking involves the representation of external and internal events as internalized mental representations -mental representation: stable state of activation within a cognitive/neural system that corresponds to an event/object/idea -empahsis on symbolic processing -thought is a process of changing activation
theory of mind
being able to consider the contents of another persons thoughts ie chess example
kanzi
bonobo who learned how to communicate via almost human language
contrast model
by tversky -similarity is a result of feature matching -similarity of A to B is expressed as a linear combination of the measure of common and distinctive features -predicts asymmetric similarity because A is not constrained to equal B -f(A-b) may not = f(B-A) -ie NK is predicted to be more similar to china than vice versa if china has more salient distinctive features than NK; A is greater than B
nested concepts
bypass hierarchy altogether, people respond t statements about robins as birds more qycijky than they respond to statements about robins as animals which is in line with hierarchal model but reverse is true hen asked to verify birdlike properties of chickens vs animal like properties of chickens most people chicken is better example of animal than ird chicken seems to skip the near superordinate of bird and is connected more strongly to far superordinate of animal
definitions
can have an effect on how we think about things ie homo as mental illness
problems with classical view
cannot explain family resemblance games by wittgenstein
classical view problems
cannot explain family resemblance, typicality effect, or rosch study
hierarchical organization
categories are organized hierarchically different levels of abstraction -basic level categories: have high level of WITHIN category similarity = members of a category tend to be similar and low level of BETWEEN category similarity members of contrasting categories seem to be dissimikar -most people are experts at the basic level
probabilistic views
category membership is graded. it is not definite category has no defining properties, only characteristic ones category members share a family resemblance category is represented by a prototype a set of similar exemplars -2 views from this view: prototype and exemplar
functions of concepts
classification prediction reasoning communication -classification: decision-making process, object is assigned to a category -prediction: inference. ie how to react to objects/behave toward people -reasoning: categorical knowledge is used to solve problems and answer questions
heuristic
cognitive shortcut, relying on knworldge to solve a problem and arrive at a solution rather than a more active thought process -the more extensive the persons knowledge is the more likely the heuristic will be to provide correct answer/optimal decision advantage = its fast only really works well if u have rich knowledge to daw upon
overconfidence in memory errors
comes from 2 factors: source memory and processing fluency
examination of transformational similarity study
comparing Ie identical, mirror image, phase shift, reversal, wavelenvth etc -found single transformation pairs were rated more similar than multiple transformation pairs
theory view
concepts and categories are learned in the context of pre-existing knowledge and ones own naive theories about the world - also suggests attributes and features may be correlated - we understand the correlations and why the features are correlated - relies on knowledge about objects and concepts
spreading activation
concepts more similar think about more quickly
hypothesis strategies
conservative focusing, focus gambling, successive scanning, simultaneous scanning
evidence against Sapir whorf
dani ppl only have 2 words for colours mili aka dark mala aka light she taught them to remember colour chips by giving them a new name study found focal colours were remembered more than non focal by both Americans and dani
definitions
definition a word involves mapping all the cases until 1973 homosexuality was defined as a mental illness definition of illness suggests a problem and a potential cure
memory is not a single process
different ways to divide memory
language
discrete arbitrary productive system of suumbols that are used to express ideas, to communicate and to engage in explicitly governed thought transmission system
assumption of symmetry
distance between 1 object and another is same as distance between other object and first one not true Tverszky: nk more siilar to china than china is to north korea child is like her parent not parent it like child -this shows psych space is not quite like physical spacr
kinds of memory
duration, content, encoding, retrieval, effort
levels of processing study Craig and lockhart
elaborative rehearsal study -ppl had to remember words either structural condition, phonemic condition, or semantic condition -found: semantic did best, the more you have to think about what the word means the better you remember -items to be remembered are processed shallow, sensory Level processing deeper, semantic processing deeper processing = better recall
memory functions
encoding, storage, retrieval
availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common -thinking/executing a behaviour based on first similar example that comes to mind -Steve: farmer or librarian ex - say librarian but in reality 20x more farmers -R as third or 1st letteR? its hard to think of 3rd so say 1st but in reality way more with R as 3rd letter -risk assessments from memory: ie in reality more likely to die from vitamin poisoning than lightning -sensational events are preserved in memory: ie 9/11, school/mass shootings, abuductions all have low base rates but are available in memory -allergies: way overestimated - rarely ppl die -war on cops, its actually declining but if its fresh in our minds we think its a problem -memory affects thinking process for better or for worse -risk is assessed via memory for events, decisions are made according to those risk assessments but problem is memory is not always relaible
