MODULE 7

Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

Consolidated by:
Amina Thalia B. Germino, RPm

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MODULE 7 THINKING, LANGUAGE, AND INTELLIGENCE
INTRODUCTION:
This module discusses and explains how thinking is used in problem solving and
decision making as well as discuss what thinking is, the nature of language and the
theories about the nature of intelligence. Next, describe the process and development of
language and discuss the methods of measuring intelligence. Lastly, this module
discusses the roles of nature and nurture in the development of intelligence and the what
“testing controversy” is.
LEARNING OUTCOME:
After reading this module, you are able to:
1. Define thinking and explain how thinking is used in problem solving and decision-
making.
2. Explain the nature of language.
3. Describe language development—the “two-year explosion”.
4. Discuss theories about the nature of intelligence,
5. Discuss methods of measuring the intelligence and the “testing controversy”.
6. Discuss the roles of nature and nurture in the development of intelligence.

LEARNING CONTENT:
What is thinking? Thinking means paying attention to information, representing
it mentally, reasoning about it, and making judgments and decisions about it. Thinking
refers to conscious, planned attempts to make sense of and change the world. Mental
processes such as dreaming and daydreaming do not represent thinking; they may be
unplanned and proceed more or less on their own.
Cognition mental activity involved in understanding, processing, and
communicating information.
Concept mental category that is used to class together objects, relations, events,
abstractions, ideas, or qualities that have common properties.
prototype a concept of a category of objects or events that serves as a good
example of the category
exemplar a specific example
Method of Problem Solving
1. Understanding the problem. Successful understanding of a problem
generally requires three features:

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 a. The parts our mental representation of the problem relate to one another in
a meaningful way.
b. The elements of our mental representation of the problem correspond to the
elements of the problem in the outer world.
c. We have a storehouse of background knowledge that we can apply to the
problem.
2. The Use of Algorithms. An algorithm is a specific procedure for solving a
type of problem. An algorithm invariably leads to the solution—if it is used
properly, that is. Anagrams are scrambled words. Korc is an anagram for rock
or cork. The task in anagram problems is to try to reorganize jumbles or groups
of letters into words. Systematic random search an algorithm for solving
problems in which each possible solution is tested according to a particular set
of rules.
3. The use of heuristic devices. Sometimes people use shortcuts to “jump to
conclusions”—and these are often correct conclusions. The shortcuts are called
heuristics, or heuristic devices—rules of thumb that help us simplify and solve
problems (Kahneman, 2016). Heuristics are often based on strategies that
worked in the past (Cronin et al., 2016). One type of heuristic device is the
means–end analysis. In using this heuristic device, we assess the difference
between our current situation and our goals and do what we can to reduce this
difference.
4. The use of analogies. An analogy is a partial similarity among things that are
different in other ways. The analogy heuristic applies the solution of an earlier
problem to the solution of a new one. We use the analogy heuristic whenever
we try to solve a new problem by referring to a previous problem (Dinuta,
2013; Donnelly, 2017).
Factors that affect problem solving
The way you approach a problem is central to how effective you are at solving it.
Other factors also influence your effectiveness. Three factors that can make it easier or
harder to solve problems reside within you: your level of expertise, whether you fall prey
to a mental set, and whether you develop insight into the problem.
Expertise. Experts solve problems more efficiently and rapidly than novices do.
Generally speaking, people who are experts at solving a certain kind of problem share the
following characteristics (Bassok & Novick, 2012; Feltovich et al., 2018):
▸▸ They know the particular area well.
▸▸ They have a good memory for the elements in the problems.
▸▸ They form mental images or representations that facilitate problem solving.
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 ▸▸ They relate the problem to similar problems.
▸▸ They are more goal-directed and have efficient methods for problem solving.
Mental Sets. The tendency to respond to a new problem with the same approach that
helped solve similar problems is termed a mental set. Mental sets usually make our work
easier, but they can mislead us when the similarity between problems is illusory.
Insight in Gestalt psychology, a sudden perception of relationships among elements of
the mentally represented elements of a problem that permits its solution.
Incubation in problem solving, a process that may sometimes occur when we stand back
from a frustrating problem for a while and the solution “suddenly” appears
Functional fixedness the tendency to view an object in terms of its name or familiar
usage
Representativeness heuristic a decision-making heuristic in which people make
judgments about samples according to the populations they appear to represent
Availability heuristic a decision-making heuristic in which our estimates of frequency or
probability of events are based on how easy it is to find examples
Anchoring and adjustment heuristic a decision-making heuristic in which a
presumption or first estimate serves as a cognitive anchor; as we receive additional
information, we make adjustments but tend to remain in the proximity of the anchor
Framing effect the influence of wording, or the context in which information is
presented, on decision making
Motivated reasoning making decisions and judgments on the basis of emotion rather
than careful evaluation of all the available evidence
Language
A language is a system of symbols along with rules that are used to manipulate the
symbols. Symbols such as words stand for or represent objects, events, or ideas.
Critics of the view that apes can learn to produce language, such as Herbert
Terrace (Terrace & Metcalfe, 2005) and Steven Pinker (1994–2011), assert that:
▸▸ Apes can string together signs in a given sequence to earn rewards, but animals lower
on the evolutionary ladder, such as pigeons, can also peck buttons in a certain sequence
to obtain a reward.
▸▸ It takes apes longer to learn new signs than it takes children to learn new words.

