Week 9 — Readings & Resources · Cognition, Language & Intelligence

Course: Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Bennett
Objective covered: Objective 6 — Analyze higher mental processes — cognition, language, and intelligence. (Motivation & emotion is Week 10.)

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open a YouTube link. Nothing needs to be downloaded.

This week's load is light: 3 short readings + 2 videos, grouped by the ideas from the lecture, plus one optional full-chapter reference. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 45–55 minutes if you do everything, far less if you pick one per group.

Reading order that matches the lecture: ① cognition & problem-solving (concepts, algorithms vs. heuristics) → ② judgment biases (availability & friends) → ③ language → ④ intelligence.

A habit to start now: before you trust any snap judgment this week — in these readings or in your own head — run the bias audit from class: Am I judging by what comes easily to mind? By resemblance to a stereotype? Am I only counting evidence that fits what I already believe?

① Cognition & Problem-Solving · Concepts, Algorithms, and Heuristics

Maps to Lecture Segments 2–3. The mind organizes the world with concepts and prototypes, then solves problems with two tools: slow-but-guaranteed algorithms and fast-but-fallible heuristics.

Reading — "Heuristics: Definition, Examples, And How They Work" (Simply Psychology)
🔗 https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-heuristic.html
Why it's assigned: the cleanest plain-language version of the algorithm-vs-heuristic contrast we drew in class — and it makes this week's headline point directly: heuristics are efficient shortcuts that usually work but predictably misfire. Also previews availability and representativeness.
⏱ ~9 min

Video — "Cognition – How Your Mind Can Amaze and Betray You: Crash Course Psychology #15"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-sVnmmw6WY
Why it earns the click: a fast, lively tour of exactly Segments 2–4 — concepts & prototypes, algorithms & heuristics, confirmation bias, mental sets, the availability heuristic, and framing — in about ten minutes. The single best one-stop video for this week.
⏱ ~11 min

② Judgment Biases · The Availability Heuristic Up Close

Maps to Lecture Segment 4. Remember the signature example: we fear plane crashes more than car crashes because crash images are vivid and easy to recall — the shortcut is usually useful but produces a predictable error.

Reading — "Availability Heuristic and Decision Making" (Simply Psychology)
🔗 https://www.simplypsychology.org/availability-heuristic.html
Why it's assigned: goes deep on the week's signature bias with the exact examples from lecture (plane-vs-car risk, the lottery, the "words starting with K" puzzle), and clearly separates availability (ease of recall) from representativeness (resemblance) — the pair students most often confuse.
⏱ ~10 min

③ Language · How It's Built and How Kids Crack It

Maps to Lecture Segment 5. The building blocks run smallest to largest: phonemes (sounds) → morphemes (meaning) → grammar; and development runs babbling → one-word → two-word → telegraphic speech.

Video — "Language: Crash Course Psychology #16"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9shPouRWCs
Why it earns the click: walks through phonemes, morphemes, and grammar, then the babbling stage and how children acquire language — exactly Segment 5, with memorable examples. Pairs naturally with the #15 cognition video above.
⏱ ~10 min

④ Intelligence · Theories and How It's Measured

Maps to Lecture Segments 6–7. The big debate: is intelligence one general ability (Spearman's g) or several kinds (Gardner, Sternberg)? — and what a standardized IQ score on the normal curve does and doesn't mean.

Reading — "Theories of Intelligence in Psychology" (Simply Psychology)
🔗 https://www.simplypsychology.org/intelligence.html
Why it's assigned: lays out Spearman's g, Gardner's multiple intelligences, and Sternberg's triarchic theory side by side — the exact comparison from class — and covers IQ measurement (standardization, reliability, validity) in plain language, with the appropriate cautions.
⏱ ~10 min

Optional one-stop reference (free online text)

If you'd like one optional reference to skim, OpenStax Psychology 2e keeps its full text free to read online. Chapter 7 ("Thinking and Intelligence") covers everything in this week — cognition, language, problem solving, intelligence, and the measures of intelligence.
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/7-introduction
Why it's here: a reputable, currently-available reference you can return to — entirely optional this week.

Pick-one quick path (≈21 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Watch Crash Course Psychology #15 — Cognition (covers groups ①–②: concepts, heuristics, and the major biases).
2. Read Theories of Intelligence (group ④), and skim the Availability Heuristic intro (group ②).

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move, rename pages, or take a video down. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Bennett and use the OpenStax reference above in the meantime.