prototype vs exemplar mpdels
exemplar models account for many of the same things as prototype models but can be distinguished by LINEAR SEPARABILITY exemplar model can lean non linear separable categories
productivity
finite set of units are capable of producing an infinite set of voice
assumption of triangle inequality
for 3 stimuli the additive psychological distance between 2 pairs of stimuli must be equal to the distance between any one pair Jamaica is like Cuba Cuba is like Russia but Russia is not like jamaica people prioritize dimensional match and give ADC higher similarity rate than ABC so ADC seems shorter than ABC - physicaly this is not true but psychologically it is
transcience
forgetting what occurs with the passage of time
memory schema
general purpose knowledge structure that encodes info and stores info about common events and situations used fr understanding situations however, activated schema will cause a person to miss features that are inconsistent w that schema ie people often miss key features of a text if those features do not fit with a schema -paragraph example
inductive reasoning and similarity
generalizing and making predictions about future based on past events -similarity coverage model: assumes inductions and inferences are based on understanding of the similarity among items being considered -ie hubbard squash vs pumpkin: similarity between the 2 items help to determine strength of inductive interference
theories of thinking
gestalt cognitive dual process
theoretical approaches to thinking
gestalt, cognitive, dual process
categories
group of things that is represented in the concpt
major theories of concepts
hierarchical classical probabilistic
problem solving and similariry
if a new problem is similar to one solid in past6 can use set of strategies to solve this new prob probs that are similar are solved similarity
satisficing
if optmality is impossible to achieve a cognitive e system designed to seek optimal performance will fail. a more adaptive approach, one that largely describes human cognitive abilities is one which seeks a good enough but not perfect outcome
similarity and memory retrieval
includes - spreading activation theory: target activates a concept and activation spreads to others concepts - measured via lexical decision task: if word shown relates to a word thats similar it happens faster
contrast model tversky
includes interaction between shared and mismatched features - something geometric model cant do -similarity between 2 objects a and b is expressed as a linear combo of the common features shared between the 2 and distinctive features unique to each class to calculate simialiry: how many features are shared - how many unique most useful when dealing w similarity among items when some are more important/familiar
non declarative memory
includes procedural and motor memory
delclarative memory
includes semantic and episodic what u can declare is real
functions of concepts
includes: predictions/inferences, communication and problem solving
vocal-auditory channel
involves transfer between vocal and auditory apparatus
deductive reasoning
is about a group
textbook
is concerned w the study and understanding of the thought process
representativeness
is reasoning about an individual as if they were representative of the entire class
maintenance rehearsal
item specific process of repeating info that needs to be remembered ie phone number
anchoring
known info influences new information and hinking ie is percent of African nations in the UN higher or lower than 10%? higher or lower than 70%? -response is anchored
semanticity
langage has semantic content
displacement
language can refer to things that aren't immediately present
discreteness
language is composed of a discrete, finite set of units
traditional transmission
language is transmitted by traditional teaching, learning, and observation
thinking is using memory
learning, manipulating things we know, enhancing our understanding of a situation by reviewing information
lexical decision task
letter strings of words and nonword are presented and subjects are required to respond quickly whether its a word or not if subject is presented w ie fork should be faster to identify ie life
maintenance rehearsal study
listen to words and monitor for words beginning w B -ps did poorly when not expecting recall test -maintenance rehearsal has little effect on storage in LTM -showed exposure didnt help memory -found NO effect of intervening words - for words you rehearsed for a long time they were NOT remembered any better than for words that had small amount of time -concluded from this study that rehearsal of words using working mer does not guarantee better long term memory -we must have alternative to maintenance rehearsal - elaborative rehearsal
incomplete evidence
making decision quickly even if you don't have all evidence necessary ie student doing homework if she remembers correct algorithm the solution will come but if she remembers wrong she'll get it wrong
geometrical approach theory
math framework known as Multidimensional scaling MDS -similarit between 2 things is a function of the psychological space between the and psychological distance is analogous to physical distance 2 things similar = close to eachother in psychological space most similar things 2 can be = 0 distance city Blok space used when perceptually separable Euclidian space used when inseparable -MDS will compute the minimum distance among all concepts and describe distances along a number of dimensions -MDS solution plots all exemplars in MDS if ie 2 birds are similar they appear close in MDS adv of geometric: easily built into computational system
