Chapter 9: Language and Thought

Question 1

Language

Answer 1

a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and that convey meaning

Question 2

Grammar

Answer 2

set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages

Question 3

3 differences that distinguish human language from other signaling systems

Answer 3

(1) its complex structure (2) using words to refer to intangible things (3) using language to name, categorize, and describe things to ourselves when we think i.e. thinking and conceptualizing

Question 4

Phonemes

Answer 4

smallest units of sound that are recognizable as speech rather than as random noise; building blocks of spoken language that differ in production

Question 5

Phonological rules

Answer 5

indicate how phonemes can be combined to produce speech sounds; typically learned without instruction

Question 6

Morphemes

Answer 6

combination of phonemes; smallest meaningful units of language

Question 7

Morphological rules

Answer 7

indicate how morphemes can be combined to form words

Question 8

Content morphemes

Answer 8

can stand alone as words; refer to things, places, and events

Question 9

Function morphemes

Answer 9

can stand alone as words; serve grammatical functions like connecting sentences (“and”) or indicating time (“when”)

Question 10

Syntactic rules

Answer 10

indicate how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences (must contain 1 or more nouns, 1 or more verbs)

Question 11

3 characteristics of language development

Answer 11

(1) children learn language at a rapid rate (2) children make few errors (e.g. overregularizing) while learning to speak (3) children’s passive mastery of language (understanding) develops faster than their active mastery (speaking)

Question 12

What can infants do at birth?

Answer 12

Distinguish among speech sounds (ONLY within first 6 months) but cannot produce them dependably

Question 13

Babbling

Answer 13

combinations of vowels and consonants that sound like real syllables but are meaningless; a natural part of the language development process; signals a state of focused attention, ready to learn

Question 14

Fast mapping

Answer 14

quick process whereby children map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure

Question 15

Telegraphic speech

Answer 15

At 18-24 months, children start forming 2-word sentences (noun + verb), devoid of function morphemes and consist mostly of content words, have meaning but are grammatically incomplete

Question 16

How does language development typically unfold?

Answer 16

as a sequence of steps where a child achieves one milestone before moving to the next

Question 17

Behaviorist explanation of language learning

Answer 17

we learn through operant conditioning (reinforcement by adults, shaping, extinction) and imitation; cannot account for many fundamental characteristics of language development (cross-cultural and distinguishing phonemes as infants)

Question 18

Nativist explanation of language learning (Nativist theory)

Answer 18

language development is best explained as an innate, biological capacity; rapidly acquired through simple exposure to speech and the human brain is equipped with universal grammar (Chomsky); has more evidence than the behaviorist theory

Question 19

Universal grammar (Chomsky)

Answer 19

collection of processes that facilitate language learning

Question 20

Genetic dysphasia

Answer 20

syndrome characterized by inability to learn the grammatical structure of language despite having otherwise normal intelligence

Question 21

Interactionist approach of language development

Answer 21

biological capacity/predisposition for language combines with environment experience/social interactions

Question 22

Language centres of the brain

Answer 22

Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, connected by a pathway called arcuate fasciculus

Question 23

Aphasia

Answer 23

damage to Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, difficulty in producing or comprehending language

Question 24

Broca’s area

Answer 24

located in left frontal cortex, involved in production of sequential patterns in vocal and sign languages; aphasia causes trouble in speech production (meaningless fragmented speech)

Question 25

Wernicke’s area

Answer 25

located in left temporal cortex, involved in language comprehension (spoken or signed), aphasia causes difficulty in comprehension where grammatical speech is produced but meaningless

Question 26

Right hemisphere in language processing

Answer 26

(1) shows some capacity for processing verbal meaning in healthy people (2) subtle problems with comprehension when damaged (3) activation during language tasks (4) can retain language abilities even when LH is removed

Question 27

Benefits of bilingualism

Answer 27

advantage in executive functioning (e.g. task-switching or multitasking), tend to have later onset of Alzheimer’s due to greater cognitive ability or reserve; lasting changes in the brain (denser grey matter) and different representation when a second language is learned early on

Question 28

Limitations of apes when learning, comprehending, and using human language

Answer 28

limited vocabularies, limited conceptual repertoire, limited understanding of grammar

Question 29

Linguistic relativity hypothesis (Whorf)

