This chapter discusses thinking, intelligence, and problem solving. It defines thinking as the mental manipulation of representations. Schemas and categorization are important aspects of thinking, and schemas can lead to stereotypes. There are three main ways thinking is used: reasoning, decision making, and problem solving. Various heuristics and biases can influence decision making. Intelligence is measured using psychometric tests and is influenced by both genes and environment. Problem solving strategies include using subgoals, working backward, finding analogies, and gaining insight.

1. Chapter 8: Thinking and Intelligence

2. Chapter 8 Overview: Big Questions
• What Is Thinking?
• How Do You Use Thinking?
• What Is Intelligence?
• How Is Intelligence Measured?

3. Chapter 8 Overview: Study Units
• 8.1 Thinking Is the Mental Manipulation of Representations
• 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking
• 8.3 Schemas Are the Basis of Stereotypes
• 8.4 You Use Thinking in Three Ways
• 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making
• 8.6 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals
• 8.7 You Overcome Obstacles to Solve Problems
• 8.8 One General Factor May Underlie Intelligence
• 8.9 There May Be Multiple Aspects of Intelligence
• 8.10 Intelligence Is a Result of Genes and Environment
• 8.11 Intelligence Is Assessed with Psychometric Tests
• 8.12 Intelligence Is Associated with Cognitive Performance
• 8.13 Many Factors Determine Group Differences in Intelligence

4. What Is Thinking?
8.1 Thinking Is the Mental Manipulation of Representations
8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking
8.3 Schemas Are the Basis of Stereotypes

5. 8.1 Thinking Is the Mental Manipulation of Representations (1)
Thinking: The mental manipulation of representations
of information we encounter in our environments.
• Cognitive psychologists study thought and the
understanding that results from thinking.

6. 8.1 Thinking Is the Mental Manipulation of Representations (1)
When you think of a “dog” what comes to mind?
• Is it an image of a 4 legged friendly creature?
• Do you hear barking?
• Does it have fur?

7. 8.1 Thinking Is the Mental Manipulation of Representations (2)
Analogical and symbolic
representations
• Analogical representations:
Mental representations that
have some of the physical
characteristics of objects.
• Symbolic representations:
Abstract mental
representations that consist
of words or ideas.

8. 8.1 Thinking Is the Mental Manipulation of Representations (3)
Mental maps
• Include a combination of
analogical and symbolic
representations
o Such shortcuts are useful,
but they can sometimes
lead to errors, because we
can represent only a
limited range of
knowledge.

9. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (1)
Schemas allow categorization of
concepts.
• Schemas: Mental structures—
collections of ideas, prior
knowledge, and experiences—
that help organize information
and guide thought and behavior.
• Schemas are related to your
mental organization of analogical
and symbolic representations.

10. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (2)
When we use a schema to group things based on
shared properties, we create a category.
Concept: A mental representation of objects, events, or
relations organized around common themes.

11. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (3)

12. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (4)
Model Ways of categorizing concepts Examples for the category of Sports
Prototype model • Concepts are organized in hierarchical
categories.
• The prototype is the concept that is the
most typical category member.
• Other concepts are categorized as
similar or different from the prototype
based on how many characteristics they
share with the prototype.
• In the category of Sports, the prototype
might be baseball.
• Characteristics of baseball might include
that the game uses a ball.
• Sports with shared characteristics
(basketball) are similar to the prototype.
• Sports with dissimilar characteristics
(surfing) are different from the
prototype
Exemplar model • Concepts are not organized
hierarchically.
• No single concept is the best member of
a category.
• All examples, or exemplars, of concepts
in a category equally represent the
category.
• The category of Sports is equally
represented by all exemplars in the
category (including baseball, basketball,
surfing, etc.).
Table 8.1
Models of Organizing Concepts into Categories

13. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (5)
Prototype model of
categorization
• Prototype model: A
way of thinking about
concepts. Within each
category, there is a
best example—a
prototype—for that
category

14. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (6)
Quick! What animal are you looking at?

15. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (6)
Is it a dog or a sheep or a pig?
How does it match your
exemplar for each of these
animals?

16. 8.2 Schemas Are the Basis of Thinking (6)
Exemplar model of
categorization
• Exemplar model: A way of
thinking about concepts. All
concepts in a category are
examples (exemplars);
together, they form the
category
It is actually a Mangalitsa pig.

17. 8.3 Schemas Are the Basis of Stereotypes
Stereotypes
• Schemas that allow for easy, fast processing of
information about people, events, or groups, based
on their membership in particular groups

18. How Do You Use Thinking?
8.4 You Use Thinking in Three Ways
8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making
8.6 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals
8.7 You Overcome Obstacles to Solve Problems

19. 8.4 You Use Thinking in Three Ways (1)
Sometimes the terms reasoning, decision making, and
problem solving are used interchangeably, but they are
not really the same.