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▸▸ Apes are unreliable in their sequencing of signs, suggesting that by and large they do
not comprehend rules of grammar.
▸▸ People observing apes signing may be subject to observer bias—that is, they may be
seeing what they want to see.
Language the communication of information by means of symbols arranged
according to rules of grammar.
True language is distinguished from the communication systems of lower animals by
properties such as semanticity, infinite creativity, and displacement (Hoff, 2005):
▸▸ Semanticity: The sounds (or signs) of a language have meaning. Words serve as
symbols for actions, objects, relational concepts (over, in, more, and so on), and other
ideas. The communication systems of the birds and the bees do not use words and
symbols. Therefore, they lack semanticity.
▸▸ Infinite creativity: The capacity to create rather than imitate sentences.
▸▸ Displacement: The capacity to communicate information about events and objects in
another time or place. Language makes it possible to transmit knowledge from one
person to another and from one generation to another, furthering human adaptation.
linguistic-relativity hypothesis the view that language structures the way we view the
world. Jean Piaget (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958) believed that language reflects knowledge
of the world but that much knowledge can be acquired without language.
Language and culture
The linguistic-relativity hypothesis was proposed by Benjamin Whorf (1956).
Whorf believed that language structures the way we perceive the world. That is, the
categories and relationships we use to understand the world are derived from our
language. Therefore, speakers of various languages conceptualize the world in different
ways.
As parents are well aware, newborn children have one inborn, highly effective
form of verbal expression: crying—and more crying. But crying does not represent
language; it is a prelinguistic event. During the second month, babies begin cooing,
another form of prelinguistic expression that appears to be linked to feelings of pleasure.
By the fifth or sixth month, children begin to babble. Children babble sounds that occur
in many languages, including the throaty German ch, the clicks of certain African
languages, and rolling r’s. Babies’ babbling frequently combines consonants and vowels,
as in “ba,” “ga,” and, sometimes, the much-valued “dada” (McCardle et al., 2009).
“Dada” at first is purely coincidental (sorry, dads), despite the family’s delight over its
appearance. Babbling, like crying and cooing, is inborn and prelinguistic. Deaf children
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babble, and children from cultures whose languages sound very different all seem to
babble the same sounds (Hoff, 2005)
But children single out the sounds used in the home within a few months. By the
age of 9 or 10 months, they are repeating the sounds regularly, and foreign sounds are
dropping out. In fact, early experience in acquiring the phonemes (i.e., meaningful units
of sound) native to one’s own language can make it difficult to pronounce and even
discriminate the phonemes used in other languages later in life (Iverson et al., 2003).
Children tend to utter their first word at 11 to 13 months, but a range of 8 to 18
months is normal (McCardle et al., 2009; Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2014). Parents often
miss the first word because it is not pronounced clearly. The growth of vocabulary is
slow at first. It may take children 3 to 4 months to achieve a 10-word vocabulary after
they have spoken their first word. By about 18 months, children are producing a couple
of dozen words.
Development of Grammar
The first linguistic utterances of children around the globe are single words that
can express complex meanings. These initial utterances of children are called
holophrases. Most children show their parents what they intend by augmenting their
holophrases with gestures and intonations. That is, they act delighted when parents do as
requested and howl when they do not.
Toward the end of the second year, children begin to speak two-word sentences.
These sentences are termed telegraphic speech because they resemble telegrams.
Telegrams cut out the “unnecessary” words.
Overregularization the application of regular grammatical rules for forming
inflections (e.g., past tense and plurals) to irregular verbs and nouns
Nature and Nurture in Language Development
1. Learning Theory and Language Development
Learning theorists see language as developing according to laws of learning (Hoff,
2005). They usually refer to the concepts of imitation and reinforcement. From a
social cognitive perspective, parents serve as models. Children learn language, at least
in part, through observation and imitation. Many words, especially nouns and verbs
(including irregular verbs), are apparently learned by imitation.
Learning theory cannot account for the unchanging sequence of language
development and the spurts in children’s language acquisition. Even the types of two-
word utterances emerge in a consistent pattern in diverse cultures. Although timing

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 differs from one child to another, the types of questions used, passive versus active
sentences, and so on, all emerge in the same order.
2. The Nativist Approach to Language Development
The nativist theory of language development holds that the innate factors—which
make up children’s nature—cause children to attend to and acquire language in
certain ways. From this perspective, children bring neurological “prewiring” to
language learning (Chomsky, 1965).
Psycholinguistic theory the view that language learning involves an interaction
between environmental factors and an inborn tendency to acquire language
Language acquisition device (LAD) in psycholinguistic theory, neural
“prewiring” that facilitates the child’s learning of grammar

