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Psychology > Chapter 9 - Language and Thinking > Flashcards

Chapter 9 - Language and Thinking Flashcards

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1
Q

Language

A

Consists of a system of symbols and rules for combining these symbols in ways that can generate an infinite number of possible messages and meanings.

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2
Q

Psycholinguistics

A

the scientific study of the psychological aspects of language, such as how people understand, produce, and acquire language.

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3
Q

Behaviourists

A

thought is a motor action

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4
Q

Adaptive Functions of Language

A
  • Humans adopted a more socially oriented lifestyle that helped them survive and reproduce.
  • Theorists believe that language evolved as people gathered to form larger social units.
  • The development of language made it easier for humans to adapt to these environmental demands.
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5
Q

Language also influences how well we think in certain domains

A

English children consistently score lower than Asian children in mathematical skills due to words and symbols used in each language to represent numbers*Chinese uses easier system to learn numbers (11 = ?ten one?)*English speakers must use more complex system (11 = ?eleven?)

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6
Q

Properties of Language

A
  1. Language is symbolic and Structured Language
  2. Language Conveys Meaning
  3. Language is generative and permits Displacement
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7
Q

Propositional thought

A

a form of linguistically based thought that expresses

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8
Q

Grammar

A

The set of rules that dictate how symbols can be combined to create meaningful units of communication

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9
Q

Imaginal thought

A

a form of thinking that uses images that can be from any sense modality

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10
Q

Syntax

A

the rules that govern the order of words

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11
Q

Motoric thought

A

mental representations of motor movements

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12
Q

semantics

A

the meaning of words and sentences

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13
Q

Propositions

A

statements that express facts

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14
Q

Generative

A

symbols can be combined in infinite was as long as we remain within the rules. This property is the most important one that distinguish language, new rules can be made which will create a new language

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15
Q

Concepts

A

basic units of semantic memory (mental categories into which we place objects, activities, abstractions, and events that have essential features in common)

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16
Q

Displacement

A

Capacity of language to represent objects and conditions that aren’t physically present

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17
Q

Prototypes

A

most typical and familiar members of a class that defines a concept*Use of prototypes is most elementary method of forming concepts*Requires only that we note similarities among objects

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18
Q

The structure of Language

A
  • Surface Structure and Deep Structure - Hierarchical Structure
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19
Q

Reasoning

A

Deductive reasoning*Inductive reasoning

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20
Q

Surface Structure and Deep Structure

A

Surface Structure: Consists of the symbols that are used and their order. The syntax of language. Deep Structure: refers to the underlying meaning of the combined symbols, which brings us back to the issue of semantics.

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21
Q

Deductive reasoning

A

reasoning from a general principle to a specific case*Basis of formal mathematics and logic*Viewed as stronger and more valid reasoning because conclusion cannot be false if premises are true*Syllogism: If all humans are mortal (first premise), and Socrates is a human (second premise), then Socrates must be mortal (conclusion)

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22
Q

Hierarchical Structure

A

Phonemes -> Morphemes -> Words -> Phrases -> Sentences -> Discourse

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23
Q

Inductive reasoning

A

reasoning from specific facts to develop a general principle*Leads to likelihood rather than certainty*New observations may disprove conclusion

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24
Q

Phonemes

A

The smallest unit of speech sound in a language that can signal a difference in meaning. ex: th, sh

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25
Q

Stumbling Blocks in Reasoning: Distraction by irrelevant information

A

people take into account irrelevant information that leads them astray

26
Q

Morphemes

A

The smallest units of meaning in language Ex: include base words, prefixes, suffixes, ect.

27
Q

Stumbling Blocks in Reasoning: Failure to apply deductive rules

A

people think of problem solving methods as to be used only in certain situations and cannot apply to new problems

28
Q

Discourse

A

sentences are combined into paragraphs, articles, books, conversations, and so forth

29
Q

Stumbling Blocks in Reasoning: Belief bias

A

tendency to abandon logical rules in favour of personal beliefs*Students claimed conclusion was not correct to following syllogism: All things that are smoked are good for one?s health, cigarettes are smoked, therefore cigarettes are good for one?s health

30
Q

the various forms of humor based on language

A
  1. Phonological ambiguity - confusion of sounds 2. Lexical ambiguity - confusion of double meanings of words 3. syntactic ambiguity - confusion of structure 4. semantic ambiguity - confusion of meaning
31
Q

Stumbling Blocks in Reasoning: Emotions and Framing

A

When we evaluate problems or make decision, at times we may abandon logical reasoning in favour of relying on our emotions to guide us.

32
Q

The role of Bottom-up Processing

A

Individual elements of a stimulus are analyzed and then combined to form a unified perception Cell groups in your brain are: 1) analyzing the basic elements of the usual patterns that are right before your eyes. 2) feeding this information to other cell groups that lead you to perceive these patterns as letters

33
Q

Framing

A

Refers to the idea that the same information, problem, or opinions can be structured and presented in different ways

34
Q

The role of Top-Down Processing

A

sensory information is interpreted in light of existing knowledge, concepts, ideas, and expectations

35
Q

The four stages of Problem solving

A

Understanding, or framing, the problem*Generating potential solutions*Testing the solutions*Evaluating results

36
Q

speech Segmentation

A

perceiving where each word within a spoken sentence begins and ends.

37
Q

The four stages of Problem solving: Understanding, or framing, the problem

A

problem must be framed optimally to have chance of generating an effective solution

38
Q

Irwin Pollack and J.M. Pickett (1964)

A

Recorded the conversations of 4 female university students and text messages spoken by four adult men. The researchers then played back one, two, three or four-word segments taken from these recordings to 38 university students. They asked the participants to identify the first word in the segment. In sum, the availability of context made the job of identifying individual words much easier.