Answer 29

the idea that language shapes the nature of thought e.g. Russians can more easily discriminate between and have different terms for lighter shades of blue (goluboy) and darker shades (siniy)

Question 30

Concept

Answer 30

a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli

Question 31

Necessary condition

Answer 31

something that must be true of the object in order for it to belong to the category e.g. a dog must be a mammal

Question 32

Sufficient condition

Answer 32

something that, if it is true of the object, proves that it belongs to the category e.g. if it is a german shepherd, it is a dog

Question 33

Prototype theory

Answer 33

making category judgements by comparing new instances with the category’s prototype (best or most typical member); some items within a category are more representative than others

Question 34

Exemplar theory

Answer 34

making category judgements by comparing a new instance with stored memories for other instances or exemplars of the category

Question 35

Which hemisphere is involved in prototypes and exemplars?

Answer 35

LH is primarily involved in forming prototypes and RH is mainly active in recognizing exemplars

Question 36

What brain regions are activated in exemplar-based learning and prototype formation?

Answer 36

Exemplar-based learning involves analysis and decision-making (prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia); prototype formation involves image processing (visual cortex)

Question 37

Category-specific deficit

Answer 37

an inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category, although the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed

Question 38

What categories are affected when certain brain areas are damaged?

Answer 38

Front part of left temporal lobe- difficulty identifying humans, lower left temporal lobe- animals, region where temporal, occipital, and parietal meet- names of tools

Question 39

Rational choice theory

Answer 39

we make decisions by determining how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, then multiplying the two (likelihood x expected value)

Question 40

Which produces correct estimates, frequency information or probability information?

Answer 40

frequencies

Question 41

Availability bias

Answer 41

making a decision based on the answer that is more readily available in memory (due to greater familiarity)

Question 42

Heuristics

Answer 42

mental shortcuts like the availability bias; fast and efficient strategies that may facilitate decision making but don’t guarantee that a solution will be reached

Question 43

Algorithm

Answer 43

a well-defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem

Question 44

Conjunction fallacy

Answer 44

people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event alone (like a venn diagram)

Question 45

Representativeness heuristic

Answer 45

making a probability judgement by comparing an object or event with a prototype of the object or event and ignoring the base rate (event’s existing probability)

Question 46

Framing effects

Answer 46

when people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased (or framed) can influence the assignment of value

Question 47

Sunk-cost fallacy

Answer 47

when people make decisions about a current situation on the basis of what they have previously invested in the situation

Question 48

Optimism bias

Answer 48

people believe that, compared with other individuals, they are more likely to experience positive events and less likely to experience negative events in the future compared to other people

Question 49

Prospect theory

Answer 49

people choose to take on risks when evaluating potential losses and to avoid risks when evaluating potential gains

Question 50

Certainty effect

Answer 50

when making decisions, people give greater weight to outcomes that are a sure thing; People are risk aversive for potential benefits but willing to take a risk to avoid a potential loss

Question 51

Categorical perception

Answer 51

Perception reflects category membership (e.g. perceiving speech sounds more similarly if people are in the same geographical area) rather than continuous physical differences; speech sounds vary continuously but we perceive them in categories like “Ba” and “Da”

Question 52

How do children acquire grammatical rules?

Answer 52

They tend to make common errors like the overgeneralization of rules e.g. “I runned” (4/5 year old)

Question 53

Dyslexia

Answer 53

trouble reading, spelling, and writing even though they have normal levels of intelligence; difficulties identifying and understanding phonemes

Question 54

Can other species learn human language?

Answer 54

early attempts failed because their vocal tracts cannot accommodate the sounds used in human languages but later attempts used ASL and computerized keyboards (observational learning)

Question 55

Conditions

Answer 55

what must be fulfilled in order to acquire membership in a particular category

Question 56

Family resemblance

Answer 56

shared common features (similarities) between members; a defining feature is not necessary

Question 57

How is the brain organized in categories?

Answer 57

Different parts of the brain are associated with identification of different categories e.g. humans, animals, tools; same patterns are observed in both blind and sighted individuals

Question 58

Confirmation bias

Answer 58

tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior behavior and beliefs

Question 59

Illusory truth effect

Answer 59

occurs when repeated exposure to a statement increases the likelihood that people will judge it to be true because increased familiarity is mistakenly accepted as evidence