CHAPTER 10
Cognition, Language, and Creativity
Theme: The origins of intelligent behavior lie in thinking, language, problem solving, and creativity.
Preview
Gizmos and Doohickeys
Cartoonist Rube Goldberg was famous for drawing wacky machines that did simple tasks in hilarious ways. A typical Rube Goldberg device consisted of pulleys, switches, levers, mousetraps, balloons, fans, dancing cows, and other strange items.
Today, thanks to the Theta Tau engineering fraternity, students can honor Goldberg’s zany inspiration while testing their own creativity. In a contest held at Purdue University, students invent machines to do tasks such as sticking a stamp on a letter, teeing up a golf ball, or screwing a lightbulb into a socket. Of course, any engineering student worth his or her calculator could easily create a machine to do such things. The real challenge in the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is to build a gadget that does something simple in the most complicated way imaginable. For instance, Doug Shoenenberger and Paul Calhoun won with a contraption that loads a disc into a CD player in 35 mind-boggling steps.
Students like Doug and Paul obviously enjoy complexity, novelty, and problem solving. At higher levels, these are the same qualities that define many of history’s geniuses, such as Einstein, Darwin, Mozart, Newton, Michelangelo, Galileo, Madame Curie, Edison, Martha Graham, and others (Michalko, 1998).
Like all creative activities, the Rube Goldberg contest raises questions about human cognition. How do we think? How are we able to solve problems? How do people create works of art, science, and literature? How many engineering students does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
For some preliminary answers, we will investigate thinking, problem solving, and creativity in the pages that follow.
¡ Thinking is influenced by the form in which information is represented—as images, concepts, or symbols.
¡ Language is an especially powerful way to encode information and manipulate ideas.
¡ Animals are capable of rudimentary language use, but only with the aid of human intervention. Language is primarily a human characteristic.
¡ Expert problem solving is based on acquired knowledge and strategies. Experts are not naturally smarter than novices.
¡ Creative thinking is novel, divergent, and tempered with a dash of practicality.
¡ Some common thinking errors can be avoided if you know the pitfalls of intuitive thought.
¡ Creativity can be enhanced by strategies that promote divergent thinking.
¡ Many animals appear to engage in elementary forms of thinking.
Gateways to Cognition, Language, and Creativity
What is the nature of thought?
In what ways are images related to thinking?
How are concepts learned? Are there different kinds of concepts?
What is the role of language in thinking?
Can animals be taught to use language?
What do we know about problem solving?
What is artificial intelligence?
What is the nature of creative thinking?
How accurate is intuition?
What can be done to promote creativity?
Do animals think?
Key Questions
What Is Thinking?— It’s All in Your Head!
Humans are highly adaptable creatures.We live in deserts, jungles, mountains, frenzied cities, placid retreats, and recently, in space stations. Unlike other species, our success owes more to intelligence and thinking abilities than it does to physical strength or speed. Let’s see how concepts, language, and mental images make thinking possible.
Cognition refers to mentally processing information. Our thoughts take many forms, including daydreaming, problem solving, and reasoning (to name but a few). Although thinking is not limited to humans, imagine trying to teach an animal to match the feats of Shakuntala Devi,who holds the “world record” for mental calculation. Devi once multiplied two 13-digit numbers (7,686,369,774,870 times 2,465,099,745,779) in her head, giving the answer in 28 seconds. (That’s 18,947,668,104,042, 434,089,403,730 if you haven’t already figured it out.)
Doing research on thinking is similar to figuring out how a computer works by asking, “I wonder what would happen if I
© AP/Wide World Photos
The power of thought is beautifully expressed by Stephen W.Hawking, a theoretical physicist and one of the best-known scientific minds of modern times.Now in his early sixties,Hawking has suffered since age 13 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disabling condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.Today, he can control only his left hand, and he cannot speak. Nevertheless, his brain remains fiercely active.With courage and determination, he has used his intellect to advance our understanding of the universe.
Cognition The process of thinking or mentally processing information (images, concepts, words, rules, and symbols).
368 CHAPTER 10
did this?” But in cognitive psychology (the study of human information processing) the “computer” is the brain and thinking is the “programming” we seek to understand.
