Chapter 9: Language and Thought Flashcards
Language
a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and that convey meaning
Grammar
set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages
3 differences that distinguish human language from other signaling systems
(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
Phonemes
smallest units of sound that are recognizable as speech rather than as random noise; building blocks of spoken language that differ in production
Phonological rules
indicate how phonemes can be combined to produce speech sounds; typically learned without instruction
Morphemes
combination of phonemes; smallest meaningful units of language
Morphological rules
indicate how morphemes can be combined to form words
Content morphemes
can stand alone as words; refer to things, places, and events
Function morphemes
can stand alone as words; serve grammatical functions like connecting sentences (“and”) or indicating time (“when”)
Syntactic rules
indicate how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences (must contain 1 or more nouns, 1 or more verbs)
3 characteristics of language development
(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)
What can infants do at birth?
Distinguish among speech sounds (ONLY within first 6 months) but cannot produce them dependably
Babbling
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
Fast mapping
quick process whereby children map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure
Telegraphic speech
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
How does language development typically unfold?
as a sequence of steps where a child achieves one milestone before moving to the next
Behaviorist explanation of language learning
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)
Nativist explanation of language learning (Nativist theory)
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
Universal grammar (Chomsky)
collection of processes that facilitate language learning
Genetic dysphasia
syndrome characterized by inability to learn the grammatical structure of language despite having otherwise normal intelligence
Interactionist approach of language development
biological capacity/predisposition for language combines with environment experience/social interactions
Language centres of the brain
Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, connected by a pathway called arcuate fasciculus
Aphasia
damage to Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, difficulty in producing or comprehending language
Broca’s area
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)
Wernicke’s area
located in left temporal cortex, involved in language comprehension (spoken or signed), aphasia causes difficulty in comprehension where grammatical speech is produced but meaningless
Right hemisphere in language processing
(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
Benefits of bilingualism
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
Limitations of apes when learning, comprehending, and using human language
limited vocabularies, limited conceptual repertoire, limited understanding of grammar
Linguistic relativity hypothesis (Whorf)
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)
Concept
a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli
Necessary condition
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
Sufficient condition
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
Prototype theory
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
Exemplar theory
making category judgements by comparing a new instance with stored memories for other instances or exemplars of the category
Which hemisphere is involved in prototypes and exemplars?
LH is primarily involved in forming prototypes and RH is mainly active in recognizing exemplars
What brain regions are activated in exemplar-based learning and prototype formation?
Exemplar-based learning involves analysis and decision-making (prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia); prototype formation involves image processing (visual cortex)
Category-specific deficit
an inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category, although the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed
What categories are affected when certain brain areas are damaged?
Front part of left temporal lobe- difficulty identifying humans, lower left temporal lobe- animals, region where temporal, occipital, and parietal meet- names of tools
Rational choice theory
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)
Which produces correct estimates, frequency information or probability information?
frequencies
Availability bias
making a decision based on the answer that is more readily available in memory (due to greater familiarity)
Heuristics
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
Algorithm
a well-defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem
Conjunction fallacy
people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event alone (like a venn diagram)
Representativeness heuristic
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)
Framing effects
when people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased (or framed) can influence the assignment of value
Sunk-cost fallacy
when people make decisions about a current situation on the basis of what they have previously invested in the situation
Optimism bias
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
Prospect theory
people choose to take on risks when evaluating potential losses and to avoid risks when evaluating potential gains
Certainty effect
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
Categorical perception
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”
How do children acquire grammatical rules?
They tend to make common errors like the overgeneralization of rules e.g. “I runned” (4/5 year old)
Dyslexia
trouble reading, spelling, and writing even though they have normal levels of intelligence; difficulties identifying and understanding phonemes
Can other species learn human language?
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)
Conditions
what must be fulfilled in order to acquire membership in a particular category
Family resemblance
shared common features (similarities) between members; a defining feature is not necessary
How is the brain organized in categories?
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
Confirmation bias
tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior behavior and beliefs
Illusory truth effect
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
