COMN 2111 THE MIND IN COMMUNICATION: COGNITION

1. COMN 2111 THE MIND IN COMMUNICATION: COGNITION Lecture 8c

2. THE LADDER OF INFERENCE I TAKE ACTIONS BASED ON MY BELIEFS THE REFLEXIVE LOOP I ADAPT BELIEFS ABOUT THE WORLD (OUR BELIEFS AFFECT WHAT DATA WE SELECT NEXT TIME) I DRAW CONCLUSIONS - MAKE JUDGEMENTS I MAKE ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON THE MEANINGS I ADDED I ADD MEANINGS (CULTURAL AND PERSONAL) I SELECT “DATA” FROM WHAT I OBSERVE OBSERVABLE “DATA” AND EXPERIENCES (AS A VIDEOTAPE RECORDER MIGHT CAPTURE IT)

3. WE ADD MEANINGS WHAT TO DO • Specify a number between 0 and 100% that best indicates the amount or percentage of time (or frequency of occurrence) represented by each of the following words from your point of view: • 1. Often _____ • 2. Always_____ • 3. Sometimes _____ • 4. Never_______ • 5. Usually _______

4. THE LADDER OF INFERENCE I TAKE ACTIONS BASED ON MY BELIEFS THE REFLEXIVE LOOP I ADAPT BELIEFS ABOUT THE WORLD (OUR BELIEFS AFFECT WHAT DATA WE SELECT NEXT TIME) I DRAW CONCLUSIONS - MAKE JUDGEMENTS I MAKE ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON THE MEANINGS I ADDED I ADD MEANINGS (CULTURAL AND PERSONAL) I SELECT “DATA” FROM WHAT I OBSERVE OBSERVABLE “DATA” AND EXPERIENCES (AS A VIDEOTAPE RECORDER MIGHT CAPTURE IT)

5. THE LADDER OF INFERENCE I TAKE ACTIONS BASED ON MY BELIEFS THE REFLEXIVE LOOP I ADAPT BELIEFS ABOUT THE WORLD (OUR BELIEFS AFFECT WHAT DATA WE SELECT NEXT TIME) I DRAW CONCLUSIONS - MAKE JUDGEMENTS I MAKE ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON THE MEANINGS I ADDED I ADD MEANINGS (CULTURAL AND PERSONAL) I SELECT “DATA” FROM WHAT I OBSERVE OBSERVABLE “DATA” AND EXPERIENCES (AS A VIDEOTAPE RECORDER MIGHT CAPTURE IT)

6. THINKING AND THE MISUSE OF LANGUAGE • THE UNCALCULATED RISK • FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE WHERE YOU ARE ON INFERENCE LADDER • FAILURE TO CALCULATE RISKS OF SPEAKING WITHOUT KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE • ALLNESS • USING “ALWAYS”, “NEVER” • SPEAKING AS IF YOUR STATEMENT IS ALL THERE IS TO SAY ABOUT SOMETHING

7. THINKING AND THE MISUSE OF LANGUAGE • INDISCRIMINATION (STEREOTYPING):ASSUMING ALL PEOPLE IN A CATEGORY HAVE IDENTICAL CHARACTERISTICS • COMMON NOUNS FOCUS ON SIMILARITIES - TEACHER, STUDENT, FRIEND, ENEMY, LIBERAL, CONSERVATIVE (social roles)

8. TWO KEY CONCEPTS WORK TOGETHER: INDISCRIMINATION AND ABSTRACTION • INDISCRIMINATION (STEREOTYPING):ASSUMING ALL PEOPLE IN A CATEGORY HAVE IDENTICAL CHARACTERISTICS • ABSTRACTING: WE LEAVE OUT INFORMATION AS WE MOVE FROM SPECIFIC TO GENERAL

9. THINKING AND THE MISUSE OF LANGUAGE • INTENSIONAL ORIENTATIONTENDENCY TO VIEW PEOPLE AND THINGS IN TERMS OF THE LABELS THEY ARE GIVEN • EXTENSIONAL ORIENTATION: • LOOK FIRST AT PERSON OR OBJECT AND THEN AT LABEL. • STATIC EVALUATION: • RETAIN EVALUATIONS WITHOUT CHANGE WHILE THE REALITY THEY REFER TO IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING. • POLARIZATION: • EASY TO THINK IN OPPOSITES - HARD TO THINK OF MIDDLE GROUND TERMS.

10. DEALING WITH THESE ‘MISUSES’ • Be Aware Of Info Quality • Be Person-focused, Look For Meaning In People Not Words • Remember The Perception Process! • When facing disagreement, differences, disorder…get down the inference ladder • Get The Facts, Do Research, Observe In Real Time