Psychology - Psychology Cognition and Language - Quick Guides

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Study GuidePsychology–Psychology: Cognition and Language1.ConceptsConceptsaremental categoriesthat help us organize information about objects, events, and ideas.They allow us to make sense of the world by grouping similar things together.Concepts are often organized in ahierarchy, moving from very general categories to more specificones.For example:•Organism•Animal•Vertebrate•Quadruped•Dog•CollieThis kind of organization helps people:•Understand new information more easily•Make decisions and plans•Organize daily activities, such as dividing time between studying, attending classes, andrelaxing1.1Prototypes and Concept UseWhen people think about a concept, they often rely on aprototype. A prototype is amental image orbest exampleof a category.Prototypes are not the same for everyone. They are shaped bypersonal experience.For example, your prototype of a “dog” might be:

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Study Guide•Medium-sized•Long-haired•Black and white•Friendly and tail-waggingWhen you see a new dog, you tend to compare it to your prototype and decide how similar or differentit is. This makes categorizing faster and easier, even though not all dogs fit the prototype perfectly.1.2Theories of Concept FormationPsychologists have proposed different theories to explainhow concepts are formed.Mediation TheoryMediation theoryfocuses on how people form connections between things that werenot previouslyconnected. It explains concept formation as a process of linking ideas through mental steps, or“mediators,” that help organize information.Hypothesis-Testing TheoryAccording tohypothesis-testing theory, concept formation is anactive process.People:•Formhypotheses(guesses) about what characteristics define a concept•Test those hypotheses by observing examples•Keep the hypotheses that work and discard those that do not•Revise their understanding as new information appearsThis approach shows that learning concepts involves thinking, testing, and adjusting—not justmemorizing.

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Study GuideKey TakeawayConcepts help us organize and understand the world. We often use prototypes to representcategories, and we form concepts by actively testing ideas and making mental connections. Theseprocesses allow us to think efficiently, learn new information, and plan our actions.2.LanguageLanguageis a system of communication that usessounds, gestures, or written symbols. Thesesymbols have meaning for the people who use them and follow agreed-upon rules. Language allowsus to share ideas, express emotions, and understand one another.2.1Sounds in Language: PhonemesIn spoken language, the smallest units of sound are calledphonemes.On their own, phonemes usuallydo not have meaning, but they become meaningful whencombined.For example:•The sounds/k/and/r/by themselves have no meaning•When combined, they form the wordcar, which does have meaning in English2.2Meaning in Language: Semantics and MorphemesSemanticsis the study ofmeaningin language.The smallest unit of meaning is called amorpheme. A morpheme is often a whole word, but it canalso be a meaningful part of a word.Example:•The wordovercoathas two morphemes:over+coat•Changing the order (for example,coatover) changes or destroys the meaningRules of language determine how morphemes are combined to make meaningful words.

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