Cognition, Language, Intelligence & Creativity

1. What is Cognition, Language, Intelligence and Creativity?

Cognition - The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment. (Thinking) The Greek Philosopher Aristotle was the first one to study cognition 23 centuries ago. Centuries later, as psychology became a blooming study in Europe and then gaining a following in America, other scientists like Wilhelm Wundt, Herman Ebbinghaus, Mary Whiton Calkins, and William James, to name a few, would offer their contributions to the study of cognition. Wilhelm Wundt - emphasized the notion of what he called introspection; examining the inner feelings of an individual. Herman Ebbinghaus - conducted cognitive studies mainly examined the function and capacity of human memory Mary Whiton Calkins- Her work also focused on the human memory capacity. It is called the Recency effect; is the tendency for individuals to be able to accurately recollect the final items presented in a sequence of stimuli. William James- He was quite discontent with Wundt's emphasis on introspection and Ebbinghaus' use of nonsense stimuli. He instead chose to focus on the human learning experience in everyday life and its importance to the study of cognition. Principles of Psychology that preliminarily examines many aspects of cognition like perception, memory, reasoning, and attention to name a few.

Language Form of communication that is systematically arranged from simple to complex with the use of sounds and symbols. Nature of Language: 1. Language is Arbitrary predictable & concise. 2. Language is Communicative sharing thoughts and ideas Socialization 3. Language is Oral/Vocal use of sound. 4. Language is Systematic 5. Language is Symbolic 6. Language is Written

Intelligence - has been defined in many different ways including logic, abstract thought, understanding, self-awareness, communication, learning, having emotional knowledge, retaining, planning, and problem solving. Intelligence quotients, or IQ tests, compare your performance with other people your age who take the same test. These tests dont measure all kinds of intelligence, however. For example, such tests cant identify differences in social intelligence, the expertise people bring to their interactions with others. There are also generational differences in the population as a whole. Better nutrition, more education and other factors have resulted in IQ improvements for each generation.

Some groups of psychologists have suggested the following definitions: From "Mainstream Science on Intelligence": A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings "catching on," "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do. From "Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns": Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought. Although these individual differences can be substantial, they are never entirely consistent: a given person's intellectual performance will vary on different occasions, in different domains, as judged by different criteria. Concepts of "intelligence" are attempts to clarify and organize this complex set of phenomena

Psychologist Charles Spearman early in the 20th century carried out the first formal factor analysis of correlations between various test tasks. The g factor (short for "general factor") is a construct developed in psychometric investigations of cognitive abilities. It is a variable that summarizes positive correlations among different cognitive tasks, reflecting the fact that an individual's performance at one type of cognitive task tends to be comparable to his or her performance at other kinds of cognitive tasks. The g factor typically accounts for 40 to 50 percent of the variance in IQ test performance, and IQ scores are frequently regarded as estimates of individuals' standing on the g factor. The terms IQ, general intelligence, general cognitive ability, general mental ability, or simply intelligence are often used interchangeably to refer to the common core shared by cognitive tests.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory is a psychological theory of human cognitive abilities that takes its name from Raymond Cattell, John L. Horn and John Bissell Carroll. Recent advances in current theory and research on the structure of human cognitive abilities have resulted in a new empirically derived model commonly referred to as the CattellHornCarroll theory of cognitive abilities.
10 broad abilities that in turn are subdivided into 70 narrow abilities. The broad abilities are:

Fluid Intelligence - the broad ability to reason, form concepts, and solve problems using unfamiliar information or novel procedures. Crystallized Intelligence - the breadth and depth of a person's acquired knowledge, the ability to communicate one's knowledge, and the ability to reason using previously learned experiences or procedures. Quantitative Reasoning - ability to comprehend quantitative concepts and relationships and to manipulate numerical symbols. Reading & Writing Ability - includes basic reading and writing skills. Short-Term Memory - ability to apprehend and hold information in immediate awareness and then use it within a few seconds. Long-Term Storage and Retrieval - is the ability to store information and fluently retrieve it later in the process of thinking. Visual Processing - is the ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, and think with visual patterns, including the ability to store and recall visual representations. Auditory Processing - is the ability to analyze, synthesize, and discriminate auditory stimuli, including the ability to process and discriminate speech sounds that may be presented under distorted conditions. Processing Speed - is the ability to perform automatic cognitive tasks, particularly when measured under pressure to maintain focused attention. Decision/Reaction Time/Speed reflect the immediacy with which an individual can react to stimuli or a task (typically measured in seconds or fractions of seconds).

Sternbergs Triarchic Theory A. Analytical Intelligence(book smarts) B. Creative Intelligence (novel ideas) C. Practical Intelligence (street smarts) Gardners Multiple Intelligences a. Logical/mathematical b. Linguistic c. Spatial d. Musical e. Bodily kinesthetic f. Interpersonal g. Intrapersonal

Creativity - phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created or invented (such as an idea, a joke, a literary work, a painting or musical composition, a solution, an invention etc.)

The Creative Process has six phases : Inspiration - In which you research and generate many ideas. Clarification - In which you focus on your goals. Evaluation - In which you review your work and learn from it. Distillation - In which you decide which of your ideas to work on. Incubation - In which you leave the work alone. Perspiration - In which you work determinedly on your best ideas.

2. What are the importance of Cognition, Language, Intelligence and Creativity?