CAI - Cognition and Intelligence Module Overview

Cognition and Intelligence

Can you remember a special event from your early childhood? Have you ever solved a problem for yourself? Do you consider yourself smarter than the average person? Language, memory, problem solving and intelligence affect every waking moment for us. In this unit we will consider theories about several topics related to thought processes. Does your intelligence arrive with you at birth or is it affected by your environment? Why do people remember or forget? How does language affect thought processes? At the end of this unit, you will understand the complexities of thought and be able to apply these concepts to your own life.

Essential Questions

What are the components of the human information system?
What strategies can enhance memory?
What theories explain why people forget?
What phenomena are involved with problem solving?
How did Chomsky, Skinner, and Whorf explain language acquisition?
How is intelligence defined and measured?
How do heredity and environment affect intelligence?
How can the measurement of intelligence affect an individual and a culture?

Key Words

Cognition - all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Sensory memory - in the information processing model, this is the split-second holding tank for sensory information
Working memory - in the information processing model, this is synonymous with short-term memory, the temporary storage that people use to retain and work with information for learning, reasoning, and comprehension
Long term memory - in the information processing model, this is the relatively permanent memory storage
Encoding - the first stage of memory storage, which involves putting information into the memory system through attention
Storage - the second stage of the memory process, which involves tagging and storing information
Retrieval - the final stage of the memory process, which involves getting stored information back out of the memory system
Displacement - discarding information at each step of the information processing model
Storage Decay - unused information is more difficult to access as routes to that information in the brain decay
Interference - other information makes it more difficult to access certain memories
Mnemonics - a memory aid that uses visual or verbal imagery
Rehearsal - consciously repeating information to store it in short term or long term memory
Elaboration - using an existing memory and adding new information in order to remember in more detail
Spacing effect - smaller individual study sessions done over the course of several days or weeks serves to create stronger memories then cramming in one extended session
Serial position effect - people tend to remember the items at the beginning and end of a list better than the ones in the middle
Chunking - grouping items into related groups allows a person to memorize more information with less effort
Context - dependent memory-clues in the environment can help a person retrieve memories that were stored in that environment
Algorithm - a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier, but also more error-prone, use of heuristics
Prototype - a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)
Heuristic - a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error‐prone than algorithms
Representativeness heuristic - judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information
Availability heuristic - estimating the likelihood of events based on the availability in memory, if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness)
Confirmation bias - a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions
Belief perseverance - clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Mental set - a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
Functional fixedness - the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving
Language - our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
Chomsky's Nativist Theory - Chomsky proposes that humans learn language so quickly that their brains must be pre-wired for language acquisition. He calls this prewiring the language acquisition device
Language Acquisition Device - the pre-wiring in the human brain that allows quick learning of language
Skinner's Social Learning Theory - Skinner says that children learn language through observation of their parents and that parents reinforce children's language acquisition by rewarding them with attention when they imitate the parent's language
Whorf's Theory of Linguistic Determinism - Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think
Critical Period - an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development
Intelligence - mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
General Intelligence - Spearman proposes that there is only one type of intelligence - general intelligence. People with high general intelligence tend to be smarter than others in every area
Multiple Intelligences - Gardner proposes that there are eight types of intelligence: logical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, nature-based, kinesthetic, and musical
Aptitude Test - a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn
Achievement Test - a test designed to assess what a person has learned
IQ - intelligence quotient; the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100
Stanford-Binet - the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests
Reliability - the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of a test, on alternate forms of the test, or on re-testing
Validity - the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
Standardization - defining meaning scored by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group
Normal Distribution - a symmetrical bell shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes
Intellectual Disability - a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound

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