Lecture 10: Thought & Language – Concepts, Problem Solving, and Language in Psychology

Thought & Language

Overview

This lecture explores the psychological foundations of thought and language, focusing on how knowledge is structured, how humans solve problems and make decisions, and the properties and history of language. These topics are central to understanding cognitive processes in psychology.

Knowledge

Concepts & Categories

• Concept: A mental representation of an object, event, or idea. Concepts help us organize information and respond to new situations efficiently.

• Exemplar: A specific example within a category, used to judge category membership.

• Categories: Groups of related concepts. Categorization allows us to extend our knowledge and make predictions about new experiences.

• Example: The concept of 'bird' includes robins, sparrows, and penguins, but not all fit equally well.

Rule-Based vs. Comparison-Based Categorization

• Rule-Based Categorization: Objects or events are categorized according to explicit rules or sets of features.

• Problems: Some concepts fit better into categories than others (graded membership). For example, a robin is a more typical bird than a penguin.

• Comparison-Based Categorization: Involves comparing new stimuli to a prototype (an average or ideal category member).

• Prototype: Mental representation of the average member of a category.

• Typically Effect: Some members are judged as more representative of a category than others.

Networks & Hierarchies

• Semantic Networks: Interconnected sets of nodes (concepts) with links forming categories and relationships.

• Hierarchical Organization: Categories are arranged from broad (superordinate) to specific (subordinate): Superordinate > Basic > Subordinate Example: Animal > Bird > Robin

• Sentence Verification: People are faster to verify statements that are closer in the hierarchy ("A robin is a bird" vs. "A robin is an animal").

• Priming: Exposure to one concept can facilitate the recognition of related concepts.

Influences on Categorization

• Category-Specific Visual Agnosia (CSVA): A neurological condition where individuals lose the ability to recognize certain categories of objects.

• Culture: Cultural background influences how people categorize objects and events.

• Subordinate Labels: More specific labels can affect categorization and memory.

• Point of View: Perspective can influence how categories are formed and used.

Problem Solving, Judgement, & Decision Making

Problem Solving

• Definition: Accomplishing a goal when the solution or path to the solution is not immediately clear.

• Strategies:

  • Algorithms: Step-by-step procedures or rules that guarantee a solution.

  • Heuristics: Mental shortcuts based on prior experiences or educated guesses; faster but more error-prone than algorithms.

• Mental Set: The tendency to approach problems using a strategy that has worked in the past, which can be a cognitive obstacle when facing new problems.

• Functional Fixedness: The tendency to see objects as only functioning in their usual way, hindering problem solving.

• Example: Using a paperclip only as a fastener, not as a tool for other purposes.

Judgement & Decision Making

• Conjunction Fallacy: The mistaken belief that the probability of two events occurring together is higher than the probability of either event occurring alone.

• Representativeness Heuristic: Judging the likelihood of things based on how well they match prototypes.

• Availability Heuristic: Estimating the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind (e.g., overestimating the frequency of dramatic events).

• Belief Perseverance & Confirmation Bias: The tendency to cling to initial beliefs and seek information that confirms them, ignoring contradictory evidence.

• Example: The "Linda problem" demonstrates the conjunction fallacy, where people judge Linda as more likely to be a feminist bank teller than just a bank teller.

Language

History of Language

• Animal Communication: Investigates whether non-human animals possess language-like abilities.

• Aphasia: Language disorders resulting from brain damage.

• Broca's Area vs. Wernicke's Area: Brain regions involved in language production and comprehension, respectively.

Properties of Language

• Definition: Language is a system of communication using spoken, written, or gestural symbols combined according to rules.

• Displacement: Can communicate about things not present.

• Productivity: Can produce new meanings and sentences.

• Transmission: Passed from parents to children and evolves over generations.

• Phonemes: The smallest units of speech sounds (e.g., /p/, /s/).

• Morphemes: The smallest meaningful units in language (e.g., "pig," "-s").

• Semantics: The meaning of words and sentences; how people derive meaning from language.

• Dyslexia: A learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading.

Properties of Language (continued)

• Syntax: Rules for combining words and morphemes into meaningful phrases and sentences.

• Nouns and Verbs: Basic sentence elements (e.g., "Goats eat").

• Phrase Structure: Sentences can be broken down into noun phrases and verb phrases (e.g., "A goat is in the garden").

• Pragmatics: The non-linguistic elements of language use, such as context, tone, and implied meaning.

Table: Conversational Implicature

The Rule	Flouting the Rule	The Implication
Say what you believe is true	My roommate is a great guy.	He does not really live with a gorilla. Maybe his roommate is very tall?
Say only what is relevant	Is my blind date good-looking? He's got a great personality.	She didn't answer my question. He's probably not good-looking.
Say only as much as you need to	I like my lab partner, but he's not Einstein.	Of course he's not Einstein. Why is she referring to that well-known fact? She probably means that her partner is not very smart.

Additional info: This table illustrates Grice's Maxims of conversation, which describe how people infer meaning beyond literal statements in communication.