75 Key Terms for Language & Intelligence
- algorithm
- problem-solving strategy characterized by a specific set of instructions
- analytical intelligence
- aligned with academic problem solving and computations
- anchoring bias
- faulty heuristic in which you fixate on a single aspect of a problem to find a solution
- artificial concept
- concept that is defined by a very specific set of characteristics
- availability heuristic
- faulty heuristic in which you make a decision based on information readily available to you
- cognition
- thinking, including perception, learning, problem solving, judgment, and memory
- cognitive psychology
- field of psychology dedicated to studying every aspect of how people think
- cognitive script
- set of behaviours that are performed the same way each time; also referred to as an event schema
- concept
- category or grouping of linguistic information, objects, ideas, or life experiences
- confirmation bias
- faulty heuristic in which you focus on information that confirms your beliefs
- convergent thinking
- providing correct or established answers to problems
- creative intelligence
- ability to produce new products, ideas, or inventing a new, novel solution to a problem
- creativity
- ability to generate, create, or discover new ideas, solutions, and possibilities
- crystallized intelligence
- characterized by acquired knowledge and the ability to retrieve it
- cultural intelligence
- ability with which people can understand and relate to those in another culture
- deductive reasoning
- applying general rules to specific observations (the opposite of inductive reasoning)
- divergent thinking
- ability to think “outside the box” to arrive at novel solutions to a problem
- emotional intelligence
- ability to understand emotions and motivations in yourself and others
- event schema
- set of behaviours that are performed the same way each time; also referred to as a cognitive script
- fluid intelligence
- ability to see complex relationships and solve problems
- Flynn effect
- observation that each generation has a significantly higher IQ than the previous generation
- functional fixedness
- inability to see an object as useful for any other use other than the one for which it was intended
- grammar
- set of rules that are used to convey meaning through the use of a lexicon
- heuristic
- mental shortcut that saves time when solving a problem
- hindsight bias
- belief that the event just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t
- inductive reasoning
- drawing general conclusions from specific observations
- intelligence quotient
- (also, IQ) score on a test designed to measure intelligence
- language
- communication system that involves using words to transmit information from one individual to another
- lexicon
- the words of a given language
- mental set
- continually using an old solution to a problem without results
- morpheme
- smallest unit of language that conveys some type of meaning
- Multiple Intelligences Theory
- Gardner’s theory that each person possesses at least eight types of intelligence
- natural concept
- mental groupings that are created “naturally” through your experiences
- norming
- administering a test to a large population so data can be collected to reference the normal scores for a population and its groups
- overgeneralization
- extension of a rule that exists in a given language to an exception to the rule
- phoneme
- basic sound unit of a given language
- practical intelligence
- aka “street smarts”
- problem-solving strategy
- method for solving problems
- prototype
- best representation of a concept
- range of reaction
- each person’s response to the environment is unique based on his or her genetic make-up
- representative bias
- faulty heuristic in which you stereotype someone or something without a valid basis for your judgment
- representative sample
- subset of the population that accurately represents the general population
- role schema
- set of expectations that define the behaviours of a person occupying a particular role
- schema
- (plural = schemata) mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts
- semantics
- process by which we derive meaning from morphemes and words
- standard deviation
- measure of variability that describes the difference between a set of scores and their mean
- standardization
- method of testing in which administration, scoring, and interpretation of results are consistent
- stereotype threat
- performance decrements that are caused by the knowledge of cultural stereotypes
syntax
manner by which words are organized into sentences
- trial and error
- problem-solving strategy in which multiple solutions are attempted until the correct one is found
- triarchic theory of intelligence
- Sternberg’s theory of intelligence; three facets of intelligence: practical, creative, and analytical
- working backwards
- heuristic in which you begin to solve a problem by focusing on the end result