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Psychology of Language > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Ethologist

A

Scientist who studies animal behavior

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2
Q

Communication

A

Behavior intended to influence another organism

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3
Q

Conspecific

A

Member of some species

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4
Q

Four “f’s” of animal communication

A

Food, foe, friend, finding a mate

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5
Q

Food

A

Honeybee waggle dance

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6
Q

Karl von Frisch (1967):

A

Found that dance conveys direction and distance

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7
Q

Direction

A

Angle from vertical indicates angle from the sun

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8
Q

Distance

A

Length of waggle in the middle correlates with distance from the hive

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9
Q

Alarm call

A

Warns conspecifics of approaching predators

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10
Q

Vervet monkey calls for:

A

“Eagle”
“Leopard”
“Snake”

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11
Q

Dominance hierarchy

A

Social system in which each member knows who ranks above and who ranks below

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12
Q

Mother-infant bonding examples

A
  • Rat pups emit ultrasound when they fall from their nest

- Human babies cry for their moms

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13
Q

Social grooming

A
  • Picking fleas and dirt from fur
  • Builds friendships
  • Form of communication because it influences other’s behavior
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14
Q

Males advertise their genetic prowess to attract mates

A
  • Peacock feathers
  • Bullfrog croaking
  • Birdsong
  • Firefly lights
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15
Q

Females also advertise interest

A
  • Mating rituals

- Pheromones

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16
Q

Features of Animal Communication Systems

A
  • Limited range of expression
  • Holophrases: refers to the entire situation, not specific objects or events
  • Little ability to combine symbols to express novel ideas
  • Here and now
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17
Q

Modes of human language

A
  • Speech mostly resembles vocalized communication systems
  • Writing has taken on its own form and conventions
  • Sign languages are their own independent of spoken languages
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18
Q

Primacy of speech (Hackett, 1960)

A

Virtually all language use is in its spoken mode

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19
Q

Three features of language

A

-Rules
-Structure
-Arbitrary symbols-words are symbols bearing no resemblance to what they refer to
(Animal communication doesn’t have all of these)

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20
Q

Duality of patterning

A
  • Structuring process that takes units at a lower level
  • Combines them according to rules
  • Form new units at a higher level
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21
Q

Pyramid scheme (Bottom to top)

A
  • Phonemes-meaningless speech sounds
  • Phonology-rules for combining phonemes
  • Morphemes-basic units of meaning (root words, suffixes, prefixes)
  • Morphology-rules for combining morphemes to form words
  • Words-units of language
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22
Q

Syntax

A

Rules for ordering words into phrases and sentences

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23
Q

Working memory

A

What is currently being thought (STM-about 7 items)

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24
Q

Chunking

A

Grouping items into units to increase working memory capacity

25
Discourse
Sequences of sentences ordered according to rules
26
Displacement
Ability to refer to things/events beyond here and now
27
Homo erectus
1.8mil-200,000 years ago | First human-like creature to walk upright
28
Homo neaderthalensis
200,000-50,000 years ago | Parallel species to early humans
29
Homo sapiens
(200,000 years ago to today) | Only surviving homo species
30
Common ancestor
Humans, gorillas, chimps all have a common ancestor (6MYA)
31
Recursion
Process of extending a pattern by placing it inside itself (clauses)
32
Centrality of syntax
Idea that the ability to organize words into phrases and sentences is the distinguishing feature of language
33
Chomsky proposed:
- Recursion is key to understanding evolution of language | - Single mutation transformed pre-human brain into recursive thinking machine
34
Hopeful monster hypothesis
Idea that a single mutation can lead to rapid transition of species
35
KE family
Family from London with a genetic language disorder
36
FOXP2
Gene that plays a role in brain development
37
Continuity theory
Steady transition from animal communication to human language
38
Discontinuity theory
Sudden transition from animal communication to human language
39
Pidgin
Simple language with a few hundred words with basic grammar | When speakers of different languages communicate
40
Creole
Full-fledged language based on pidgin
41
Protolanguage
Hypothetical pidgin-like language spoken by ancestral humans
42
Bickerton (1990) proposed:
- Animal communication (pre-Homo erectus) - Protolanguage (Homo erectus) - Full language (Homo sapiens)
43
Mother tongue hypothesis (Falk, 2009)
Language evolved from maternal vocalizations that took on meaning over many generations
44
Singing Neanderthal hypothesis (Mithen, 2005)
Both music and language evolved from the vocalizations of pre-human social interactions
45
Social grooming hypothesis (Dunbar, 1998)
Gossip for humans serves the same purpose of social network building that grooming does for chimpanzees
46
Characteristics of pidgins
- Simple phonology - No morphology - Limited vocabulary - Little syntax-short sentences - Effortful to produce
47
Gua (Kellogg & Kellogg, 1933)
Raised chimp infant with their own infant but failed to learn any words by 18 months
48
Vicki (Hayes & Hayes, 1952)
Raised chimp infant that learned only four words after three years
49
Vocal tract
System of air passages where speech is produced | Chimp vocal tract doesn't allow speech production
50
Koko (Patterson, 1978)
Gorilla trained in ASL, learning about 100 words
51
Kanzi (Savage-Rumbaugh & others, 1998)
Bonobo to communicate with lexigrams (visual symbols) | 2 year old human comprehension
52
0-12 months
Vocalization, babbling, gradually becoming language like
53
12-18 months
Few dozen words, used as holophrases
54
10-24 months
Word learning at a rapid pace | Pidgin-like structure
55
24-48 months
Vocabulary and syntax develop
56
Aphasia
Language deficit due to brain damage
57
Broca's aphasia
- Disjointed, ungrammatical speech - Effortful language production - pidgin-like - Affects spoken, written, and signed language
58
Broca's area
Left frontal lobe with a role in speech production, organizing language into hierarchical structures

Psychology of Language (9 decks)

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