Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
KEY POINTS
Introduction: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
Cognition refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.
Thinking involves manipulating internal, mental representations of information in order to draw inferences and conclusions. Thinking often involves the manipulation of two kinds of mental representations: mental images and concepts.
Most research has been done on visual mental images. We seem to treat mental images much as we do actual visual images or physical objects.
Thinking also involves the use of concepts. Formal concepts are defined by logical rules. Natural concepts are likely to have fuzzy rather than rigid boundaries. We determine membership in natural concepts by comparing an object with our prototype for the natural concept or by comparing it to exemplars that we have stored in memory.
Solving Problems and Making Decisions
Problem solving refers to thinking and behavior directed toward attaining a goal that is not readily available.
Strategies commonly used in problem solving include trial and error, algorithms, and heuristics. Heuristics include breaking a problem into a series of subgoals and working backward from the goal. Sometimes problems are resolved through insight or intuition.
Functional fixedness and mental set are two common obstacles to problem solving.
Decision-making models include the single-feature model, the additive model, and the elimination-by-aspects model. Different strategies may be most helpful in different situations.
When making risky decisions, we often use the availability heuristic and the representativeness heuristic to help us estimate the likelihood of events.
Language and Thought
Language is a system for combining arbitrary symbols to produce an infinite number of meaningful statements.
Language has the following characteristics: Meaning is conveyed by arbitrary symbols whose meaning is shared by speakers of the same language; language is a rule-based system; language is generative; and language involves displacement.
Language influences thinking by affecting our perceptions of others.
Animals communicate with members of their own species, sometimes in a complex fashion. Some can also be taught to communicate with humans. Bonobos and dolphins seem to have demonstrated an elementary grasp of the rules of syntax. Animal cognition is an active field of research in comparative psychology.
Measuring Intelligence
Intelligence can be defined as the global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment. Intelligence tests are designed to measure general mental abilities.
Alfred Binet developed the first widely accepted intelligence test, which incorporated the idea of mental age that was different from a chronological age. Binet did not believe that intelligence was inborn or fixed nor that it could be described by a single number.
Lewis Terman adapted Binet’s test for use in the United States and developed the concept of the intelligence quotient, or IQ score. Terman believed that success in life was primarily determined by IQ.
Group intelligence tests were developed for screening military recruits during World War I.
David Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), which included scores on subtests that measured different mental abilities. Wechsler also changed the method of calculating overall IQ scores.
Achievement tests and aptitude tests are two types of psychological tests. Psychological tests must meet the requirements of standardization, reliability, and validity. The norms, or standards, for intelligence tests follow the normal curve, or normal distribution, of scores.
The Nature of Intelligence
Debate over the nature of intelligence centers on two key issues: (1) whether intelligence is a single factor or a cluster of different abilities and (2) how narrowly intelligence should be defined.
Charles Spearman believed that intelligence could be described as a single factor, called general intelligence, or the g factor.
Louis L. Thurstone believed that there were seven primary mental abilities.
Howard Gardner believes that there are multiple intelligences. He defines intelligence as the ability to solve problems or create products that are valued within a cultural setting.
Robert Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence emphasizes both the universal aspects of intelligence and the importance of adapting to a particular cultural environment. He identifies three forms of intelligence: analytic, creative, and practical intelligence.
The IQ of any individual is the result of a complex interaction between heredity and environment. Intelligence is not determined by a single gene, but by the interaction of multiple genes.
Twin studies are used to determine the degree to which genetics contributes to complex characteristics such as intelligence. Heritability refers to the percentage of variation within a given population that is due to heredity. Within a given racial group, the effects of environment and genetics are roughly equal.
There are differences in the average IQ scores for different racial groups. However, there is more variation within a particular group than there is between groups.
Although it is possible to calculate the differences within a given group that are due to heredity, it is not possible to calculate the differences between groups that are due to heredity. Unless the environments are identical, no comparisons can be drawn. Rather than genetic factors, environmental factors are more likely to be the cause of average IQ differences among groups.
