COGNITION AND LANGUAGE Pertemuan 6 Matakuliah: O0072 / Pengantar Psikologi Tahun: 2008.

COGNITION AND LANGUAGEPertemuan 6

Matakuliah : O0072 / Pengantar Psikologi Tahun : 2008

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COGNITION

DEFINITIONCONCEPTS : THE BASIC UNITS OF

THINKINGTHINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

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COGNITION : DEFINITION

• (Latin: cognoscere, "to know") • The human-like processing of information,

applying knowledge and changing preferences • The intellectual processes through which

information is obtained, transformed, stored, retrieved and otherwise used.

• Cognition or cognitive processes can be natural and artificial, conscious and not conscious

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition

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3 Primary Facets from Cognition Definition

1. Cognition processes Information• In form of concepts or categories

2. Cognition is active• Is actively changed, kept, used in the process of cognition• In cognition, information is :

• Obtained through senses• Transformed through the interpretive processes of perception &

thinking• Stored and retrieved through the processes of memory• Used in problem solving and language

3. Cognition is useful• We think because there is something we do not understand• We use language because we need communicate something to

others• We create because we need something that doesn’t exist• Use cognition to survive physically and to live in social world

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COGNITION : CONCEPTS (1)

• Concepts are the basic units of thinking• Concepts are general categories of

things, events and qualities that are linked by a common feature or features, in spite of their differences

information

Generalconcept

information

information

information

information

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COGNITION : CONCEPTS (2)concepts categorization

• Simple and Complex Concepts– Conjunctive concepts : a simultaneous presence of two

or more common characteristic– Disjunctive concepts : the presence of one of two

common characteristics or both

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COGNITION : CONCEPTS (3)Learning about concepts

• Natural Concepts :– Natural concepts are basic

• A basic concepts has a medium degree of inclusiveness (the number of members included in a concept)

• 3 level of inclusiveness :1. Superordinate concepts are very inclusive2. Basic concepts are the medium degree of inclusiveness3. Subordinate concepts are the least inclusive level of concepts

• Several characteristic of basic concepts that “fit” the human intellect :– Share many attributes– Share similar shapes– Share motor movement– Easily named

– Natural Concepts are good prototypes• Good examples or prototypes

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THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

• Problem solving : the cognition process through which information is used to reach a goal that is blocked by some obstacle

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_10.htm

http://www.jerryfeist.com/psstages.html

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1. Formulating The problemWe have to know what the problem is

2. Understanding and Organizing the elements of the problem• Inventory all the elements of the problems : the resources and the

information• Mental set : A habitual way of approaching or perceiving a problem can

interfere in finding the solution

3. Generating and Evaluating Alternative Solutions• Trial and error

the random application of one possible solution after another(-) time consuming & doesn’t guarantee that the solution will be discovered

• AlgorithmSystematic patterns of reasoning that guarantee finding a correct solution to a problem

• Heuristic ReasoningEfficient problem solving based on strategies that increase the probabilities of finding a correct solution(-) don’t evaluate every possible solution, don’t guarantee to find the correct one, lead to poor solutionRepresentativeness Heuristic : the strategy of making judgments about the unknown on the assumption that it is similar to what we know

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• Emotional Factors in Decision Making– Intuition– The perception of the risk

• Creative problem solving : the ability to make human products and ideas that are both novel and valued by others– Convergent thinking

• Thinking that is logical and conventional and that focuses on problem

– Divergent thinking• Thinking that is loosely organized, only partially directed and

unconventional

• Creative process1. Preparation : formulate problems, recall relevant facts, think abt

possible solution2. Incubation : a period of rest3. Illumination : a sudden insight pertaining to the solution4. Verification : the necessary but sometimes anticlimatic step of testing

the solution

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LANGUAGE

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Language : definition

• A language is a system of arbitrary symbols and the rules used to manipulate them.

• Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon. Though commonly used as a means of communication among people, human language is only one instance of this phenomenon.

• Language is a symbolic code used in communication

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LANGUAGE : SEMANTICS

• to aspects of meaning, as expressed in language or other systems of signs.

• The meaning in symbols, such as language

Noam Chomsky (1975)- Surface Structure : the superficial spoken or

written structure of a statement- Deep Structure : the underlying structure of a

statement that holds its meaning

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LANGUAGE : ELEMENTS & RULES

• Generative : the ability to create an infinite set of utterances using a finite set of elements and rules– Phonemes : the smallest units of sound in a language– Morphemes : the smallest units of meaning in a language– Syntax : the grammatical rules of a language

* Utterances : ucapan, ungkapan, sounds

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LANGUAGE : WHORFIAN HYPOTHESIS

• In linguistics, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (SWH) states that there is a systematic relationship between the grammatical categories of the language a person speaks and how that person both understands the world and behaves in it.

• the hypothesis argues that the nature of a particular language influences the habitual thought of its speakers. Different patterns of language yield different patterns of thought. This idea challenges the possibility of representing the world perfectly with language, because it acknowledges that the mechanisms of any language condition the thoughts of its community of speakers. The hypothesis emerged in many formulations, some weak and some strong.

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