39
Q

The four stages of Problem solving: Generating potential solutions

A

must determine which procedures and explanations will be considered, and which solutions are consistent with evidence

40
Q

Pragmatics (the social context of Language)

A

a knowledge of the practical aspects of using language. It helps you not only understand what other people are really saying, but also helps you make sure that other people get the point of what you’re communicating. Ex: adjusting your speech rate, choice of words, and sentence complexity depending on the context, or whether you are talking to an adult, a friend, a professor, a child or a foreign visitor.

41
Q

The four stages of Problem solving: Testing the solutions

A

remaining solutions must be tested and evaluated*Mental set ? tendency to stick to solutions that have worked in past*Can result in less effective problem solving

42
Q

Aphasia

A

An impairment in speech comprehension and/or production that can be permanent or temporary. It is caused by a damage in one or both areas, the Broca’s area, and the Wernicke’s area.

43
Q

The four stages of Problem solving: Evaluating results

A

Would there have been an easier or more effective way to accomplish the same objective?

44
Q

What sex differences exist in the brain’’s language processing?

A

Studies by Susan Rossell and others have shown that language function in men is seen in the left hemisphere, while in females it is shared with the right hemisphere. Men who suffer left hemisphere strokes are more likely than women to show severe aphasic symptoms.

45
Q

Problem solving schemas

A

step by step scripts for selecting information and solving specialized classes of problems*Experts rely on schemas that are developed with experience*Development of expertise is accompanied by alterations in brain functioning that increase processing efficiency

46
Q

Biological foundations to acquiring a First Language

A

-human children begin to master without formal instruction -all adult languages have a common deep structure -infants vocalize the entire range of phonemes regardless of culture. -there may be a sensitive period in which language is most easily learned

47
Q

Algorithms

A

formulas or procedures that automatically generate correct solutions

48
Q

Noam Chomsky (1987)

A

Proposed that humans are born with a language acquisition device (LAD) an innate biological mechanism that contains the general grammatical rules common to all languages. Chomsky metaphorically likened LAD to a huge electrical panel with banks of linguistic switches that are thrown as children hear the words and syntax of their native language.

49
Q

Heuristics

A

general problem solving strategies that are applied to certain classes of situations*Means end analysis ? identify differences between present situation and one?s desired state/goal and make changes to reduce differences*Subgoal analysis ? people can attack a large problem by formulating subgoals or intermediate steps toward a solution

50
Q

Social Learning Processes to acquire a first language

A
  • B.F Skinner (1957): developed an operant conditioning explanation for language acquisition. Children’s language development is strongly governed by adult’s positive reinforcement of appropriate language and non-reinforcement or connection of inappropriate verbalization.
  • Jerome Bruner (1983): proposed Language acquisition support system (LASS) to represent factors in the social environment that facilitate the learning of a language.
  • when LAD and LASS interact in a mutually supportive fashion, normal language development occurs.
51
Q

Uncertainty, heuristics, and decision making: Representativeness heuristic

A

rule of thumb in estimating probability that an object or event belongs to a certain category based on extent to which it represents a prototype of the category*Tversky and Kahneman note that people confused representativeness with probability

52
Q

The couse of Normal Language Development in Children

A
  • 1-3 months: distinguish speech form non-speech sounds and prefer speech sounds, undifferentiated crying gives away to cooing when happy
  • 4-6 months: Babbling; vocalizes in response to verbalizations of others
  • 7-11 months: Lalling; phonemes narrows to only ones heard by others in environment. Is able to discriminate between words but doesn’t know meaning.
  • 12 months: dada, block first recognizable words; one word utterances
  • 18-24 months: 50-100 words. sentences consist of two words (telegraphic speech)
  • 2-4 years: several hundred words per 6 months. Larger sentences, more correct syntactically.
  • 4-5 year: has learned basic grammatical rules to make meaningful sentences
53
Q

Uncertainty, heuristics, and decision making: Availability heuristic

A

rule of thumb used to make likelihood judgments based on how easily examples of that category of events come to mind or are available in memory*Example: people were less likely to book flights following September 11th, since the memory of the event is readily accessible

54
Q

The critical Period where language is most easily learned?

A
  • Between infancy and puberty
  • Children who recieve language trainging before they hit puberty develop normal language abilities, whereas children who recieve it after are unable to acquire normal language skills despite extensice training.
  • it is also applied to any type of language including sign language.
55
Q

Confirmation bias

A

people tend to look for evidence that will confirm what they currently believe rather than look for evidence that could disconfirm their beliefs

56
Q

Bilingualism: Learning a Second Language

A
  • Learned best and spoken most fluently when learned during critical period of Childhood.
  • If both languages are learned at early age, they often function in the same brain region.
57
Q

Overconfidence

A

The tendency to overestimate one?s correctness in factual knowledge, beliefs and decisions.

58
Q

Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956)

A
  • His linguistic relativity hypothesis that language not only influences but also determines what we are capable of thinking.
59
Q

Sternberg and Davidson

A
  • found that correct solutions to insight problems involve:
  • Selective encoding - choosing what information matters
  • Selective combination - choosing what?s important within chosen information
  • Selective comparison - out of chosen information, how does it apply to the problem
60
Q

Linguistic Influences On thinking

A
  • Today, linguists believe that language shapes the ways we think but does not determine it
  • Language influences what people think and how efectively they think.
  • expansion of vocabulary allows people to encode and process information in more sophisticated ways.
61
Q

Empiricists

A

thought is a mental image

Psychology (36 decks)

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