child language acquisition - behaviourism Flashcards
1
Q
Who was the pioneer of the behaviourist perspective?
A
Skinner(1957)
2
Q
What does behaviourism suggest?
A
- children imitate and copy adults
- when we are born our mind is a blank slate and all behaviour is acquired through conditioning
3
Q
What does behaviourism argue affects language?
A
- the environment and conditioning affects language
4
Q
According to Skinner, how important is reinforcement from caregivers?
A
- children who use correct utterances are positively reinforced and therefore realise the communicative value of words and phrases
- also known as a trial-and-error process where correct language use is reinforced, and incorrect use is discouraged
5
Q
What are the different types of reinforcement that conditions children into using language?
A
- positive reinforcement
- negative reinforcement
6
Q
How did Skinner tests the ideas of operant conditioning?
A
the use of the Skinner box
7
Q
What is meant by the Skinner box?
A
- an animal can be rewarded or punished for engaging in certain behaviours, such as lever pressing (rats) or key pecking (pigeons)
8
Q
In terms of language use, what is the difference between positive and negative reinforcement?
A
- positive reinforcement = includes praise to encourage the linguistic behaviour
- negative reinforcement = met with no reward but instead recasts to steer the child towards the correct utterance
9
Q
Howw is punishment different to reinforcement?
A
- punishment weakens behaviour
- however, punished behaviour is not forgotten; it’s supressed, and the behaviour returns when punishment is no longer present
10
Q
What support is there for a behaviourist perspective?
A
- psychologists and parenting experts favour reinforcement as a parenting tool
- the structured environment of educational settings, with explicit correction and reinforcement, contributes to the refinement and complexity of language skills in children
- observations show that children can learn associations between words and their communicative consequences, supporting the role of reinforcement in language development
11
Q
How can behaviourism be criticised?
A
- empirical evidence was carried out on animals, is it entirely possible to extend this to humans?
- operant conditioning fails to consider inherited and cognitive factors therefore can be critiqued by nativist and cognitive perspectives
- the existence of a critical period for language acquisition points to a biological predisposition that Skinner’s theory doesn’t fully address