behavioural equivalence class
means although groups/class of things may be different we behave toward them in the same way
similarity is a domain general construct
means it operated according to the same principles whether or not objects and ideas are visual or auditory a computation that is carried out in the same way regardless of the context
acetaminophen
medicine. vs poison its classified as medicine bt with that comes assumption that it is safer than it is categories allow people to make quick and accurate judgements but occasionally come with cost of misclassification
semantic memory
memory for facts
episodic memory
memory for specific past events that include us and include mental time travel
memory errors
memory is not perfect humans elaborate and integrate in order to store memories memory improves when context surrounds info sometimes elaboration can improve errors elaboration can help and an hurt you
motor memory
memory of motor skills (riding a bike)
source memory
memory of the exact source of information
instance based model
memory retrieval functions as a result of similarity between a probe and many retrieved memory traces -examples more similar to the probe are retrieved more quickly -probe that is able to contact many exemplars very qyickly7 corresponds to memories that are received easily
schema
mental representation that contains general information fo how to think behave and expect in a situation
concepts
mental representations
brain drain article
mere presence of ones own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity -minda replicated this and didnt find same results so who knows but, -3 conditions: phone in... 1. other room with experimenter 2. on the desk face down 3. in pocket/bag -2 tasks: one was measuring working memory capacity the other was measuring fluid intellgience -FOUND: phone on desk significantly impaired BOTH working memory AND fluid intelligence -then pocket/bag, then other room -so if you don't want to be distracted put phone in other room -HOWEVER, Minda found working memory was higher overall than study showed and that some people were affected by having phone in front but others were effected by having the researcher have their phone in the other room
time
metaphors for talking about time English = horizontal mandarin = vertial subjects were shown prime then asked to confirm or disconfirm temporal proprositions -found: after vertical prime mandarin was faster to confirm or disconfirm and reverse true for English -shows support for sapir BUT -when trained English speakers to think vertically, they exhibited vertical priming effect shows evidence against sapir
misattribution
mistakenly attributing a behavior to the wrong source remembering a fact correctly but attributing it to wrong source
theoretical approaches to similarity
most theories state similarity is a result of feature or attribute comparison the more features/attributes 2 object shave in common the more similar they are
challenges to the thinking process
multitasking heuristics/biases incomplete evidence/incorrect knowledge
forced choice task
must choose an optpn usually involves 1 target stimulus and 2 chices choose out of 2 choices which is best match to target
what does it mean for 2 things to be similar?
noticeable overlapping physical qualities ie physical features, things we can quickly relate to eachother/are in the same category
role of similarity and expertise
novices sort problems on basis of surface feature similarity s experts sort problems based on deep features similarity to solve problem quickly and efficiently ie dr example
transformational model
objects are similar if they can be transformed -transformational distance predicts similarity ie water to steam -study found when single transformation people viewed them as more similar than multiple transformations -more transformations you make = less similar they will be
ratings task
ona. scale of 1-10 how similar are the objects rating influenced by choice of other items downside is doesn't tell u how judgement was made
domain general processes
one that is available for other acts of cognition and thinking, regardless of modality or domain ie executive functions -task switching: switching attention from one behavioural to another -inhibitionL allows cognitive system to ignore irrelevant perceptual features or irrelevant/unncessary stimuli/thoughts/emotions executive fmctopms [;a a large role in higher order thoughts and are the primary intellectual component of memory in this theory executive function avaibityly and capacity are core determinants of thinking and reasoning aulty
thought transmission system
one uses language to transmit an idea to another person
prototype view
part of probabilistic view -summary representation: the average, better members have more characteristic properties -an object is categorized because it shared many characteritistcs with the features of a prototype Prototype is the average/ideal/abstraction evidence for this view is the 9 dot prototype
gestalt approach of thinking
perceptual laws that all centre on idea that humans are biased t6o perceive whole objects rather than parts -law of proximity; features near each other will tend to be perceived as belonging to a common object -law of similarity: elements in a. group of objects are perceived as belonging together -mind is not a blank state but rather is designed to process info and deal with representations -distinfguishes between productive and reproductive thinking
cognitive offloading
phenomenon of using technology to take on some of the function of human cognition ie calendar on phone to remember meeting, etc. -can affect behaviour ie using internet to access info inflates future use to the internet to access other info artice
