Chapter 9-11

Chapter 9- Thinking and Language:

9.1- what is Cognition, and what are the functions of concepts:

Cognition refers to all the mental activities acknowledged with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communication. We form most concepts about prototypes or best examples of a category.

9.2- what cognitive strategies assist our problem solving, and what obstacles hinder it?

An algorithm is a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees a solution to the problem. A heuristic is a simpler strategy that is usually faster but has more errors. Insight is not a problem based solution but rather a sudden flash to solve a problem.

9.3- what is intuition and how can the availability heuristic; overconfidence, belief perseverance and framing influence our decisions and judgments?

Intuition is the effortless immediate automatic feeling or thoughts we often use instead of systematic reasoning. Overconfidence can lead us to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs. Belief preference may cause you to cling to a belief. Framing is the way a question is worded or altered.

9.4- how do smart thinkers use intuition?

Smart thinkers welcome their intuitions but when making complex decisions they gather as much information as possible and then take time to let their two track mind process the information.

Thinking:

9.5- what are the structural components of language?

Phonemes are languages basic units of sound. Morphemes are the elementary units of meaning. Grammar is the systems rules that enable us to communicate.

9.6- what are the milestones in language to develop?

Language takes time to develop. At the age of 4 months, infants babble, making sounds found in language. At about 10 months their babbling contains sounds found in your household language. Around 12 months children speak in single words. This one word stage evolves to a two-word stage (telegraphic.)

9.7- how do we acquire language?

We acquire language thought learning as our biology and experiences interact.

9.8- what brain areas are involved in language and processing speech?

Broca’s area, a region of the frontal lobe that controls language expression. Wernicke’s area in the left temporal lobe that controls language reception.

9.9- what is the relationship between language and thinking, and what is the value of thinking in images?

Although Benjamin Lee Whorf’s linguistic determination hypothesis suggested that language determines though, it is more accurate to say that language influences thought.

Chapter 10- Intelligence:

10.1- how is intelligence defined?

Intelligence is mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Intelligence tests try to assess these qualities.

10.2- what are the arguments for and against considering intelligence as one general mental ability?

We have one general intelligence. He helped develop factor analysis, a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related mental abilities.

10.3- how does Gardner’s and Sternberg’s theories of multiple intelligences differ? Savant syndrome seems to support Gardner’s view that we have multiple intelligences. He proposed 8 multiple intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist. Sternberg theory proposes 3 intelligences: analytical, creative, and practical.

10.4-what is creativity and what fosters it?

Creativity is the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas, correlates somewhat with intelligence, but beyond IQ score of 120. Sternberg has proposed that creativity has 5 components: expertise, imaginative thinking skills; adventurous personality, interstice motivation, and a creative environment.

10.5- what are four components of emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence, which is an aspect of social intelligence, is the ability to perceive, understand, manage and use emotion.

10.6- to what extent is intelligence related to brain anatomy?

Some studies have found a positive correlation between intelligence score and brain size and activity, especially in the frontal and parietal lobes.

10.7- to what extent is intelligence related to neural processing speed?

People who score high on intelligence tests tend also to have agile brains that score high in speed of perception and speed of neural processing.

10.8- when and why were intelligence tests created?

In the late 1800’s. Sometimes used to document scientists assumptions about the innate inferiority of certain ethnic and immigrant groups.

10.9- what’s the difference between achievement and aptitude tests?

Achievement tests are designed to assess what you have learned. Aptitude tests are designed to predict what you can learn.

10.10- what are standardization and normal curve?

Standardization establishes a basis for meaningful score comparisons by giving a test to a representative sample of future test takers. The distribution of the test scores often forms a normal (bell-shaped) curve around the central average curve.

10.11- what are reliability and validity?

Reliability is the extent to which a test yields consistent results. Validity is the extent to which a test measures or predicts what is supposed to be.

10.12- how stable is intelligence scores over the life span?

