What do you think is the most important aspect of intelligence, and why? While it is very difficult to define intelligence in itself, I believe in the theory of multiple intelligences. This is the idea that intelligence has different modalities, rather than a general understanding that someone is either intelligent, or that they are not. Interpersonal intelligence is the most important modality in my view. This can be roughly defined as having the ability to interact well with others. A good example of someone with high interpersonal skills was Martin Luther King. He was a clever man, however, it was not his IQ score that made him such a popular figure with the public, but his ability to read people, how they felt, and what their intentions …show more content…
This approach to decision-making may be easy for some people and difficult for others. For example, a Christian might use their faith in God and his teachings when reasoning. Expected Utility Theory has been used to explain the process of decision-making. This is the idea that people simply observe the decision, identity the value of each decision and choose the option that will result in the maximum level of the desired outcome. A common explanation for why people sometimes find this approach difficult can be explained by the prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky). This can be summarised as the belief that people naturally tend to evaluate the psychological aspects of a decision rather than make a quick decision on what is wholly rational. For example, gambling. If someone was offered a role of a dice for anything under a 5 to gain £100, but would lose £50 if it was a 5 or above, people are more likely to turn down the offer as there is a reasonable risk that they may lose their money. This is known as loss aversion. Generally, I don’t think advanced training in areas such as statistics, economics and psychology would help people to make decisions that are more economically rewarding as I believe that autonomy is innate in human beings, therefore, I think people would decide what they truly wish to. However, I do think that people may use this advanced training, when they are …show more content…
If you speak both Dutch and English, you will be slower to decide that ‘streep’ is not an English word, because you recognize it as a real Dutch word. What does this tell you about how the two languages are represented in our brain? Word recognition is the ability to identity a word. This ability becomes faster and easier as we age, due to increased exposure to vocabulary. All of the words we have learnt and their definitions are stored in a hypothesised place within our memory. This is called our mental lexion. However, words can be separated as ‘high frequency’ which means it occurs often, or ‘low frequency’, which means the word appears less. A major theory of how word retrieval occurs is called the Serial Search Model. This is where when we see a word, look through our lexical entries one by one, to determine whether it is a word or not, before retrieving the meaning of the word. In this model, ‘high frequency’ words are at the front of the hypothesised place in our memory and therefore we are able to access it quicker. However, if you are multi-lingual, word recognition might be more complex. In the given example, you are able to speak both Dutch and English, you will be slower to decide that Streep is not an English word, because you are able to recognise it as a real Dutch word. This suggests that multiple languages are contained in a singular mental lexion. However, I think that
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines intelligence as the capacity to apprehend facts and propositions, to reason about them, and the ability to understand them and their relations to each other. A. M. Turing had this definition in mind when he made his predictions and designed his test, commonly known as the Turing test. His test is, in principle, simple. A group of judges converse with different entities, some computers and some human, without knowledge of which is which. The job of the judges is to discern which entity is a computer. Judges may ask them any question they like, "Are you a computer?" excepted, and the participants may answer with anything they like, and in turn, ask questions of the judges. The concept of the test is not difficult, but creating an entity capable of passing the test with current technology is virtually impossible.
The brain has always had an amazing ability to adapt to its circumstances, an evolutionary edge, coupled with humanities capacity for reason and logic has made for quite a versatile organ. Researching neuroplasticity and non-synaptic plasticity can lead to a better understanding of how the brain adapts as well as how a normal brain functions. Neuroplasticity has the potential to affect brain mechanism related to emotional, motivational and cognitive processes (Crocker, Heller, Warren, O'Hare, Infantolino & Miller, 2012). Another functional and extraordinary ability of the brain is language. Language can define so much about how we think and yet after a brief window of time we find it very difficult to learn new languages. It is certainly not impossible to learn a second or third language but, it seems to be the case that plasticity occurs more with children (Giannakopoulou, Uther & Ylinen, 2013). Perhaps because plasticity can occur during developmental stages when language development is taking place or younger brains are just have more plastic potential. Understanding how plasticity and bilingualism interrelate can give us a better picture of how the brain deals with language, how this stimuli causes neuroplasticity to occur and how that plasticity can effect language functions. Does developing bilingual skills cause brain plasticity?
You might wonder how it is possible to not confuse two phonetically different languages. The individual's brain has two language systems that work simultaneously without altering the other. The brain becomes more alert, quicker to deal with problems and resolve issues. Bilingual individuals can also differentiate between the literal meaning of words and phrases because they can think beyond labels and stereotypes.