rely on memory to
plan interactions (prospective memory), learn new skills, select behaviours -experts use memory to solve problems -risk perception and memory: rely on memory to learn to quickly avoid risky situations
DRM task
presented with a must if words e bed rest awake tired dream etc target word: sleep is not on the list but all these words are connected to concept sleep -false recognition of target words most ppl say they explicitly remember seeing the word though it was not there causes a memory error: the word, thought highly associated was not presented -subjects who indicate remembering it are demonstrating a source misattribution error
transfer appropriate processing
probability of retrieval increases as the match between th context at encoding and context at retrieval increases -ie being in place/state helps you remember certain invo
reproductive thinking
problem solving by remembered examples and rules
Loftus misinformation effect
ps saw clip of car accident then asked how fast were cars going when they bumped vs smashed eachother if high itnesneity word they report higher speed - 2x higher distortion error also say there was broken glass when there wasn't
rating tasks
rate these objects 1-10 in similarity
measuring similarity
rating tasks forced choice tasks sorting tasks
assessments of similarity
ratings task forced choice task sorting task
representativeness heuristic
reasoning from a memory of a prototypical example ie typical conservative
memory
recognizing a pattern of activation that is occurring now as being similar to one that happened before
geometric model
relies on assumption that similarity is represented I psychological space - equation gives you psychological distance between 2 things, distance is something you can measure - if we want to get distance between 2 things the more mismatches the features have the higher the number in the equation gets -higher distance between them because they're less similar City block space VS Euclidian space -City block space: when dimensions are perceptually separable, ie cant travel straight to destination -Euclidian space: when dimensions are perceptually inseparable, shortest distance btw 2 points
distortion errors
remembering something falsely
illusion of truth
repeated exposure to false/ambiguous info increases likelihood of later recall as true this is why ie rumours and urban legends persist
encoding
requires attention includes intentional and incidental
problem of comprehension
sender has a thought that he or she wants to communicate to the receiver the thought aka deep structure is private and known only to the sender it is transformed by speech sounds or the shapes of letters aka surface structure which are used by the receive to reconstruct the meaning expressed by the senders words
burglar vs home owner study
shows details that aynot be csistent6 with schema are still encoded ut may not become part of primary representation unless new schema is introducted subjects recalled more info that was consistent w schema they were given BUT when asked to swap positions they remembered additional detail when asked to re inspect their memory from alternative content shows memory is flexible
arbitrariness
signal need not refer to a physical characteristic of the redf
similarity and problem solving
similar problems are grouped together -problem space theory: idea that as ur solving a problem youre moving closer to the solution, taking actions/behaviours that move your current state toward goal state -u search for faster path out of all pathways to get solution -underlying this approach is similarity - see how similar ur state VS the goal state is -novices and especially experts group similar problems together -as yu get better at problem solving you get more examples and base these examples to the solution -ie dr relies on past patients similarity to current patients symptoms, allows you to skip algorithm stage and go to the solution -the more examples you have the better and faster ur going to be able to solve ur problems as an expert
assumption of minimality
similarity between an object and itself is the same for all objects if this is true in physical space it must be true in psychological space the similarity of an object to itself must always be nearly 0 Tversky: this may not be true as probability of judging 2 identical stimuli is not instant for all stimuli and judgements of similarity vary
media multitasking
simultaneous use of more than one media form, such as playing an electronic game while watching TV ie Netflix and snpachat
productive thinking
solving a problem with insight ie bursts of ideas or clarity that arrive suddenly in the mind
naming of objects study
spanish -frasco vs English - jugs containers jars etc -found subject did not different much rom eachother when classfying containers overall similarity -if language was primary director of thought, subjects should differ in their classfifications -evidence against sapir
total feedback
speaker hears everything they say
alignment models
specific how and why features should count
mental representations
stable set of activation with a. cognitive/neural system that corresponds to an event/object/idea -ie mental rep for cats consists of memories and images of my own cat, knowledge about where cats come from, feelings of affection etc -all activated when you think about cat -thinking is the process of manipulating internal representations -cogntiive accounts emphasized symbolic processing* -use some kind of symbol system to manipulate representations ie describe it using language - language is a symbolic system 0very hard to think of things without using language
classical view problem
study found people rate 2 and 4 as "better" even numbers than 34 and 106 - this is a problem for classical view because classical view states they should be equally good members
