AP PSYCH- UNIT 5

• Cognition refers to all mental activities associated with processing, understanding, and communicating
• Metacognition is thinking about your own thinking and thought processes
• Good thinkers possess a repertoire of effective algorithms and heuristics
• Good thinkers know how to avoid common impediments to problem solving and decision making
• Problem Solving:

  • Good problem solvers are skilled at identifying the problem
  • Good problem solvers are skilled at selecting a strategy
• Selecting a Strategy:

  • Algorithms: problem-solving "rule" that guarantees a solution; slower
  • Heuristics: "shortcuts" to solve problems; no guarantee; faster
  • Useful heuristics include working backward, searching for analogies, "chunking" info, and rounding
• Schemas and Scripts Help you Know What to Expect:

  • Schema: a knowledge framework that provides expectations about topics, events, objects, people, and situations in one's life
  • Script: knowledge about sequences of events and actions expected to occur in particular settings
• Culture can greatly influence scripts by affecting and shaping expectations and behaviors
• Obstacles to Problem Solving:

  • Functional fixedness: difficulty in devising new ways to use common objects
  • Mental set: approaching new problems with previously used solutions
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, Availability Heuristic/Bias, Belief Bias, and Framing Effect are obstacles to judging and making decisions
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, Availability Heuristic/Bias, and Belief Perseverance are cognitive biases that affect reasoning and decision-making processes
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, and Framing Effect can lead to faulty reasoning and decision-making processes
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, and Availability Heuristic/Bias are cognitive biases that influence judgments and decisions
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, Belief Perseverance, Availability Heuristic/Bias, and Framing Effect are cognitive biases that impact reasoning and decision-making
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, and Framing Effect can unconsciously influence reasoning and decision-making processes
• Linguistic Determinism is the concept that language and its structures limit and determine human knowledge or thought

  • Linguistic Relativity is the idea that the language we speak influences the way we think about reality
• Language Development:

  • Early stages include pre-linguistic babbling, the one-word stage, the naming explosion, the two-word stage, and telegraphic speech
• The Rules of Grammar:

  • Overregularization: applying grammatical rules too widely and creating incorrect forms
  • Phoneme: smallest distinctive sound unit
  • Morphemes: meaningful units of language that make words
• Other Language Skills include social scripts, social rules, body language, and the meaning of abstract words
• Research shows that language is best learned at an early age, with potential ramifications in education
• Language acquisition theories:

  • Innateness theory of language: all people have an inborn capacity to learn the language with which they are raised
  • Operant Learning theory: association, imitation, and reinforcement play a role in language acquisition
• Hindrances to learning language:

  • Research suggests language is best learned at an early age
  • The critical period for learning language and the role of nature and nurture in language development are important considerations
• Cognition refers to all mental activities associated with processing, understanding, and communicating
• Metacognition is thinking about your own thinking and thought processes
• Good thinkers possess a repertoire of effective algorithms and heuristics
• Good thinkers know how to avoid common impediments to problem solving and decision making
• Problem Solving:

  • Good problem solvers are skilled at identifying the problem
  • Good problem solvers are skilled at selecting a strategy
• Selecting a Strategy:

  • Algorithms: Problem-solving "rule" that guarantees a solution; slower
  • Heuristics: "shortcuts" to solve problems; no guarantee; faster
  • Useful heuristics include working backward, searching for analogies, "chunking" info, and rounding
• Schemas and Scripts Help you Know What to Expect:

  • Schema: A knowledge framework that provides expectations about topics, events, objects, people, and situations in one's life
  • Script: Knowledge about sequences of events and actions expected to occur in particular settings
• Culture can greatly influence scripts by shaping and determining the expected sequences of events and actions in different settings
• Obstacles to Problem Solving:

  • Functional fixedness: Difficulty in devising new ways to use common objects
  • Mental set: Approaching new problems with previously used solutions
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, Availability Heuristic/Bias, Belief Bias, and Framing Effect are obstacles to judging and making decisions
• Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, Representativeness Heuristic/Bias, Availability Heuristic/Bias, and Belief Perseverance are cognitive biases that affect reasoning processes
• Framing Effect:

  • The way something is phrased can unconsciously influence reasoning
  • Example: Are you more likely to purchase ground beef labeled as 80% fat-free or as 20% fat?
• How Children Acquire Language:

  • Innateness theory of language: All people have an inborn capacity to learn the language with which they are raised
  • Operant Learning: Involves association, imitation, and reinforcement in language acquisition
• Linguistic Determinism is the concept that language and its structures limit and determine human knowledge or thought

  • Linguistic Relativity is the idea that the particular language we speak influences the way we think about reality
• Language Development:

  • Early stages include pre-linguistic babbling, the one-word stage, the naming explosion, the two-word stage, and telegraphic speech
• The Rules of Grammar:

  • Overregularization: Applying grammatical rules too widely and creating incorrect forms
  • Phoneme: The smallest distinctive sound unit
  • Morphemes: Meaningful units of language that make words
• Hindrances to learning language:

  • Research shows that language is best learned at an early age
  • There may be a critical period for learning language, as seen in the case of Genie
• Language Skills:

  • Social Scripts
  • Social Rules
  • Body language
  • Meaning of abstract words