Chapter 9 - Language, Thought and Intelligence - Flashcards
language
a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and convey meaning
grammar
set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages
phonemes
smallest units of sound that are recognizable as speech rather than random noise
phonological rules
indicate how phonemes can be combined to produce speech sounds
morphemes
smallest meaningful units of language
morphological rules
set of rules that indicate how words can be combined to form words
content morphemes
morphemes that refer to things and events (e.g. “cat,” “dog,” “take”)
function morphemes
morphemes that serve grammatical functions such as conjunctions, articles, and prepositions (e.g. “and,” “the,” “into”)
syntactical rules
rules that indicate how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences
deep structure
meaning of a sentence
surface structure
how a sentence is worded
fast mapping
a phenomenon whereby children can map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure
telegraphic speech
speech devoid of function morphemes and consists mostly of content words
nativist theory
view that language development is best explained as an innate, biological capacity (Noam Chomsky)
genetic dysphasia
a syndrome characterized by an inability to learn the grammatical structure of language despite having otherwise normal intelligence
view that although infants are born with the innate ability to acquire language, social interaction also plays a crucial role in language
interactionist approach
located in the left frontal cortex; it is involved in the production of sequential patterns in vocal and sign languages
Broca’s area
located in the left temporal cortex; it is involved in language comprehension
Wernicke’s area
difficulty in producing or comprehending language caused by the damaging of the language centers of the brain (Broca’s & Wernicke’s areas)
aphasia
is involved in language processing
right cerebral hemisphere
ability to understand
passive mastery
ability to speak
active mastery
mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli
concept
the theory that members of a category have features that appear to be characteristic of category members but may not be possessed by every member (Eleanor Rosch)
family resemblance
the “best” or “most typical member” of a category, possesses most (or all) of the most characteristic features of the category (Rosch); visual cortex involved in forming these
prototype
exemplar theory
a theory of categorization that argues that we make category judgments by comparing a new instance with stored memories for other instances of the category; prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia are involved in learning these
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
difficulty in identifying humans
damage to the front part of the left temporal lobe
difficulty identifying animals
damage to the lower left temporal lobe
difficulty identifying tools
damage to the region where the temporal lobe meets the occipital and parietal lobes
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
frequency format hypothesis
the proposal that our minds evolved to notice how frequently things occur, not how likely they are to occur
availability bias
the tendency to mistakenly judge items that are more readily available in memory as having occurred more frequently
conjunction fallacy
an error that occurs when people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event
a mental shortcut that involves making a probability judgment by comparing an object or event to a prototype of the object or event
representative heuristic
phenomena that occur when people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased (or framed)
framing effects
a framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation
sunk-cost fallacy
the proposal that people choose to take risks when evaluating potential losses and avoid risks when evaluating potential gains
prospect theory
damage to the prefrontal cortex causes
risky decision making
the ability to direct one’s thinking, adapt to one’s circumstances, and learn from one’s experiences
intelligence
a statistic obtained by dividing a person’s mental age by the person’s physical age and then multiplying the quotient by 100 (usually administered to children)
ratio IQ
a statistic obtained by dividing a person’s test score by the average test score of people in the same age group and then multiplying the quotient by 100 (usually administered to adults)
deviation IQ
Spearman’s theory suggesting that every task requires a combination of a general ability (g) and skills that are specific to the task (s)
two-factor theory of intelligence
primary mental abilities
Thurstone’s theory that instead of g, there are a few stable and independent mental abilities (word fluency, verbal comprehension, number, space, memory, perceptual speed, reasoning)
8 middle-level abilities
According to John Carroll: memory and learning, visual perception, auditory perception, retrieval ability, cognitive speediness, processing speed, crystallized intelligence, fluid intelligence
fluid intelligence
the ability to see abstract relationships and draw logical inferences; “processing part”
crystallized intelligence
the ability to retain and use knowledge that was acquired through experience; “information” part
Robert Sternberg
believes there are 3 kinds of intelligence: analytic intelligence, creative intelligence, practical intelligence
prodigy
a person of normal intelligence who has an extraordinary ability
savant
person of low intelligence who has an extraordinary ability
Howard Gardner
believes there are 8 types of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, interpersonal, and naturalistic
emotional intelligence
the ability to reason about emotions and to use emotions to enhance reasoning (Mayer and Salovey)
shared environment
those environmental factors that are not experienced by all relevant members of a household
those environmental factors that are not all experienced by all relevant members of a household
nonshared environment
generally stable over time
relative intelligence
can change considerably over time; tends to increase across generations
absolute intelligence
the average intelligence score has been rising by about .3% every year
Flynn Effect
Economic status, education, nutrition, environment (pollution, violence, etc.), stress levels
Factors that can impact intelligence
drugs that produce improvements in the psychological processes that underlie intelligent behavior (Ritalin, Adderall, ampakines: Modafinil)
cognitive enhancers