Some Basic Units of Thought
At its most basic, thinking is an internal representation (mental expression) of a problem or situation. (Picture a chess player who mentally tries several moves before actually touching a chess piece.) The power of being able to mentally represent problems is dramatically illustrated by chess grand master Miguel Najdorf, who once simultaneously played 45 chess games while blindfolded. How did Najdorf do it? Like most people, he used the following basic units of thought: (1) images;
(2) concepts; and (3) language, or symbols. Images are mental representations that typically have picture-like qualities. A concept
is a generalized idea that represents a class of related objects or events. Language consists of words or symbols and rules for combining them. Thinking often involves all three units. For example, blindfolded chess players rely on visual images, concepts (“Game 2 is an English opening”), and the special notational system, or “language,” of chess.
In a moment we will delve further into imagery, concepts, and language. Be aware, however, that thinking involves attention, pattern recognition, memory, decision making, intuition, knowledge, and more. This chapter is only a sample of what cognitive psychology is about.
Mental Imagery— Does a Frog Have Lips?
Ninety-seven percent of us have visual images and ninety-two percent have auditory images. More than 50 percent have imagery for movement, touch, taste, smell, and pain. Thus, mental images are sometimes more than just “pictures.” For example, your image of a bakery may also include its delicious odor. Some people have a rare form of imagery called synesthesia (sin-es- THEE-zyah). For these individuals, images cross normal sensory barriers (Martino & Marks, 2001). For instance, listening to music may produce a burst of colors or tastes, as well as sound sensations.
(Synesthesia is discussed in more detail in Chapter 5.)
Despite such variations, it is generally accepted that most people use images to think, remember, and solve problems. Here are some of the ways we use mental images (Kosslyn et al., 1990):
¡ To make a decision or solve a problem (choosing what clothes to wear, figuring out how to arrange furniture in a room)
¡ To change feelings (thinking of pleasant images to get out of a bad mood, imagining yourself as thin to stay on a diet)
¡ To improve a skill or prepare for some action (using images to improve a swimming stroke, mentally rehearsing how you will ask for a raise)
¡ To aid memory (picturing Mr. Cook wearing a chef ’s hat to remember his name)
The Nature of Mental Images
Mental images are not flat, like photographs. Stephen Kosslyn demonstrated this by asking people, “Does a frog have lips and a stubby tail?”Unless you often kiss frogs, you will probably tackle this question by using mental images. Most people picture a frog, “look” at its mouth, and then mentally rotate the frog to check its tail (Kosslyn, 1983). Mental rotation refers to changing the position of an image in mental space. We do this, at least partly, by making imagined movements (œFig. 10.1). That is, we mentally “pick up” an object and turn it around (Richter et al.,
An ability to mentally rotate objects is very valuable for people who work in industrial design and drafting.
(f ) (e) (d) (a) (b) (c)
œ Figure 10.1 Imagery in thinking. (Top) Subjects were shown a drawing similar to (a) and drawings of how (a) would look in other positions, such as (b) and (c). Subjects could recognize (a) after it had been “rotated” from its original position.However, the more (a) was rotated in space, the longer it took to recognize it.This result suggests that subjects actually formed a three-dimensional image of (a) and rotated the image to see if it matched. (Shepard, 1975.) (Bottom) Try your ability to manipulate mental images: Each of these shapes can be folded to make a cube; in which do the arrows meet? (After Kosslyn, 1985.)
B. Busco/Getty Images
COGNITION, LANGUAGE, AND CREATIVITY 369
2000;Wexler, Kosslyn, & Berthoz, 1998). (For a look at some interesting research on mental imagery see “3-D Images.”)
“Reverse Vision”
What happens in the brain when a person has visual images? Seeing something in your “mind’s eye” is similar to seeing real objects.
Information from the eyes normally activates the brain’s primary visual area, creating an image (œFig. 10.2).Other brain areas then help us recognize the image by relating it to stored knowledge. When you form a mental image, the system works in reverse. Brain areas where memories are stored send signals back to the visual cortex, where once again, an image is created (Farah et al., 1989; Kosslyn, Thompson, & Alpert, 1995). For example, if you visualize a friend’s face right now, the area of your brain that specializes in perceiving faces will become more active (O’Craven & Kanwisher, 2000).
Using Mental Images
How are images used to solve problems? We use stored images
(information from memory) to apply past experiences to problem solving. Let’s say you are asked, “How many uses can you
Cognitive psychology The study of thinking, knowing, understanding, problem solving, creativity, and information processing.
