Psy190 General Psychology

PSY190 General Psychology

Introduction Cognitive psychology: the study of the mental

processes by which information from the environment is modified, made meaningful, stored, retrieved, used, and communicated to others. Life depends largely on the proper operation of both thinking and language skills. Two major topics: What thought is and its functions and components How language is acquired and used

The Circle of Thought

Five core functions of human thinking—

describe, elaborate, decide, plan, and guide action Ex: exam scope- important parts- what to study-

when to study- action

Thought is an information-processing system Thinking- the manipulation of mental

representations

The Circle of Thought (con’t)

Measuring Information Processing Mental Chronometry-reaction time 

factors influence reaction time: complexity, expectancy, stimulus-response compatibility, and speed-accuracy tradeoff.

Evoked Brain Potentials analyze mental events and timing. 

Reactions: changes in voltage on an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Neuroimaging- PET scans and fMRI technologies

Ex: frontal lobe activity is higher when the task is new and difficult- problem solving  hippocampus became active when task was well learnedperforming from memory 

THE INGREDIENTS OF THOUGHT

What specific form does information take in our mind? Concepts are categories of objects, events, or ideas with common

properties, such as the way they look or the subjects they contain. (ex: cellphone) Have a concept- recognize the properties and features that shared by the members of the category Type of concepts: Formal concept- can be clearly defined (ex: square) Natural concept- has no fixed defining features but has a set of

characteristic features (ex: game) Prototype- a member that possesses all or most features

THE INGREDIENTS OF THOUGHT (con’t) Propositions are the mental representations that

express relationships between concepts

 the smallest units of knowledge that can stand as

separate assertions.  can be either true or false.

Schemas are our general knowledge about categories

of objects, events, and people.

 Help us understand the world (ex: car and brake) and

create expectation (ex: lab)

Scripts- a mental representation of familiar

sequences of activity (ex: restaurant script) Mental model- a representation of particular situations or arrangements of objects. (ex: 3D model of the room)

THINKING STRATEGIES Information-processing system combines, transforms, &

elaborates mental representation. Reasoning is the process by which we generate arguments, evaluate them, and reach conclusions. Formal reasoning- mental procedures that yield a valid conclusion. (ex: volume of a thing) Confirmation bias- pay more attention to consistent evidence

Informal reasoning- inducing a conclusion on the basis of

specific facts or examples. (ex: dogs have 4 legs) Heuristics- a time saving mental shortcut used in reasoning

(ex: where to find your wallet?)

THINKING STRATEGIES (con’t) The Anchoring Heuristic. Judgments are based on existing information Ex: effect of 1st impression, suggesting price The Representativeness Heuristic. Decisions are based on similarity to other members of that class Ex: The Availability Heuristic. Judgments are based on information that is most easily brought to mind Ex: chances of winning a lottery

PROBLEM SOLVING Strategies

Incubation- setting a problem aside for a while and

thinking about other things. Means-end analysis- identify subgoals to solve the main problem step-by-step. Ex: writing assignment: outline- data- draft- review

Working Backward- start with the solution and

determine what you need to generate solution. Ex: finish assignment in 1 month- what to do in

4th ,3rd ,2nd ,1st week

Using Analogies- find similarities between the

present problem and other problems you have encountered before.

Obstacles to Problem Solving Multiple Hypotheses. Testing the incorrect hypothesis first

when more than one hypothesis exists can delay problem solving. Mental Sets. The tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist, even when better strategies might be available. Functional fixedness, the inability to use objects in new ways,

can also impede problem solving.

Ignoring Negative Evidence. Do not use the lack of evidence

as often as we should when testing a hypothesis. The Confirmation Bias. Once we choose a hypothesis, we tend to interpret available information as confirming it.

DECISION MAKING

Evaluating Options Multiattribute decision making involves choosing between options that have both positive and negative features, or attributes. Ex: further study or working

Comparing Attributes is difficult because of limited

storage capacity of working memory.  Utility is the subjective, personal value of each attribute.

Estimating Probabilities- consider the probabilities and

the expected value of certain outcomes. Ex: admission test for Harvard U vs job interview

LANGUAGE A language has two basic elements: symbols (words) and

grammar (rules of combination). The Elements of Language: Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound with meaning. 

Ex: T E A vs S E A

Morphemes are the smallest unit of language with meaning.

Most of them are words. (ex: man) Words are made up of one or more morphemes. 

Ex: fireman

Rules of syntax determine the ways in which words are

combined to form sentences. (Ex: noun, verb, adjective) Semantics are rules that govern the meanings of words and sentences.

Surface Structure and Deep Structure Surface structure: The order in which words

are arranged in sentences. Deep structure: An abstract representation of the underlying meanings of a given sentence. Ex: The movie is very artistic.

The Development of Language Few months old babies know the different between the 

sound of native language and other languages. Early experience with language is vital 4 months of age, babies begin repeating simple syllables, called babblings. At about 9 months, babies stop uttering sounds that are not part of the language to which they are exposed. At 12 to 18 months, babies utter their first real words, which usually are proper names and object words.  Ex: daddy, doggy In the one-word stage, children tend to use one word at a

time and overextend its use to mean more than one object. (Ex: use dog for all four-legs animal)

The Development of Language (con’t) About 18 to 24 months of age as two-word pairs. These

first sentences are telegraphic: brief and to the point. Ex: give book

Next are three-word sentences that use subject-verb-

object sequences. Ex: mommy give book Word endings (ex: suffix –ed) begin to appear, but at first are

used incorrectly.

At about age 3, children begin to use auxiliary verbs,

question words, and clauses. By age 5, children have acquired most of the syntax of their native language.

How Is Language Acquired?

Conditioning, imitation, and rules do not fully explain

the development of language in children. However, when adults provide correct revisions of a child’s conversation, the learning process is enhanced. Biological Bases for Language Acquisition. Noam Chomsky suggests that children possess an

innate universal grammar that helps them learn the complexities of language. Specific language impairment runs in family

Bilingualism- Children in a bilingual environment prior

to the end of the critical period show enhanced language performance.

Tutorial question 6 What is heuristic? Why do we need heuristic? Explain the following heuristics and give

example for each of them. The Anchoring Heuristic The Representativeness Heuristic The availability Heuristic