Block 1 - Lecture 1 - Intro to developmental and social psychology

Question 1

What is communication (adaptionist view)?

Answer 1

• the relation between a signal and it’s response
• a signal = an act/structure which has evolved to alter the behaviour of another organism
• a response = an act/ structure which has evolved to be affected by the signal
• has an adaptive benefit

Question 2

what is communication (informational view)?

Answer 2

• biological signals carry ‘information’ about the world
• information is a ‘reduction in uncertainty’

Question 3

What are the different types of communication?

Answer 3

1. vocal
2. gestural
3. facial
4. bodily
5. olfactory
6. visual

Question 4

What is language?

Answer 4

• a sophisticated symbol-based communication system governed by hierarchical and syntactic rules
• is an open and generative communication system as new signals can be generated to create new meanings etc.
• linguistic signals are referential and can convey specific meanings

Question 5

What are the 5 universal features of language?

Answer 5

1. syntax
2. semantics
3. phonology
4. pragmatics
5. morphology

Question 6

What is syntax?

Answer 6

rules and principals that govern the structure of a language e.g. grammar

Question 7

What is semantics?

Answer 7

the meaning of linguistic units like words, signs and gestures, the relationship between a symbol and what it represents

Question 8

What is phonology?

Answer 8

• the organisation of speech sounds
• phonemes = the smallest units of sound that are recognisable as speech
• phonemes are meaningless sounds that combine to form meaningful units (morphemes)
• languages have different no. of phonemes most between 12-85

Question 9

What is pragmatics?

Answer 9

how context contributes to meaning

Question 10

What is morphology?

Answer 10

• structure of words and the rules of how they are formed
• morphemes = the smallest meaningful units of language
• simple words will contain 1 morpheme e.g. cat
• complex words will have multiple morphemes e.g. played

Question 11

Language across modalities?

Answer 11

• language = modality-independent
• can consist of speech, sign language and written language
• sign language = the same linguistic features as spoken languages, develops at the same pace in childhood