Internal representation Any image, concept, precept, symbol, or process used to mentally represent information during thought.
Image Most often, a mental representation that has picture-like qualities; an icon.
Concept A generalized idea representing a class of related objects or events.
Language Words or symbols, and rules for combining them, that are used for thinking and communication.
Synesthesia Experiencing one sense in terms normally associated with another sense; for example,“seeing” colors when a sound is heard.
Mental rotation The ability to change the position of an image in mental space.
Stored image A mental image retained in memory and retrieved when appropriate.
3-D Images—Now Showing in Imaginations Everywhere
Detective Psyche slowly pushed open the window and stepped into the dingy room. On the opposite wall, above a bed, a mirror reflected her image, startling her.“This is creepy,”she thought.Psyche’s eyes drifted to the floor at her right.Was that someone’s shadow spilling under the closed door?
When you read a description of a scene, how do you remember the locations of objects? Psychologists Nancy Franklin and Barbara Tversky (1990) found that we don’t merely remember words, such as “mirror above bed.” Typically, we form a spatial image of how objects are arranged.
To explore imagery, Franklin and Tversky asked people to read descriptions of various environments. Five objects were located in each scene. In a barn scene, for example, the objects were a saddle, a rake, a pail, a lantern, and shears.
People imagined themselves in each setting and were then quizzed about the locations of objects. Periodically, they were asked to change position in the imagined scene (“Turn 90 degrees to the right” or “Face the pail”). Everyone who was tested used imagery to locate the objects.Most, in fact, reported that they mentally “turned” and “looked at” objects to answer questions about them.
Objects above or below a “viewer” were easiest to locate.
Finding objects placed to the right or left was the most difficult. This insight may aid the design of such things as airplane cockpits or nuclear power plant controls. To minimize confusion about location, it is better to concentrate on the up-down dimension instead of right-left positioning.
F O C U S O N R E S E A RC H
Parietal lobe Parietal lobe Occipital lobe Frontal lobe Frontal lobe Temporal lobe Temporal lobe Cerebellum Cerebellum Occipital lobe
Vision Visual Image
œ Figure 10.2 When you see a flower, its image is represented by activity in the primary visual area of the cortex, at the back of the brain. Information about the flower is also relayed to other brain areas. If you form a mental image of a flower, information follows a reverse path.The result, once again, is activation of the primary visual area.
370 CHAPTER 10
think of for an empty egg carton?” You might begin by picturing uses you have already seen, such as sorting buttons into a carton. To generate more original solutions, created images may be used. A created image is assembled or invented, rather than simply remembered. Thus, an artist may completely picture a proposed sculpture before beginning work. People with good imaging abilities tend to score higher on tests of creativity (Morrison & Wallace, 2001). In fact, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Lewis Carroll, and many other of history’s most original intellects relied heavily on imagery (West, 1991).
Does the “size” of a mental image affect thinking? To find out, first picture a cat sitting beside a housefly.Now try to “zoom in” on the cat’s ears so you see them clearly. Next, picture a rabbit sitting beside an elephant. How quickly can you “see” the rabbit’s front feet? Did it take longer than picturing the cat’s ears?
When a rabbit is pictured with an elephant, the rabbit’s image must be small because the elephant is large. Using such tasks, Stephen Kosslyn found that the smaller an image is, the harder it is to “see” its details. To put this finding to use, try forming oversized images of things you want to think about.
For example, to understand electricity, picture the wires as large pipes with electrons the size of golf balls moving through them; to understand the human ear, explore it (in your mind’s eye) like a large cave; and so forth.
Kinesthetic Imagery
How do muscular responses relate to thinking? In a sense, we think with our bodies as well as with our heads. Information can be represented in kinesthetic images created from produced, remembered, or imagined muscular sensations (Oyama & Ichikawa, 1990). Such images help us think about movements and actions.
Kinesthetic imagery arises from kinesthetic sensations (feelings from the muscles and joints). As you think and talk, these sensations tend to guide the flow of ideas. For example, if you try to tell a friend how to make bread, you may move your hands in as if you were kneading dough. Or, try answering this question:Which direction do you turn the hot-water handle in your kitchen to shut off the water? Most people haven’t simply memorized the words “Turn it clockwise,” or “Turn it counterclockwise.” Instead you will probably “turn” the faucet in your imagination before answering. You may even make a turning motion with your hand before answering.
