Chapter 8 Flashcards
What is the behaviorist theory in language acquisition?
First outline by B. F. Skinner
Children learn language through imitation and reinforcement (and other principles of conditioning)
Vocalizations that are not reinforced decline in frequency
Remaining vocalizations are shaped with reinforcers until they are correct
Nativist theories of language acquisition
Noam Chomsky
Children learn the rules of language
Language acquisition device (LAD) is an innate mechanism that facilitates learning language
Interactionist theories of language acquisition
Biology and experience contribute to language development
The human brain is hardwired to readily recognize the sound patterns that make up human languages
Some sounds are not common in language because they are not easy to replicate
According to the interactionist model, what three things contribute to language development?
Biological maturation, neural development
Cognitive development
Linguistic environment (instruction, reinforcement)
Bilingualism
May be a slight handicap in terms of war language processing speed and verbal fluency
Score moderately higher than monolinguals on measures of attention control, working memory capacity, abstract reasoning, and certain types of problem-solving
Bilinguals and monolinguals are similar in the course and rate of language development
What is the linguistic relativity theory?
The Whorfian hypothesis that one’s language affects the nature of one’s thoughts
Whorf speculated that different languages (or cultural vocabulary) lead people to view the world differently
Whorf’s hypothesis has been the subject of considerable research and continues to generate debate
New evidence favoring the linguistic relativity hypothesis
strong hypothesis=language determines our worldview
weak hypothesis=language influences our worldview
Does language help our cognition and intelligence?
It do
Is the Whorfian hypothesis THE theory of language development?
No, not all psychologist support this theory, some are critical
Problem solving
What are the three types of problems?
Problems of inducing structure
Problems of arrangement
Problems of transformation
What are problems of inducing structure?
Discover the relation among the parts of the problem (series completion, analogies)
What are problems of arrangement?
Arrange parts in a way that satisfies a criterion (string problem [using whats in the room to tie strings together], anagrams [solving mixed-up letters to a word])
What are problems of transformation?
Complete a sequence of transformation to reach a specific goal (like how to get
What is insight?
The sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error
What is trial and error?
Trying possible solutions sequentially and discarding those that are in error until one works
What does is a heuristic?
A guiding principle or “rule of thumb” used in solving problems or making decisions
What is forming subgoals?
Intermediate steps toward a solution
What is searching for analogies?
Use the solution to a previous problem to solve a current one
Insight, trial and error, forming subgoals, and searching for analogies are all signs of what in problem solving?
Intelligence
What is the incubation effect?
Occurs when new solutions surface for a previously unsolved problem after a period of not consciously thinking about the problem
What process is used when changing the representation of the problem?
Depends on how you envision a problem
Use a variety of ways to represent like diagrams, flowcharts, graphs, etc.
Restructuring the representation of problems is often the key to solving insight problems
What cognitive styles used to problem solve are more prevalent in certain cultures? What cultures?
Holistic cognitive style (Eastern Asian countries)
Analytic cognitive style (Western countries)
What is the holistic cognitive style? Where is it prevalent?
Focuses on context and relationships among elements. More prevalent in eastern Asian countries
What is the analytic cognitive style? Where is it prevalent?
Focuses on objects and their properties rather than context. More prevalent in western countries
What is choice overload?
Increases the potential for rumination and post-decision regret
People may defer decisions if they have too many choices
Less confidence and satisfaction about their decisions
Depends on decision factors such as time constraints, complexity and comparability of options, and presence of an obvious best choice
Those who feel knowledgeable about a set of options are less vulnerable to choice overload
What are 3 heuristic methods of decision making?
Risky decision making
Availablitity
Representativeness
Who first expressed intelligence as mental age?
Binet-Simon
What scale expanded Binet-Simon’s original scale?
Stanford-Binet
What is IQ according to the Stanford-Binet test?
Mental age x 100
Who expanded intelligence testing to adults?
Wechsler
What is the WAIS?
Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale
Used normal distribution and relied less on verbal ability
Binet-Simon
Stanford-Binet
iQ
WAIS
What is a normal distribution?
Represents the pattern in which many characteristics are dispersed in the population. A “bell curve”
What is a deviation IQ?
Locates respondents precisely within the normal distribution
What is a percentile score
Percentage of people who score at or below the ore one has obtained
What is reliability in psyhcological tests? What is a test that is exceptionally reliable?
The measurement consistency of a psychological test
IQ test are exceptionally reliable
What is validity in psychological tests? When do IQ tests have high validity?
The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure
IQ tests are valid measures of the kind of intelligence necessary to do well in academic work
If the purpose is to assess intelligence in a broader sense, the validity of IQ tests is questionable
People with high IQ’s are more likely to end up in what kind of jobs?
high-status
