Ch 9-Language and Thinking Flashcards
language
system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and to convey meaning
grammar
a set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages
semantics
the meaning of words and sentences
generativity
the symbols of language can be combined to generate and infinite number of messages that have novel meaning
displacement
language allows us to communicate about events and objects that are not physically present
phoneme
the smallest unit of sound that is recognizable as speech rather than random noise
morphemes
the smallest meaningful units of language
syntax
how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences
deep structure
what the words mean/convey
surface structure
syntax, how the words are arranged
-possible to have multiple surface structures with the same deep meaning
the three characteristics of language development
- children learn language at an astonishing rate
- children make few errors while learning (and more often than not, they’re errors stemming from learned patterns (goed instead of went))
- children’s passive mastery develops faster than their active mastery (comprehension comes before production)
language milestones
first words: 10-12 months
-following this, fast mapping begins (learning words after only one exposure)
two-word/telegraphic speech: 24 months
-overgeneralization of the rules they are learning and picking up from the environment
complete simple sentences: 3 years
Behaviourist explanations (skinner)
- language is learned through operant conditioning and imitation
- problematically though, parents spend v little time formally teaching kids to talk, kids generate more than just what they hear, and the behaviourist approach cannot explain the common errors made by children
nativist explanation (Chomsky)
- opposed the behaviourist view
- everyone is born w an innate Language Acquisition Device which separates us from animals, helps us develop language and has to be used by a critical/sensitive period (usually before 10)
genetic dysphasia
inability to learn grammatical structure of language (not to be mistaken with low intelligence)
- -a biological/genetic condition that runs in families
- cause indv to have an impaired or absent LAD
social learning processing/interactionist approach
- integrates both the language acquisition device of the nativist explanation and the observation/imitation aspect of the behaviourist explanation
- idea that social interactions play a crucial role in language learning
broca’s area
- left frontal lobe
- responsible for language production
- aphasia: difficulty in producing speech
wenicke’s area
- left temporal lobe
- responsible for language comprehension
- apahsia: difficulty in understanding and producing comprehensible speech (word salad)
kanzi
chimp who learned language indirectly while researchers were trying to teach his mother
- could understand complex sentences and even use his own logic at times
- limited; not much in the way of generativity of production or of displacement
alex the parrot
- much more complex language than seen in chimps (like kanzi)
- expressed desires, not just following demands
- abstract/displaced thinking (“I want to go back”)
- responded, made observations/spoke with out prompting
linguistic relativity hypothesis (Whorfian hypothesis)
proposal that language helps to shape the nature of thought
- since innuit ppl have many words for snow, do they thinks abt snow differently?
- the dani tribe, which only had 2 colour words had no trouble distinguishing btw a bunch of different shades, but the himba tribe, which had 5 colour words, seemed to only do well if they had a name for that colour
propositional though
mental thoughts, statements, propositions
-can be thought or spoken
note that a proposition is a statement expressing facts, and needs concepts
concepts
basic units of semantic memory
prototypes
hypothetical typical or “best/ideal” member (concept) of a specific category
imaginal thought
images we can see/hear/feel in our minds
motoric thought
mental representations or thoughts of motor movement
reasoning
ability to think logically about something and come to a logical conclusion
deductive reasoning
- top down process (from general principles to possible conclusions)
- starts from a proposition and often involves if/then statements
- useful in forming hypotheses
- if both propositions are true, the conclusion is certainly true (but if the propositions are incorrect, the conclusion may be factually incorrect even if it is logically sound)
inductive reasoning
- bottom up process (from witnessed/observed behaviours to general principles)
- starts with specific facts and tries to develop a general principle
- not as good as deductive reasoning bc this conclusion is based on likelihood and probability
stumbling blocks in reasoning
- irrelevant info/failure to focus on relevant info
- belief bias
- framing
belief bias
- abandoning logical rules in favour of personal beliefs
- confusing factual correctness with logical correctness
framing
when people arrive at different conclusions due simply to the way information is presented, which may interfere with reasoning
stages in problem solving
- interpret (frame)/understand the problem
- generate hypotheses or possible solutions
- test the hypotheses/solutions, seeking to disconfirm
- evaluate results and revise previous steps as necessary
algorithms
formulas or procedural steps that when followed to a T guarantee a solution to the problem, even if they may not be the most efficient
heuristics
-general problem-solving strategies that we apply to certain classes of situations
-a form of means-end analysis
useful for problems like the tower of Hanoi
representativeness heuristic
making a probability judgements by comparing an object or event to a prototype of the object or event
-may fall prey to the conjunction fallacy or the priming function
conjunction fallacy
when people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event (ex. is linda a bank teller who is also a feminist?)
priming function
when a problem primes us with info that might not be relevant (if I have only blue and black socks, how many do I need to draw from the drawer to get a matched pair?)
availability heuristic
items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occurred more frequently
confirmation bias
- a decision making error
- looking for way to prove a conclusion and overlooking things that might disprove it
overconfidence
- a decision making error
- tendency to overestimate correctness about factual knowledge, beliefs or decisions
incubation (creativity and insight)
- spontaneous restructuring/new way of looking at a problem
- use of unconscious processes to solve a problem
functional fixedness
fixating on the way we normally use things to solve a problem
ex. the candle problem, the tie two strings together problem, the nine-dot problem
metacognition
- recognizing/understanding what we know and how well we know if
- composed of metacomprehension (accuracy in judging what you do and don’t know) and metamemory (awareness and knowledge of memory abilites)