Kinesthetic images are especially important in music, sports, dance, martial arts, and other movement-oriented skills. People with good kinesthetic imagery learn such skills faster than those with poor imagery (Glisky,Williams, & Kihlstrom, 1996).
Thinking is often accompanied by tiny, nearly imperceptible
micromovements in our muscles. For example, if you imagine lifting a weight, a burst of activity will occur in the muscles of your motionless arm (Bakker, Boschker, & Chung, 1996). Such micromovements are an outward expression of the brain activity that accompanies kinesthetic images (Parsons et al., 1995). If you would like to demonstrate the link between muscular ac-
© Dennis Coon
The Church of the Sacred Family in Barcelona, Spain,was designed by Antonio Gaudi.
Could a person lacking mental imagery design such a masterpiece? Three people out of 100 find it impossible to produce mental images and 3 out of 100 have very strong imagery. Most artists, architects, designers, sculptors, and film makers have excellent visual imagery.
Rock climbers use kinesthetic imagery to learn climbing routes and to plan their next few moves (Smyth & Waller, 1998).
© John Elk III/Stock, Boston Inc./PictureQuest
COGNITION, LANGUAGE, AND CREATIVITY 371
tivity and thinking, ask a friend who was in a sports event to describe what occurred. Along with a description, you will probably get an “instant replay” of the high points!
Concepts—I’m Positive, It’s a Whatchamacallit
A concept is an idea that represents a class of objects or events.
Concepts are powerful tools because they allow us to think more abstractly. Concepts also help us identify important features of objects or events. That’s why experts in various areas of knowledge are good at classifying objects. Bird watchers, tropical fish fanciers, 5-year-old dinosaur enthusiasts, and other experts have all learned to look for identifying details that beginners tend to miss. If you are knowledgeable about a topic, such as horses, flowers, or football, you literally see things differently than less-well-informed people do (Johnson & Mervis, 1997).
Forming Concepts
How are concepts learned? Concept formation is the process of classifying information into meaningful categories. At its most basic, concept formation is based on experience with positive
and negative instances (examples that belong, or do not belong, to the concept class). Concept formation is not as simple as it might seem. Imagine a child learning the concept of dog.
Dog Daze
A child and her father go for a walk.At a neighbor’s house, they see a mediumsized dog. The father says,“See the dog.” As they pass the next yard, the child sees a cat and says,“Dog!” Her father corrects her,“No, that’s a cat.” The child now thinks,“Aha, dogs are large and cats are small.” In the next yard, she sees a Pekingese and says,“Cat!”“No, that’s a dog,” replies her father.
The child’s confusion is understandable. At first she might even mistake a Pekingese for a dust mop. However, with more positive and negative instances, the child will eventually recognize everything from Great Danes to Chihuahuas as members of the same category—dogs.
As adults, we often acquire concepts by learning or forming
rules. A conceptual rule is a guideline for deciding whether objects or events belong to a concept class. For example, a triangle must be a closed shape with three sides made of straight lines.
Rules are an efficient way to learn concepts, but examples remain important. It’s unlikely that memorizing rules would allow a new listener to accurately categorize punk, hip-hop, fusion, salsa, heavy metal, grunge rock, and rap music.
Types of Concepts
Are there different kinds of concepts? Yes, conjunctive concepts,
or “and concepts,” are defined by the presence of two or more features. In other words, an item must have “this feature and
this feature and this feature.” For example, a motorcycle must have two wheels and an engine and handlebars.
Relational concepts are based on how an object relates to something else or how its features relate to one another. All of the following are relational concepts: larger, above, left, north,
and upside down. Another example is sister, which is defined as “a female considered in her relation to another person having the same parents.”
Disjunctive concepts have at least one of several possible features.
These are “either/or” concepts. To belong to the category, an item must have “this feature or that feature or another feature.” For example, in baseball, a strike is either a swing and a miss or a pitch over the plate or a foul ball. The either/or quality of disjunctive concepts makes them hard to learn.
Created image A mental image that has been assembled or invented rather than simply remembered.
Kinesthetic image Any mental representation based on produced, remembered, or imagined muscular sensations.
Micromovements Tiny, nearly imperceptible motions of the muscles.
Concept formation The process of classifying information into meaningful categories.
...
Januszek66