Chapter 8 Cognition, Language, and Creativity Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 1 Gateway Theme The origins of intelligent behavior lie in thinking, language, problem solving, and creativity. Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. One of the factors that truly separates human beings from non-human animals is our capacity for cognition. We apply the process of taking in information, using it, and directing it to solving problems and making decisions in ways that most other animals simply cannot. Further, our ability to use language in a very complex way is another criterion of the human species. Our thought capacity is reflected in our creative mechanism, which allows us to create novel solutions by combining various mental elements in useful ways. 2 Gateway Questions What is the nature of thought? In what ways are images related to thinking? What are concepts, and how are they learned? What is language, and what role does it play in thinking? What do we know about problem solving? What is the nature of creative thinking? How accurate is intuition? How can creative and innovative thinking help me in my personal and professional life? Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. How Do We Think? Experiential vs. reflective processing Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Cognition involves thinking, but also the ability to gain and deal with knowledge. It refers to internal processing of data that typically begins outside of us, and then be mentally manipulated in any number of ways. Two types of processing include experiential and reflective processing. The first is automatic, unconscious, and effortless, while the second takes deliberateness and intentionality. Cognitive processes can move back and forth between these two types of processing, depending on how we focus our attention and effort. 4 Some Basic Units of Thought Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. If you think of thought (see what we did there?) as being a constructed puzzle, then what are the individual pieces? What are the units of thought? 1. Mental images 2. Concepts 3. Language These small bits all work together to help our thinking process be more efficient and effective. 5 Creating and Using M ...

1. Chapter 8
Cognition, Language, and Creativity
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
1
Gateway Theme
The origins of intelligent behavior lie in thinking, language,
problem solving, and creativity.
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
One of the factors that truly separates human beings from non-
human animals is our capacity for cognition. We apply the
process of taking in information, using it, and directing it to
solving problems and making decisions in ways that most other
animals simply cannot. Further, our ability to use language in a
very complex way is another criterion of the human species.
Our thought capacity is reflected in our creative mechanism,
which allows us to create novel solutions by combining various
mental elements in useful ways.
2

2. Gateway Questions
What is the nature of thought?
In what ways are images related to thinking?
What are concepts, and how are they learned?
What is language, and what role does it play in thinki ng?
What do we know about problem solving?
What is the nature of creative thinking?
How accurate is intuition?
How can creative and innovative thinking help me in my
personal and professional life?
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
How Do We Think?
Experiential vs. reflective processing
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Cognition involves thinking, but also the ability to gain and
deal with knowledge. It refers to internal processing of data that
typically begins outside of us, and then be mentally manipulated
in any number of ways.
Two types of processing include experiential and reflective
processing. The first is automatic, unconscious, and effortless,
while the second takes deliberateness and intentionality.
Cognitive processes can move back and forth between these two
types of processing, depending on how we focus our attention
and effort.

3. 4
Some Basic Units of Thought
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
If you think of thought (see what we did there?) as being a
constructed puzzle, then what are the individual pieces? What
are the units of thought?
1. Mental images
2. Concepts
3. Language
These small bits all work together to help our thinking process
be more efficient and effective.
5
Creating and Using Mental Images (1 of 2)
Imagery in thinking
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Our brains seem to be wired to use visual information and
process information in a visual way. Some research finds that
even those who are blind—those who have never seen—still see
activation in the visual cortices of the brain when thinking,
supporting the idea that visual processing is an important part

4. of how we think. If you remember our discussion of memory,
you’ll recall that visual encoding helps us to remember more
effectively.
We use our “mind’s eye” to create the mental images so that we
can process information effectively. These visual processes
include the following, which you should study carefully:
1 . Reverse vision talks about how creating mental images
works with memory processes.
2. Kinesthetic imagery speaks to the interplay between our
muscular movements and thinking processes.
6
Creating and Using Mental Images (2 of 2)
Imagery in the brain
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
This figure shows how the brain processes mental images in a
manner that differs from processing visual sensory input. In
other words, our “mind’s eye” works differently from our actual
eyes.
7
Forming Concepts
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or

5. duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
A concept is a category of objects or events that share some
common feature or attribute. When we form concepts,
individual data points are analyzed in a positive (they belong)
or negative (they don’t belong) manner. This may happen above
or below the level of awareness; that is, it may be an automatic
or controlled process.
It is also important that we recognize that there are exceptions
to some concept rules, much in the way that learning the rules
of language also requires us to learn the exceptions to those
rules. Sometimes what looks like an exception really is not, but
just appears to be so. As an example, the inclusion of “tomato”
in the concept of “fruit” is not a violation of the rules of that
concept, but at first glance might appear to be.
8
Types of Concepts
Identifying prototypes
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
There are several different types of concepts of which you
should be aware:
1. Relational concepts—how objects or features relate to each
other
2. Disjunctive concepts—“either/or” concepts

6. 3. Prototypes—ideal examples of a concept (e.g., an apple is a
prototype of fruit)
(4) Faulty concepts—inaccurate examples of concepts that can
muddle thinking (e.g., all-or-nothing thinking or the use of
stereotypes)
9
Linguistic Relativity: What’s North of My Fork?
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
According to the linguistic relativity hypothesis, the words that
we use are shaped by but also shape our thoughts. This is a
modern take on an older model that, in its original form, had
somewhat little research support. The original model suggested
that words create thought, but the more recent revision shows us
how words influence, but don’t determine, thought.
As an example, have you ever said “I know what I mean but I
don’t know how to say it?” From the linguistic relativity
perspective, one might respond by saying, “if you don’t know
how to say it, you may not truly know what you mean!”
10
Semantics
Osgood’s semantic differential
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,

7. or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The meaning of the words that we use is what we refer to when
we talk about semantics; that is, the semantics of “semantics” is
what the words mean.
There are several facets of a language’s semantic structure:
1. Connotative versus denotative meaning—the first is exact
definitions, and the second is emotional or personal meanings.
2. Context—do different words mean something different when
used in different situations?
3. Bilingualism—the ability to speak more than one language
fluently.
11
The Structure of Language
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Phonemes are the basic units of sound in language, while
morphemes are the individual units of meaning. The way in
which we construct language is based on the rules of grammar,
which includes syntax (word order) and transformational rules
(guidelines for changing a sentence to a different but proper
grammatical structure).
12
Gestural Languages

8. American Sign Language
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
When you think of language, you probably default to verbal
(spoken) language forms. Don’t worry, most people do. But
remember that there are many types of language, many of which
involve gesturing.
The best example would probably be the sign language used by
deaf individuals, but if you consider how we use body language,
posturing, facial expressions, and the like, you’ll note that
language certainly involves far more than the words that we use.
13
Animal Language
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Throughout our study of language, many examples of animals
communicating in a linguistic form have been identified. Read
about how Kanzi has been able to learn how to use lexigrams to
communicate.
An important question, though, is “to what extent can animals
create using language, or are they simply imitating?” Experts
differ on whether animals truly have the capacity to create new
linguistic expressions and/or to move beyond simple repetition
and modeling.

9. 14
Algorithmic
Solution
s and Heuristics
The tumor problem
Coon, Introduction to Psychology, 15th Edition. © 2019
Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated,
or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Problem solving refers to our active attempts to overcome a
barrier to arrive at a given destination (or end goal). There are
several different methods that might be used, and you should
refer to your text to understand each of them:
Algorithms (including logical, inductive, and deductive)
thought
Understanding and general versus functional solutions
Heuristics (rules of thumb)

10. What are the benefits and potential drawbacks of each type of
solution approach? It is often necessary to have a deep
understanding of the problem (or question) in order to identify
the best solution strategy.
15
Insightful