Thinking

• The manipulation of mental representations of information
• It may take the form of a word, a visual image, sound, or any type of sensory data.
• Thinking transforms information into new and different forms, allowing us to anwser questions, solve problems, and reach goals.

Cognitive Psychology

• The broad area of psychology that focuses on the study of higher mental processes, including thinking, language, problem solving, knowing, reasoning, judging, and decision making

Mental Images

• Are representations in the mind of an object or an event. They are not just visual representations; our ability to "hear" a tune in or heads is also considered a mental image.

Concepts

• Concepts are categorizations of objects, events or people that share common properties. It enables us to organize into simplier terms. Ex. food and dishes
• Concepts helps us classify newly encountered objects. It influece behavior and Psychologists focused on those that were clearly defined by a unique set of properties. Ex. tapping a handheld screen.

Algorithm

• Applies a solution to a problem. We can use it if we don't understand the the meaning. Ex. xy=xy

Heuristic

• A shortcut that may lead to a correct solution. It enhances the success to a solution. Ex. Tic-Tac-Toe, each tactic doesn't guarentee you to win but experience taught you that you will win.

Means-ends Analysis

• Involves repeated tests for differences between the desired outcome and what curently exists. Each step brings the problem solver closer to a resolution.

Functional Fixedness

• The tendency to think of an object only in terms of is typical use. Ex. functional fixedness probably leads you to think of this book as something to read, instead of its potential use as a doorstop or as kindling for a fire.

Mental Set

• The tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist.

Confirmation Bias

• Problem solvers favor initial hypotheses and ignore contradictory information that supports alternative hypotheses or solutions. Even when we find evidence that contradicts a solution we have chosen, we are apt to stick with our original hypothesis.

Creativity

• The ability to generate original ideas or solve problems in novel ways.

Divergent thinking

• The ability to generate unusual, yet appropriate, responses to problems or questions. Instead of the most logical or common use for an object, consider how you might use the object if you were forbidden to use it in the usual way.

Convergent Thinking

• Which produces responses that are based primarily on knowledge and logic.

Language

• The communication of information through symbols arranged according to systematic rules. It is closely tied to the very way in which we think about and understand the world.

Grammar

• The system of rules that determine how our thoughts can be expressed in words. It deals with three major components: phonology, syntax, and semantics.

Phonology

• Is the study of the smallest basic units of speech.

Phonemes

• The smallest units of speech. Ex. the a sound in fat and the a  sound in fate represent two different phonemems in English.

Syntax

• Refers to the rules that indicate how owrds and phrases can be combined to form sentences.

Semantics

• The meanings of words and sentences. It allows us to use words to convey the subtlest nuances.

Babble

• Meaningless speechlike sounds made by children from around the age of 3 months through 1 year.

Telegraphic Speech

• Sentences in which words not critical to the message are left out.

Overgeneralization

• The phenomenon by which children apply language rules even when the application results in an error. Ex. it is correct to say "he walked" for the past tense of walk, the -ed rule doesn't work quite so well when childred say "he runned" for the past tense of run.

Learning-theory approach

• Suggests that language acquisition follows the principles of reinforcement and conditioning discovered by psychologists who study learning. Ex. a child says "mama" receives hugs and praise from mother, which reinforce the behavior of saying "mama" and make its repetition more likely.

Nativist approach (to language development)

• The theory that a genetically determined, innate mechanism directs language developement.

Universal Grammar

• Noam Chomsky's theory that all the world's laguages share a common underlying structure.

Language-acquisition device

• A neural system of the brain hypotesized by Noam Chomsky to permit understanding of language. He uses the device as a metaphor.

Interactionisty approach

• The view that language development is produced through a combination of genetically dtermined perdispositions and environmental circumstances that help teach language. 

Intelligence

• Is the capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when face with challenges. Psychologist recognize that intelligence occurs in a specific context, research lags behind this understanding.

g or g-factor

• The single, general factor for mental ability assumed to underlie intelligence in some early theories of intelligence.

Fluid intelligence

• Reflects information-processing capabilities: reasoning and memory. IF we were asked to solve an analogy, group a series of letters according to some criterion or remember a set of numbers, we would be using fluid intelligence.