cognitive psychology
study of information processing and behaviour
cognitive approach
study of thinking book helped to usher modern era of information processing accounting of thinking -states thinking can be studied experimentally -conjunctive concepts: ie 3 red circles -disjunctive concepts: 3 red circles or 3 back squares - one or the other is true but not both. more difficult to add to your hypothesis, people tend to choose a hypothesis rather than reject a non fitting hypothesis
thinking
subset of mental activity that involves working with mental representations, planning/executing behaviours and the coordination of cognitive resources
dual process account
system 1: faster, intuitive, evolutionary primitive brain structures, present in human and nonhuman species - ie dog, cat etc - evaluating people, gut decisions system 2: slower, reason based, evolutionary recent brain structures, present in humans - more sophisticated, based in reasoning, processing, working memory and language - makes use of brain areas that are recently involved in primates - conscious, deliberate decisions ie buying. car
bias
tendency for knowledge beliefs and feelings to distort recollection of previous experiences and to affect current and future judgements and memory
focus gambling
the concept formation strategy of selecting instances that vary from the first positive instance in more than one attribute -vary more than one dimension in one step
successive scanning
the concept formation strategy that involves formulating a single hypothesis and testing it by selecting instances until the correct hypothesis emerges -start w one hypothesis, keep until falsified, select NEW hypothesis compatible with all examples seen
processing fluency
the ease with which something is processed or comes to mind
Sapir whorf hypothesis
the idea that language structures thought and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language
Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning. -attending to info so that it can be stored in memory
storage
the retention of encoded information over time
suggestibility
the tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections
persistence
the tendency to remember facts or events, including traumatic memories, that one would rather forget, that is, failure to forget because of intrusive recollections and rumination
rapid fading, transitoriness
the verbal signal fades quickly
plato cut nature at its joints
there are natural ways to ie cut up an animal and these natural ways exist whether or no humans decide on that - humans form the categories they do based on already existing natural boundaries
working memory rehearsal
things will decay from working memory if they're not maintained and rehearsed -primary way = phonological loops aka inner voice
categorization
to organize the sensory world into meaningful, usable mental structures -the structure and similarity among objects influence how they are represented in the mind -structured representations (concepts, schemata, knowledge) exert an influence on behaviour -fundamental cognitive mechanisms are recruited to bring structure to the sensory world
7 sins of memory
transience, absentmindedness, blocking, memory misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence -memory is NOT designed to remember specific facts and details -we need our memory to be flexible and stretch the truth - that's learning
problem with hierarchal model
typicality effects: ie when ppl ask to verify properties about robins as birds respond ore quickly than penguins are birds bc robins are more typical
deep structure
underlying meaning and semantics of linguistic entity
similarity and thinking
used in ... -object recognition: objects are recognized as a function of their similarity of known and previously seen objects -memory retrieval: if you are trying to remember something chances are u will remember similar things as well, retrieval ce must contact most similar representations in memory to retrueve right memory, memory errors also occur bc of similarity - you get wrong memory but one that is similar shown in spreading activation spreading activation is measured in terms of lexical decision task
kanzi criticism
vast majority of communication is not arbitrary and productive
thinking
very specific subset of mental activity that involves working with mental representations, planning and executing behaviours and the coordination of cognitive resources -can be divided up based on content, effort, desired outcome, underlying cognitive processes and function
specialization
vocal apparatus used in speech is specialized for speech production
13 design features of language by hockey 1960
vocal/auditory channel broadcast transmission/directional reception rapid fading, transitorines interchangabiltiy total feedback specializeation semanticity arbitrariness discreteness displacement productivity traditional transmission duality of patterning
cognitive efficiency
we are capable of representing similar things with one core representatin
change blindness
when people fail to detect changes to the visual details of a scene due to lack of encoding -switch place study 50% of people don't notice
intrusion errors
when something that did not happen is remembered
garden path sentence
when surface structure leads to wrong deep structure i.e. "the horse raced past the barn fell"
surface structure
words that are used, spoken sound, phrase, word order, different letters, etc. it is what we produce when we speak and what we perceive when we hear
sentence verification task
yes or no to sentence ie study canary can sing vs canary has skin semantic differences between canaries and skin is reflected in differences n reaction time support for hierarchical model takes more time for skin cuz have to go to animal node