Cross sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that fluid intelligence declines in older adults. Crystallized intelligence tends to increase.

10.13- what evidence points to a genetic influence on intelligence and what is heritability?

Studies of twins, family members, and adoptees indicate a significant hereditary contribution to intelligence scores. Heritability is the proportion of variation among individuals that can be attributed to genes.

10.14- how and why do gender groups differ in mental ability score?

Males and females tend to have the same average intelligence test scores. They differ in some specific abilities. Girls are better spellers, more verbally fluent, better at location objects, better at detecting emotions, and more sensitive to touch, taste and color. Boys out perform girls at spatial ability and related mathematics.

10.15- how and why does racial and ethnic groups differ in mental ability scores?

Environmental differences are largely, perhaps entirely responsible for these group differences.

10.16- is intelligence tests inappropriately biased?

Stereotyped threat, a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype, affects performance on all kinds of tests.

Chapter 11- Motivation and Work

11.1- how do psychologists define motivation? From what perspectives do they view motivated behavior?

Motivation is a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior. The instinct perspective explores genetic influences on complex behaviors. Drive reduction theory explores how physiological needs created aroused tension states that direct us to satisfy those needs.

11.2- what physiological factors produce hunger?

Hungers pangs corresponds to the stomachs contractions, but hunger also has other causes. Neural areas in the brain, some within the hypothalamus, monitor blood chemistry and incoming information about the body’s state. Basal metabolic rate is the bodies resting rate of energy.

11.3- what psychosocial, cultural, and situational factors influence hunger?

Hunger also reflects our memory of when we last ate and our expectations of when we should eat again. Humans as a species prefer certain tastes but out individual preferences are also influenced by conditioning, culture and situation.

11.4- what factors predispose some people to become and remain obese?

Genes and environment interact to produce obesity. Environmental include lack of exercise, and abundance of high calorie food and social influence.

11.5- what is the human sexual response cycle and what disorders disrupt it?

Human sexual response cycle: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and the resolution. During the resolution phase males experience a refractory period, during which renewed arousal and orgasm are impossible. Sexual disorders are problems that consistently impair sexual arousal or functioning.

11.6- how does hormones and external and internal stimuli influence human sexual motivation?

The female estrogen and male testosterone influences on sexual behavior.

11.7- what factors influence teen pregnancy and risk of STI?

Rates of teen intercourse vary from culture to culture and era to era.

11.8- what has research taught us about sexual orientation?

Sexual orientation is not an indicator of mental health. There is no evidence that environmental influences determine sexual orientation.

11.9- is scientific research on sexual motivation value free?

Scientific research on sexual motivation does not attempt to define the personal meaning of sex in our lives, but sex research and education are not value free.

11.10. what evidence points to our human need to belong?

Our need to affiliate or belong had survival value for our ancestors, which may explain why humans in every society love in groups.

11.11- how does social networking influence us?

We connect with others through social networking, strengthening out relationships with those we already know.

11.12- what is “flow” and what are the three subfields of industrial organizational psychology?

Flow is a completely involved focused state of consciousness with diminished awareness of self and time. It results from fully engaging ones skills. Three subfields are personnel, organizational, and human factors psychology.

11.13- how do personnel psychologists help organizations with employee selections work placement and performance appraisal?

Personnel psychologists work with organizations to devise selection methods for new employees.

11.14- what is achievement motivation? What is the role of organizational psychologists?

Achievement motivation is the desire for significant accomplishment; for mastery of skills and ideas. Organizational psychologists examine influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitate organizational change.

11.15- what are some effective leadership techniques?

Leadership style may be goal-oriented (task leadership) or group oriented (social leadership) or a combination of the two.

11.16- how do human factors psychologists work to create user friendly machines and work settings?

Human factors psychologists contribute to human safety and improved design by encouraging developers and designers to consider human perceptual abilities, to avoid the curse of knowledge and to test users to reveal perception based problems.