Chapter 9 Flashcards
language
a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and convey meaning
grammar
a set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages
phoneme
the smallest unit of sound that is recognizable as speech rather than as random noise
phonological rules
a set of rules that indicate how phonemes can be combined to produce speech sounds
morphemes
the smallest meaningful units of language
- content morphemes (ex. cat, dog, take)
- function morphemes serve grammatical functions (ex. and, or, but, when)
morphological rules
a set of rules that indicate how morphemes can be combined to form words
syntactical rules
a set of rules that indicate how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences
deep structure
the meaning of a sentence
surface structure
how a sentence is worded
fast mapping
the fact that children can map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure
telegraphic speech
speech that is devoid of function morphemes and consists mostly of content words
nativist theory
the view that language development is best explained as an innate, biological capacity
language acquisition device (LAD)
a collection of processes that facilitate language learning
genetic dysphasia
a syndrome characterized by an inability to learn the grammatical structure of language despite having otherwise normal intelligence
aphasia
difficulty in producing or comprehending language
Broca’s area
located in left frontal cortex, is involved in production of the sequential patterns in vocal and sign languages
- critical for language production
- Broca’s aphasia: understand language but difficulty with grammatical structure
Wernicke’s area
located in left temporal cortex, is involved in language comprehension (whether spoken or signed)
- critical for language comprehension
- Wernicke’s aphasia: can produce grammatical speech but tends to be meaningless, have difficulty comprehending language
bilingual
- show similar rates of language development when compared to monolingual children
- show greater executive control capacities
- have a later onset of Alzheimer’s
linguistic relativity hypothesis
the proposal that language shapes the nature of thought
concept
a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli
family resemblance theory
members of a category have features that appear to be characteristic of category members but may not be possessed by every member
prototype
the “best” or “most typical” member of a category
exemplar theory
a theory of categorization that argues that we make category judgements by comparing a new instance with stored memories for other instances of the category
- exemplars processed in different part of brain than prototype
category-specific deficit
a neurological syndrome that is characterized by an inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category, although the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed
rational choice theory
the classical view that we make decisions by determining how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, and then multiplying the two
availability bias
items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occurred more frequently
heuristic
a fast and efficient strategy that may facilitate decision making but does not guarantee that a solution will be reached
algorithm
a well-defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem
conjunction fallacy
when people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event
representativeness heuristic
a mental shortcut that involves making a probability judgment by comparing an object or event to a prototype of the object or event
framing effects
when people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased (or framed)
sunk-cost fallacy
a framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation
prospect theory
people choose to take on risk when evaluating potential losses and avoid risks when evaluating potential gains
frequency format hypothesis
the proposal that our minds evolved to notice how frequently things occur, not how likely they are to occur
means-ends analysis
a process of searching for the means or steps to reduce differences between the current situation and the desired goal
analogical problem solving
solving a problem by finding a similar problem with a known solution and applying that solution to the current problem
functional fixedness
the tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed
reasoning
a mental activity that consists of organizing information or beliefs into a series of steps in order to reach conclusions
practical reasoning
figuring out what to do, or reasoning directed toward action
theoretical reasoning (discursive reasoning)
reasoning directed toward arriving at a belief
belief bias
people’s judgements about whether to accept conclusions depend more on how believable the conclusions are than on whether the arguments are logically valid
syllogistic reasoning
determining whether a conclusion follows from two statements that are assumed to be true
The combining of words to form phrases and sentences is governed by
a. phonological rules
b. morphological rules
c. structural rules
d. syntactical rules
d. syntactical rules
Which of the following statements about language development is inaccurate?
a. Language acquisition is largely a matter of children imitating adult speech
b. Deep structure refers to the meaning of a sentence, while surface structure refers to how it is constructed
c. By the time the average child begins school, a vocabulary of 10,000 words is not unusual
d. Children’s passive mastery of language develops faster than their active mastery
a. Language acquisition is largely a matter of children imitating adult speech
Language development as an innate, biological capacity is explained by
a. fast mapping
b. behaviorism
c. nativist theory
d. interactionist explanations
c. nativist theory
A collection of processes that facilitate language learning is referred to as
a. phonological rules
b. dysphasia
c. a language acquisition device
d. grammatical generalizations
c. a language acquisition device
Damage to the brain region called Broca’s area results in
a. failure to comprehend language
b. difficulty in producing grammatical speech
c. the reintroduction of infant babbling
d. difficulties in writing
b. difficulty in producing grammatical speech
The linguistic relativity hypothesis maintains that
a. language and thought are separate cognitive phenomena
b. words have different meanings to different cultures
c. human language is too complex for nonhuman animals to acquire
d. language shapes the nature of thought
d. language shapes the nature of thought
The “most typical” member of a category is a(n)
a. prototype
b. exemplar
c. concept
d. definition
a. prototype
Which theory of how we form concepts is based on our judgment of features that appear to be characteristic of category members but may not be possessed by every member?
a. prototype theory
b. family resemblance theory
c. exemplar theory
d. heuristic theory
b. family resemblance theory
The inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category, although the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed is called
a. category-preferential organization
b. cognitive-visual deficit
c. a category-specific deficit
d. aphasia
c. a category-specific deficit
Making use of which of the following would most likely lead to a solution to a problem?
a. rational choice theory
b. probability
c. a heuristic
d. an algorithm
d. an algorithm
People give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased because of
a. the availability bias
b. the conjugation fallacy
c. the representativeness heuristic
d. framing effects
d. framing effects
The view that people choose to take on risk when evaluating potential losses and avoid risks when evaluating potential gains describes
a. expected utility
b. the frequency format hypothesis
c. prospect theory
d. the sunk-cost fallacy
c. prospect theory
People with damage to the prefrontal cortex are prone to
a. heightened anticipatory emotional reactions
b. risky decision making
c. galvanic skin response
d. extreme sensitivity to behavioral consequences
b. risky decision making
Miranda decides on a goal, analyzes her current situation, lists the differences between her current situation and her goal, then settles on strategies to reduce those differences. Miranda is engaging in
a. means-ends analysis
b. analogical problem solving
c. capitalizing on insight
d. functional fixedness
a. means-ends analysis
What kind of reasoning is aimed at deciding on a course of action?
a. theoretical
b. belief
c. syllogistic
d. practical
d. practical
