COGS 110 Final

going beyond the information given

drawing a conclusion based on some given information in accordance with boundary conditions specified by a task

Top down -test or confirm general statements -if;then;but;therefore

bottom up approach -detect patterns -makes broad generalizations from specific observations

-all premises are supplied in the problem -problems are self-contained -there is typically one correct answer -unambiguous when the problem is solved -content of the problem is of limited, academic interest -problems are often solved for their own sake

-Form of argument matters -logical -considered hallmark of mature and scientific thinking -piaget: hallmark of formal operational stage

Depends on the number of observations and the nature of the property being projected

Understanding new problems in terms of familiar ones -ignore superficial similarities and focusing on underlying parallel relationships -piaget suggested that analogical reasoning didnt emerge until adolescence

Age Knowledge Meta cognition

logical connections between unrelated points -according to piaget, did not develop until concrete operational stage

Thinking in terms of abstractions or symbols, being able to think about many variables or dimensions at the same time, being able to think in terms of probabilities and proportions

making decisions under uncertainty

Nativist Theories (Chomsky) Constructivist Theories (Tomasello)

-Chomsky -children born with innate kanguage skills (universal grammar) -Language Acquisition Device (LAD): hypothetical brain mechanism

-Tomasello -kids acquire language through interaction with the environment, people, and usage of other cognitive and social processes

10-12 months -infants use joint attention ot communicate -often point to things

statistical learning social learning

one unit utterances with intonation and communicative purpose

-novel phrases -children dont make certain grammatical errors -errors they do make are not likely learned —-but have not found LAD in brain

-kids correct their mistakes -much learning is through association BUT kids generally correct their own errors, even without feedback

language is both biological and social -kids are motivatied to learn lang through a desire to communicate with others

symbolic function

language shapes and may even determine the way people of a certain culture perceive and understand the world

semantic differences were caused by the differences between each languages’ grammatical form classes -we dont think about them but they represent how we think about the world - Not a formal rule, but just something that you don’t say Ex: un — uncover, uncoil. But you don’t say unbreak