1. Chapter 8
Thinking, Language,
and Intelligence 8-1

2. I. Thinking
A. Cognitive psychology
– Thinking: manipulation of information that
can take the form of images or concepts.
• Visual imagery
• Concepts: Mental categories sharing common
characteristics
8-2

3. Thinking
• We usually identify specific examples as
members of a concept by judging their degree of
similarity to a prototype, or best example, of the
concept.
8-3

4. Thinking
• Algorithms
– Anagram for APHYP
– Formulae for solving
math problems
– Sudoku
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8-4

5. Thinking
PiagetÕ Matchstick Problem
s
• Heuristics: educated guesses
ŠDecenteringŠ
Make 6 equilateral triangles out of six matchsticks.
8-5

6. Thinking
• Try the nine dot
problem!
• With no more than
four lines, connect
nine dots on the
paper without lifting
your pencil.
8-6

7. Luchins’ Water Jar Problem
Problem Jar A Jar B Jar C Goal
1 24 130 3 100
2 9 44 7 21
3 21 58 4 29
4 12 160 25 98
5 19 75 5 46
6 23 49 3 20
7 18 48 4 22
8-7

8. Luchins’ Water Jar Problem
A B C Total
20 31 2 7
20 57 3 31
5 48 8 27
20 100 11 58
4 17 3 7
8-8

9. Thinking
• Rigidity
– functional fixedness: inability to use familiar
objects in new ways
– set effect predicts that we will attempt to use
solutions that have been successful in the
past.
8-9

10. Lateral Thinking
• If you put a small coin into an empty wine bottle
and replace the cork, how would you get the coin
out of the bottle without taking out the cork or
breaking the bottle?
• A man and his sister were out walking together one
Saturday morning. The man pointed across the
street to a boy and said: ‘That boy is my nephew.’
The woman replied: ‘He is not my nephew.’ Can
you explain this.
• Two Russians walk down a street in Moscow. One
Russian is the father of the other Russian’s son.
How are they related?
8-10

11. Lateral Thinking
• Three switches outside a windowless room are connected to
three light bulbs inside the room. How can you determine which
switch is connected to which bulb if you are only allowed to enter
the room once?
• If it takes twelve 1c stamps to make a dozen, how many 3c
stamps are needed?
• A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the
blind beggar to the brother who died? (Brother is not the answer)
• What is the product (ie. Multiplying all the numbers together) of
the following series: (x-a),(x-b),(x-c),.....(x-z)? (A bit harder but
really nothing for math-oriented minds)
• Is it correct to say;
"The herd of sheep is eating grass in the field” or
"The herd of sheep are eating grass in the field"?
8-11

12. Thinking
• representativeness heuristic: decisions are
based on the similarity of characteristics of the
situation to previously established concepts.
HHHTTT HTHTTH
Availability Heuristic:
http://oldweb.uwp.edu/academic/psychology/demos/UTICdemo/UTICdemo.html
8-12

13. The Conjunction Fallacy
Steven is articulate, outgoing, artistic, and
politically liberal. Is it more likely that he:
• is an engineering major, or
• started out as an engineering major and
switched to journalism?
8-13

14. Framing
• The way in which
information is
presented can
dramatically alter our
decision making
Most opt for surgery
8-14
Barely half opt for surgery

15. Creativity
8-15

16. Creativity
• Depends on divergent thinking (rather
than the convergent thinking associated
with intelligence testing)
• Creative people have a high capacity for
hard work, a willingness to take risks, and
a high tolerance for ambiguity and
disorder.
• NO defined standard!
8-16

17. What distinguishes creative thought from
other types of problem solving?
• Shake cow carton
• Ball home naval
• Stream goose town
• Dance ladder door
• Dog pepper rod
• Sand mouse door
• Ball shake lotion
• Puff whipped ice
8-17

18. Language
• There are two major theories of language
acquisition:
– A learned response (acquired like any other
behavior)
– Children are hard-wired (LAD)
How is language related to memory?
8-18

19. Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
• The use of words (and
syntax) can influence
and guide thought
processes.
8-19
P. 331

20. Language
Illustrates the
acquisition of some of
the rules of language
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and supports
Chomsky's claims of an
inborn ability to find
grammatical structure.
8-20

21. Differential Language Exposure
8-21

22. Sexist Language
• What happens when the child does
not care if his hair is not combed?
• The child sometimes does not know
why they are being spanked.
• It was possible for the child to learn
from the consequences of their
behavior.
8-22

23. Intelligence
• Francis Galton
• Binet (and Simon)
• Terman
• Wechsler
8-23

24. Principles of Psychological Tests
• Reliability
• Validity
• Standardization
8-24

25. Intelligence
The majority of the scores are clustered around the
middle, with fewer scores found at either extreme 8-25
[Note: text says gifted at 140]

26. Intelligence
• Charles Spearman = g
• Howard Gardner = The Theory of Multiple
Intelligences
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8-26

27. Heritability of Intelligence
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[next] 8-27

28. Heritability of Intelligence
8-28