Cross-cultural studies have demonstrated that the average IQ scores of groups subject to social discrimination are frequently lower than the average IQ scores of the dominant social group, even when the groups are not racially different.
Intelligence tests can be culturally biased. All intelligence tests reflect the culture in which they are developed. Cultural factors may also influence test-taking behavior and individual performance. IQ scores reflect only selected aspects of intelligence.
Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly they will move to the bottom of the activity.
achievement test algorithm animal cognition or comparative cognition aptitude test autism spectrum disorder availability heuristic bilingualism cognition concept confirmation bias creativity exemplars formal concept functional fixedness g factor or general intelligence heritability heuristic insight intellectual disability intelligence intelligence quotient (IQ) intuition language linguistic relativity hypothesis mental age mental image mental set natural concept normal curve or normal distribution problem solving prototype reliability representativeness heuristic standardization stereotype threat thinking trial and error triarchic theory of intelligence validity | The tendency to seek out evidence that confirms an existing belief while ignoring evidence that might contradict or undermine the belief. A group of cognitive processes used to generate useful, original, and novel ideas or solutions to problems. A psychological predicament in which fear that you will be evaluated in terms of a negative stereotype about a group to which you belong creates anxiety and self-doubt, lowering performance in a particular domain that is important to you. A problem-solving strategy that involves attempting different solutions and eliminating those that do not work. The notion of a general intelligence factor that is responsible for a person's overall performance on tests of mental ability. Neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by (1) deficits in social communication and social interaction and (2) restricted, repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities. The ability of a test to produce consistent results when administered on repeated occasions under similar conditions. The hypothesis that differences among languages cause differences in the thoughts of their speakers. A problem-solving strategy that involves following a general rule of thumb to reduce the number of possible solutions. A problem-solving strategy that involves following a specific rule, procedure, or method that inevitably produces the correct solution. The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure. The tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way. Formerly called mental retardation. Neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in general mental abilities which result in impairments of adaptive functioning, such that the individual fails to meet standards of personal independence and social responsibility. Robert Sternberg's theory that there are three distinct forms of intelligence: analytic, creative, and practical. A mental category of objects or ideas based on properties they share. The administration of a test to a large, representative sample of people under uniform conditions for the purpose of establishing norms. The tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that have worked in the past. The study of animal learning, memory, thinking, and language. Fluency in two or more languages. Coming to a conclusion or making a judgment without conscious awareness of the thought processes involved. A measure of general intelligence derived by comparing an individual's score with the scores of others in the same age group. A strategy in which the likelihood of an event is estimated on the basis of how readily available other instances of the event are in memory. A measurement of intelligence in which an individual's mental level is expressed in terms of the average abilities of a given age group. The most typical instance of a particular concept. The global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment. A bell-shaped distribution of individual differences in a normal population in which most scores cluster around the average score. A test designed to assess a person's capacity to benefit from education or training. A mental category that is formed as a result of everyday experience. A mental representation of objects or events that are not physically present. The manipulation of mental representations of information in order to draw inferences and conclusions. A strategy in which the likelihood of an event is estimated by comparing how similar it is to the prototype of the event. A mental category that is formed by learning the rules or features that define it. A test designed to measure a person's level of knowledge, skill, or accomplishment in a particular area. The percentage of variation within a given population that is due to heredity. The mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge. A system for combining arbitrary symbols to produce an infinite number of meaningful statements. Individual instances of a concept or category, held in memory. The sudden realization of how a problem can be solved. Thinking and behavior directed toward attaining a goal that is not readily available. |
Alfred Binet (1857–
Howard Gardner (b. 1943) Contemporary American psychologist whose theory of intelligence states that there is not one intelligence, but multiple independent intelligences. (p. 296)
Charles Spearman (1863–
Claude Steele (b. 1946) American social psychologist best known for his work on stereotype threat. (p. 304)
Robert Sternberg (b. 1949) Contemporary American psychologist whose triarchic theory of intelligence identifies three forms of intelligence (analytic, creative, and practical). (p. 297)
Lewis Terman (1877–
Louis L. Thurstone (1887–
David Wechsler (1896–