Thinking • Cognition refers to al the mental activities associated with processing, understanding, remembering and communicating • Cognitive psychologists study the mental activities
Concepts • Concepts refers to the mental grouping of similar objects, events and people. • The organization of concepts into categories is known as hierarchies. • Prototypes are the mental image or best example that incorporates all the features we associate with a category • Once we place an item into a category, our memory later recognizes it as its category prototype.
Solving Problems • Algorithms are step-by-step procedures that will guarantee a solution. Usually long. • …show more content…
• Babies can detect the difference between longer syllables in different sequences suggesting that they do indeed have a built in acquisition. • A child can learn any language and will spontaneously invent meaningful words to convey their wishes. However, after age 7, the ability to master a new language greatly declines.
Language influences thinking • Linguistic Benjamin Lee Whorf’s Linguistic determinism states language determines how we think. This is most evident in polylinguals (speaking 2 or more languages). I.e. someone who speaks English and Chinese will feel differently depending on which language they are using. English has many words describing personal emotions and Chinese has many words describing inter-personal emotions. • However, Thinking could occur without language. This is evident in pianists and artists where mental images nourish the mind. • Therefore, thinking and language affect each other in an enduring cycle. • Bilingual Speakers were able to inhibit their attention to irrelevant information. Known as the bilingual advantage.
Thinking