lecture 8 - language and problem solving

Question 1

langauge

Answer 1

communication system that relies on patterns and rules of symbols
- not just spoken but also visual (reading lips)

Question 2

arbitrariness

Answer 2

symbols don’t always match what were reffering to.
- doesnt actually tell you anything about something
exceptions: onomatopias (crash sounds like what it is)

Question 3

purpose of language

Answer 3

to convey info, socialize, emotion and art

Question 4

language levels

Answer 4

1. phonemes
2. morphemes
3. syntax
4. extralinguistic

Question 5

phonemes

Answer 5

• smallest unit of sounds
• english has like 40-45
• individual sounds that if put together, make words
• ex: th, ai, s, t, oi, igh, ng

Question 6

morphemes

Answer 6

• smallest units of meaning
• combination of phonemes
• sometimes single phonemes
  ex: cat + s cats (cat is one and
  ex: playing = play and ing (play, replay, playing)

Question 7

syntax

Answer 7

set of rules to construct sentences
- ex: verb + object
= the boy eats apples
- not: apple the eat boy

Question 8

extralinguistic information

Answer 8

non-verbal and context cues that add meaning to language
- body language, voice tone, context
- ex: i am refusing this date - could mean a variety of things, you need more context

Question 9

dialect

Answer 9

language variations used by a group of people who share geographic proximity of ethnic background
ex: saying camp vs chalte vs cabin vs cottage

Question 10

opposing views on language

Answer 10

1. noam chomsky: language is biologically determined
2. skinner: language through operant conditioning

Question 11

critical period for language

Answer 11

small window of time where we are more likely to learn language.
- maximized in like first 5-6 years of life

Question 12

language stages

Answer 12

1. prenatal
2. babbling
3. comprehend vs production
4. first words
5. telegraphic speech
6. conversations

Question 13

prenatal

Answer 13

• preference for mother voice
• fetus is able to distinguish mother’s voice from others
• can also recognize specific song/stories from the womb

Question 14

babbling

Answer 14

• produce and repeat single syllabi
• practice motor movements by babbling

Question 15

comprehend vs production

Answer 15

• understand language before we can speak it

Question 16

first words

Answer 16

• 1 year to 18 months
• holophrase: single word phrases making full thoight (up, more, go)

Question 17

telegraphic speech

Answer 17

• simple sentences
• “me up”
• over generalization because they take patterns that they know from language, but they dont know exeptions
• ex: goed vs went

Question 18

language cognition

Answer 18

language involves:
- sensation and perception
- learning and action
- attention and memory
- decision making and problem solving
- social and emotional regulation

Question 19

sapir-whorf hypothesis

Answer 19

• language can influence or determines our thoughts and behaviours
• hard to test theory
• ## russians are can recall memories from russia better when speaking russian rather than english

Question 20

cognitive economy

Answer 20

resources allocated to thinking and decision making
- ex: using less brain power for less important decisions

Question 21

heuristics

Answer 21

• mental shortcuts we use to simplify decisions
• cant use simple heuristic for bigger decisions that need more planning
• ex: when climbing a mountain heuristic way would be tpo just go striaght up but you should probs take a map so you dont die

Question 22

oversimplification

Answer 22

• relying on heuristics can become dangerous

Question 23

sytems 1 of thinking

Answer 23

• tversky and kahneman
• fast decision making
• snap judgements / autopilot
• requires less energy
• quick reactions
• first impressions
• simple associations
  ex: knowing that paris is associated with france, making a disgust face after something gross, understanding someones tone

Question 24

system 2 of thinking

Answer 24

slow and analytical thinking
- require energy
- focused searching
- looking for mistakes
- staying calm and collected when mad
- works with system 1
- overcomes biases and heuristics

Question 25

representative heuristics (base rates)

Answer 25

- base rate: how common something is - expect to get into harvard but doesnt - goes against base rate that thye had - ex: is a quiest man more likely to be a farmer or librarian? = farmer because thats a more common job -

Question 26

availability heuristics

Answer 26

- we estimate the likelihood of occurence based on how available info is to us - perceived importance of an issue related with the ease of memory retrieval - ex: more scared of lying than driving because we hear about planes crashes more

Question 27

hindsight bias

Answer 27

overestimating how well we would have predicted something after it occurred - "hindsight 20/20 - "i knew it all along" - when a plot and you say you guessed it

Question 28

framing

Answer 28

how information is presented affects decisions - ex: more likely to buy from a raffle vendor that says there a 1 in 5 chance of winning instead of there an 80% chance of losing

Question 29

obstacles for problem solving

Answer 29

1. distraction by irrelevant info 2. mental sets 3. functional fixedness

Question 30

distractions by irrelevant information

Answer 30

- bombarding people with information that is not relevant can affect problem solving skills - can be used as a marketing strategy to exhaust consumers with complec info - ex: apples question

Question 31

mental sets

Answer 31

- getting caught up in a particular problem solving strategy - ex: thers a problem on you computer and you reset it cause thats what you usually do but it doesnt work and you dont think to try anything else

Question 32

functional fixedness

Answer 32

- difficulty understanding that an object can be used for something which it was not intended - ex: candle and thumbtack example

Question 33

problem solving strategies

Answer 33

1. trial and error 2. algorithm 3. divide and conquer 4. insight 5.means-end analysis

Question 34

trial and error

Answer 34

continue to try different solutions until probelm is solved ex: phone isnt working so you try uninstalling apps, restarting it, turning it off until something wroks

Question 35

algorithm

Answer 35

step by step problem solving formula - ex: recipe or set of instructions (ikea furniture)

Question 36

divide and conquer

Answer 36

break down large complex problems into smaller more manageable problems - apply the same approach for each division ex: long math problems (ex: doing additions first)

Question 37

insight

Answer 37

sudden recognition of a solution to a problem - a-ha moment

Question 38

means-end analysis

Answer 38

choosing and modifying actions in a series of smaller steps to meet a larger known goal - ex: goal to do well in the semester, so you break down all the assignments and use different strategies for them all - ex: tower of hanoi (or bubble sort)