chapter 10 Flashcards
Phonemes:
The smallest distinct sound unit in a spoken language. For example
example: bat, has three phonemes b · a · t
Morpheme
: The smallest unit that carries a meaning. It may be a word or part of a word. For example:
Milk = milk Pumpkin = pump . kin
Words
Meaningful units (290,500) … meat, pumpkin.
Phrases
Composed of two or more words (326,000) … meat eater.
Sentence
Composed of many words (infinite) … She opened the jewelry box.
Grammar
is the system of rules in a language that enable us to communicate with and understand others.
Semantics
is the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences. For example:
Semantic rule tells us that adding –ed to the word laugh means that it happened in the past.
Syntax
consists of the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences. For example:
In English, syntactical rule says that adjectives come before nouns; white house. In Spanish, it is reversed; casa blanca.
Semanticity
Sounds of the human language convey
meaning.
Ex: Stop!!
Arbitrariness
There is no connection between the symbols
in the language and the meaning they
convey.
Ex: whale or microorganism
Flexibility of Symbols
We have the ability to use different terms
for objects in the world.
Ex: cars —– automobiles
shoes — sneakers
Displacement
Language allows us to talk about things or
ideas outside of the present moment.
Ex: verb construction for past and future
I am walking to school this morning.
I walked to school this morning.
Naming
Language assigns names to everything.
Ex: Pick any object in the classroom that
you believe does not have a name.
Productivity/Creativity
Through creativity, language allows us to
produce numerous new ideas.
Ex: Simple Language Device
Combine one word from column A, with one
from columns B,C,D,E and F. How many different
sentences can be constructed this way?
Convergent Thinking
Thinking pointed
towards one solution.
Divergent Thinking
Thinking that looks for
multiple possible answers
to a question.
Associated more with
creativity
chomsky theory
social interaction is needed for language developemend
babbling stage
begginging at 4 months, the infant spontaneously utters various sounds. Not an imitation of adult speech.
ONe word stage-
beginning around first birthday, child starts to speak one word at a time and is able to make family members undertand them
TWo word stage
before second year the child starts to speak in two word sentences. Called telegraphic speech because child speeks like a telegram “go car”– I would like to go for a ride in the car
longer phrases
after telegraphic speech, children begin uttering longer phrases (mommy get ball) with syntactical sense and by early elementary school they are employing humor
Age?
Babbles many speech sounds
4 months
age?
babbling resembles household language
10 months
age?
one word stage
12months
age?
two word telegraphic speech
24months
language develops rapidly into complete sentences
24+ months
behavioral/ learning theory of learning
A form of operant conditioning in which Skinner believed that language development may be explained on the basis of learning principles such as association, immitation, and reinforcement.
Nativist/ Biological theory of learning
Chomsky
Inborn universal Grammer: opposed skinners ideas and suggested that the rate of language acquisition is so fast that it cannot be explained through learning principles, and thus most of it is inborn.
Doublespeak
Language designed to alter our
perception of reality and corrupt our
thinking.
four forms of doublespeak
Euphemism
Jargon
Gobbledygook/Bureaucratese
Inflated language
Euphemism
– the use of inoffensive or positive word phrases in order to avoid unpleasantness.
Ex: A tax increase is a revenue
enhancement
Jargon –
the language of a trade
or profession.
Ex: glass = fused silicate
Gobbledygook/Bureaucratese
– piling on words or overwhelming your audience.
Ex: Dan Quayle Quote
Inflated Language
– the ordinary become extraordinary.
Ex: A toothbrush is a oral hygiene
device.
Linguistic Determinism/Relativity
Whorf’s Hypothesis
Whorf (1956) suggested that language
determines the way we think. For example,
he noted that the Hopi people do not have
the past tense for verbs. Therefore, the
Hopi cannot think readily about the past.
Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky believed that through play
and social situations, we learn to think for
ourselves.
Piaget
Developed stage theory of cognitive
development. He believed that we
represent our thoughts with words.
Bruner
Believed that the narrative of a story
leads to the mastery of language.
Is There Thinking Without Language?
This idea is debated
Some argue yes, based on:
Cognitive Maps (Tolman)
Mental Imagery
Cognition
Thinking, or cognition, refers to a process that involves knowing, understanding, remembering, and communicating.
Concept
The mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. There are a variety of chairs but their common features define the concept of a chair.
Development of Concepts
We form some concepts with definitions. For example, a triangle has three sides. Mostly, we form concepts with mental images or typical examples (prototypes). For example, a robin is a prototype of a bird, but a penguin is not.
Schemas
A concept or framework that organizes and
interprets information.
Heuristics
are simple, thinking strategies that allow us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently. Heuristics are less time consuming, but more error-prone than algorithms.
Insight
involves a sudden novel realization of a solution to a problem. Humans and animals have insight.
what part of the brain goes insight activate and what is the time between not knowing the slution and realizing it
Brain imaging and EEG studies suggest that when an insight strikes (the “Aha” experience), it activates the right temporal cortex (Jung-Beeman, 2004). The time between not knowing the solution and realizing it is 0.3 seconds.
Obstacles to problem solving
Constraints
Irrelevant Information
Mental Set – our tendency to approach a problem in a particular way that has been successful in the past.
Functional Fixedness
The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving.
Fixation
: An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This impedes problem solving. Two examples of fixation are mental set and functional fixedness.
two decision making models (Tversky)
Normative
Model considers what is the best decision to
make? Assumes that humans are fully
informed and rational.
Descriptive
What people actually do.
Availability Heuristic
Influenced By Memory
whatever the first thing that comes to mind
representative Heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things or objects in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, a particular prototype.
Exaggerated Fear/Dread Factor
the opposite of having overconfidence is having an exaggerated fear about what may happen. Such fears may be unfounded.
The 9/11 attacks led to a decline in air travel due to fear.
Belief Bias
The tendency of one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning by making invalid conclusions.
Belief Perseverance
Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary evidence.
Confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions
Broca’s area
controls language expression-an aread of the frontal, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech
Wernicke’s area
controls language reception-a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression;usually in the left temporal lobe