Jeffery Kluger, in the article “Understanding How the Brains Speaks Two Languages,” gives details on how amazing the brain functions with language. He states the mind polyglot is a very precise thing and that scientists are now beginning to look deeply at how acquiring a second language increases learning, behavior and the actual construction of the brain itself (2/4). He states, “Humans are crude linguists from the moment of birth, and perhaps even in the womb” (1). He goes further into depth, how fear takeover the brain. For example, doubling up on a second language does take extra work, but it is work most children do not even realize what they are doing. Bilingual individuals, of all ages, keeps talking about dog-chien dilemma, coming
According to the estimates, bilinguals make up more than half of the global population (Grosjean, 2010). Bilingualism can be described as the ability to use two with certain degree of proficiency, whereas linguistic skills of monolinguals are restricted to just one language (for further definitions of bilingualism, see Moradi, 2014). Being bilingual means that both languages are always active to some degree, even in contexts that require just one of the languages. The ability to manage attention to two languages the entire time requires higher involvement of the non-linguistic executive control system (Abutalebi & Green, 2007; Bialystok, Craik, & Luk, 2012). Numerous behavioural studies have demonstrated a beneficial effect of bilingualism
Everyone has experienced hearing a language they do not understand. In that context, the words seem to consist of a meaningless series of sounds; this is often ascribed to the listener not knowing the definitions of the vocabulary used. However, in addition to not being familiar with the words said, a person who does not understand the language will hear and process the sounds differently than a native speaker. This fact is partially explained by categorial perception, a perceptual-learning phenomenon in which the categories of different stimuli possessed by an individual affect his or her perception.
Recent research has posited beneficial effects of bilingualism on linguistic cognitive abilities in two major areas: metalinguistic awareness and EF (Bialystok, et al., 2012). However, these major areas are not unitary systems; they include subcategories. This paper shed lights into them, while discussing cognitive control extensively in the next section.
Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.
Emotional intelligence has been coined by many theorists and had been the subject of much literature, controversy, and scrutiny. Emotional intelligence is defined as “a set of competencies that distinguishes how people manage feelings and interactions with others. It is the ability to identify one’s own emotions, as well as those of one’s co-workers or employees” (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, in Pierce & Newstrom (Eds.), 2008, p. 180). The author will review the definition and attributes of a successful, emotionally intelligent, morally competent leader. Comparisons will be made between leaders which demonstrate emotional intelligence to those which are void of moral intelligence. The conclusion is that leaders who act with high moral intelligence produce consistently high performance result.
Hypothesis: Bilingual brains are better at temporarily storing and manipulating information in working memory in their first language, but varying in the second.
Lemhöfer, Kristin, Dijkstra, Ton, Schriefers, Herbert, Baayen, R. Harald, Grainger, Jonathan, & Zwitserlood, Pienie. (2008). Native language influences on word recognition in a second language: A megastudy. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, And Cognition, 34(1), 12-31. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.34.1.12
In the last few decades, the notion of language and brain has been highlighted in different scientific fields such as: neurology, cognitive science, linguistics biology, technology and finally education.
They tend to score better on standardized tests, especially in math, reading, and vocabulary as they are better at remembering lists or sequences. In learning grammatical rules and vocabulary, they are more perceptive to their surroundings and therefore better at focusing in on important information while weeding out misleading information. Cognitive traps or simple mistakes in spelling or comprehension that our brains tend to make when taking linguistic shortcuts are better avoided when one speaks multiple languages. Multi-linguals might also be better decision-makers. According to a new study, they are more resistant to conditioning and framing techniques, making them less likely to be swayed by such language in advertisements or political campaign speeches. When a multilingual uses one language, the other is functioning along. Their multilingual brain relies on executive functions, a regulatory system of general cognitive abilities that includes processes such as attention and inhibition. They need to use control mechanisms every time they speaks or listens. With a constant practice, it will strengthens the control mechanisms and alter the connected brain regions. Multilingual people often perform better than monolingual people whenever they encounter conflict management and at tasks that needs inhibitory control ability. Knowledge of various type of
It is an obvious notion that millions of people around the world can speak more than one language than their native tongue language. While some speakers are able to achieve a proficient fluency in their second target language (L2), others cannot do so. In more recent years, researcher’s level of interest has dramatically increased into why language learners have a problem being fluent in their second target language. They have suggested that there is a process in which one language can be interfere in a certain way that can affect the second language being learned. A language learner is being influence by a process known as interlanguage that is caused by borrowing language and rules from their mother tongue.
As one of the features that distinguish humans from other living beings, the ability of using language can considered to be the crown jewel of cognition. Apparently, humans use language to express themselves to the outer world. From an evolutionary point of view, use of language had become a “human must” as the social environment become more complex. Consequently, humans needed language to create divisions of labor, to develop social systems and customs, to communicate thoughts and most importantly to transfer knowledge. Bilingualism is a major area of interest within the field of psychology as well as linguistics, since it serves significant contributions to human cognition. This proposal will provide a brief report on the concept of bilingualism and its impact on the cognitive processes, particularly attentional mechanisms.