20. 8.4 You Use Thinking in Three Ways (2)
Reasoning
• Using information to determine if a conclusion is
valid or reasonable
o Informal reasoning: relying on opinions
o Formal reasoning: relying on logical and objective
methods

21. 8.4 You Use Thinking in Three Ways (3)
Decision making
• Attempting to select the best alternative among
several options
Problem solving
• Finding a way around an obstacle to reach a goal

22. 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making (1)
An algorithm is a systematic set of procedures
to follow when thinking and making a
decision.
• “Rule of thumb” decisions are generally
fine—they are good enough in our daily
lives.

23. 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making (2)
Heuristic
• A shortcut (rule of thumb or informal guideline)
used to reduce the amount of thinking that is
needed to make decisions

24. 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making (2)
Answer each of these question
• Which is more likely? Being killed by a
shark or being struck by lightning two
times?
• Which kind of death is more likely?
Tornado or asthma?
• Which is more common? Words that begin
with K or words that have K as the third
letter?

25. 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making (2)
Answer each of these question
• Which is more likely? Being killed by a
shark or being struck by lightning two
times?
• Which kind of death is more likely?
Tornado or asthma?
• Which is more common? Words that begin
with K or words that have K as the third
letter?
In all of these cases, the
latter is more likely!
You’ve just
demonstrated the
availability heuristic. We
base our answers on
how easily or readily
examples of each case
come to mind.

26. 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making (3)
The availability heuristic is the tendency to make a
decision based on information that comes most easily
to mind.
The representativeness heuristic is the tendency to
place people or objects in a category if they are similar
to the concept that is the prototype.
• Can lead to faulty reasoning if we fail to take other
information into account (e.g., the base rate).
Make sure to read the short article on the representativeness heuristic for an example

27. 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making (4)
Framing
• How information is presented
affects how that information is
perceived and influences
decisions.

28. 8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making (5)
The paradox of choice
• When too many options are
available, especially when all
of them are attractive, we
experience conflict and
indecision.
o Maximizers try to make
the perfect choice.
o Satisficers seek to find a
“good enough” choice.

29. 8.6 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals (1)
Stop! Go try solving the Tower of Hanoi
problem posted under activities!
Then go to the next slide

30. 8.6 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals (1)
Subgoals
• In many cases, solving a
problem requires breaking the
task into subgoals.
o Reaching each subgoal will
result in achieving the main
goal of solving the problem.

31. 8.6 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals (2)
Working backward
• Working backward can
be helpful when the
appropriate steps for
solving a problem are
not clear; it involves
proceeding from the goal
state to the initial state.
Analogy
• Finding an appropriate
analogy for a problem
can help achieve goals.

32. 8.6 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals (3)
Insight
• Insight is the metaphorical
lightbulb that goes on in
your head when you
suddenly realize the
solution to a problem.
o Köhler’s experiment on
insight in chimpanzees

33. 8.6 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals (4)
Strategy Characteristics Sample Problem Solution
Subgoals Identify the goal state and several
subgoals to be achieved.
You want to repair your car
muffler, but you dont have
enough money to pay for repairs.
To reach the goal of having
enough money for repairs, you
research the best price, cut
spending for a month, and work
more.
Working backward Begin from the goal state and
work backward to the current
state.
You want to graduate in 2 years,
but you arent sure what courses
you need to take.
You identify the credits needed to
graduate, then the credits needed
per term, then the credits needed
this term, and finally the classes
that provide the needed credits
for this term.
Analogy Identify a previously solved
problem that is similar to the
current problem.
You cook beef with broccoli, but
the broccoli ends up soggy.
You think about how, when you
put an iced coffee in your lunch
bag, your sandwich got damp.
Similarly, moisture from the beef
ruins the broccoli. Next time, you
cook the beef and broccoli
separately, then combine them.
Insight Take a break from actively
thinking about the problem, and
the answer may spontaneously
become apparent.
You have a hard time solving a
difficult calculus homework
problem.
You put the problem away. After a
while, the solution pops into your
mind, and you write the answer in
your homework.
Table 8.2
Problem Solving Strategies

34. 8.7 You Overcome Obstacles to Solve Problems (1)
Restructuring
• Thinking about a
problem in a new
way in order to solve
it
Overcoming mental sets
• Mental sets: A
tendency to
approach a problem
in the same way that
has worked in the
past, which may
make it harder to
solve.

35. 8.7 You Overcome Obstacles to Solve Problems (2)
Overcoming functional
fixedness
• Functional fixedness:
A tendency to think of
things based on their
usual functions, which
may make it harder to
solve a problem.