Theories of Intelligence
Intelligence a general mental
capability that involves the ability to reason,
plan, solve problems, think abstractly,
comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly,
and learn from experience
g Spearman’s symbol for general
intelligence, which he believed underlay
more specific abilities
s Spearman’s symbol for specific factors, or
s factors, which he believed accounted for
individual abilities
primary mental abilities according to
Thurstone, the basic abilities that make up
intelligence examples include word fluency
and numerical ability
THE THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
Howard Gardner’s (1983/1993, 2009, 2016) theory of multiple intelligences
proposes, instead, Gardner refers to each kind of intelligence in his theory as “an
intelligence” because they can differ so much. Two of these “intelligences” are familiar
ones: language ability and logical–mathematical ability. Gardner also refers, however, to
bodily–kinesthetic talents (of the sort shown by dancers and athletes), musical talent,
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spatial– relations skills, and two kinds of personal intelligence: awareness of one’s own
inner feelings and sensitivity to other people’s feelings. Gardner (2009) more recently
added “naturalist intelligence “and “existential intelligence.”\
Naturalist intelligence refers to the ability to look at natural events, such as kinds
of animals and plants, or the stars above, and to develop insights into their nature and the
laws that govern their behavior. Existential intelligence means dealing with the larger
philosophical issues of life. According to Gardner, one can compose symphonies or
advance mathematical theory yet be average in, say, language and personal skills.
THE TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE
Psychologist Robert Sternberg (2000; 2016) has constructed a three-pronged or
triarchic theory of intelligence that includes analytical, creative, and practical
intelligence.

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 Analytical intelligence can be defined as academic ability. It enables us to solve
problems and acquire new knowledge. It is the type of intelligence measured by standard
intelligence tests.
Creative intelligence is defined by the ability to cope with novel situations and
generate many possible solutions to problems. It is creative to quickly relate novel
situations to familiar situations (i.e., to perceive similarities and differences).
Practical intelligence (“street smarts”) enables people to deal with other people,
including difficult people, and to meet the demands of their environment.
creativity the ability to generate novel and useful solutions to problems
convergent thinking a thought process that narrows in on the single best solution
to a problem
divergent thinking a thought process that attempts to generate
The Measurement of Intelligence
1. Stanford Binet Intelligence Test
Developer: Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon. Came to use in 1905.
The Binet–Simon scale yielded a score called a mental age (MA). The MA shows
the intellectual level at which a child is functioning.
Louis Terman adapted the Binet–Simon scale for use with American children at
Stanford University. The first version of the resultant SBIS was published in 1916. The
SBIS included more items than the original test and was used with children aged 2 to 16.
The SBIS also yielded an intelligence quotient (IQ) rather than an MA. As a result,
American educators developed interest in learning the IQs of their pupils. The SBIS is
used today with children from the age of two upward and with adults. The IQ reflects the
relationship between a child’s mental age and his or her actual or chronological age (CA).
𝑀𝐸𝑁𝑇𝐴𝐿 𝐴𝐺𝐸 (𝑀𝐴)
𝐼𝑄 = 𝑋100
𝐶𝐻𝑅𝑂𝑁𝑂𝐿𝑂𝐺𝐼𝐶𝐴𝐿 𝐴𝐺𝐸 (𝐶𝐴)
2. The Wechsler Scales
Developer: David Wechsler
Wechsler described some of his scales as measuring verbal tasks and others
as assessing performance tasks. In general, verbal subtests require knowledge of
verbal concepts, whereas performance subtests require familiarity with spatial–
relations concepts. Wechsler’s scales permit the computation of verbal and
performance IQs. Nontechnically oriented college students often attain higher

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 verbal than performance IQs. Less well-educated people often obtain higher
performance than verbal IQs.
Wechsler also introduced the concept of the deviation IQ. Instead of
dividing mental age by chronological age to compute an IQ, he based IQ scores on
how a person’s answers compared with those attained by people in the same
group.
The SBIS and Wechsler scales are administered to one person at a time. This one-
to-one ratio is optimal because it allows the examiner to observe the test taker closely.
Group tests for children were first developed during World War I. At first these tests
were hailed as remarkable instruments because they helped school administrators place
children.
Over the years, the SBIS and the Wechsler scales have been shown to be reliable
and valid. In terms of reliability, the scores are rather consistent from testing to testing.
This kind of reliability is called test–retest reliability. The tests also show validity in that
the scores correlate moderately to highly with the variables they are supposed to predict,
such as school performance, even though motivation and adjustment to the school setting
are also involved (Gygi et al., 2017; Nisbett, 2009).
Differences in intellectual Functioning
1. Socioeconomic and ethnic differences
2. Gender Differences
heritability the degree to which the variations in a trait from one person to another
can be attributed to, or explained by, genetic factors
Environmental influences on intelligence
1. Home environment
2. Education
3. Flynn Effect

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MODULE ACTIVITY:
Direction: You can practice answering the items in the following link:
1. [Link]
intelligence
2. [Link]
thinking
3. [Link]
language

END OF DISCUSSION:
Good job in finishing this module.
Next topic is Motivation and Emotion

LEARNING REFERENCES:
1. Spencer A. Rathus. (2020) Psychology 6th Edition, Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd

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