exam 1 Flashcards
nativism
knowledge is innate
children acquire language rapidly, effortlessly, and without direct instruction
social interactionism
crucial part of language development is social interaction with others
connectionism
connections used the most are the ones that are strengthened
behaviorism
language is a set of learned behaviors learned through imitation, reinforcement, and conditioning
usage-based
language structure emerges from language use
grammar comes from learning language/not prior to it
observing and actively participating in conversation
infant form discrimination
contingent sucking rate/high amplitude sucking (sucking procedures)
what does infant form discrimination measure
pacifier tracks # of and intensity of sucks to see if babies can “tell the difference”
contingency
testing babies’ ability to learn a new thing
infant form discrimination example in class
baby sucks, more sucking = more sound, learning that one thing depends on another
infant form discrimination age
neonates (newborns/infants)
conditioned head turn preference procedure
tests infants sound discrimination
conditioned head turn preference procedure example in class
English /d/ vs Hindi /dh/
infants can tell the difference between these two phonemes because they are “universal listeners” but lose their ability when they get older
conditioned head turn preference procedure age
5-12 months
association/mapping procedures (5)
standardized assessments of vocabulary
looking while listening
switch procedure
novel noun generalization
fast-mapping
eye tracking example in class
two identical pictures side by side, let them habituate, typically babies look at new novel face vs habituated face, look at their looking time and length of each fixation
babies have shorter looking times have higher iq, shorter habitation time, etc
eye tracking age
infancy prior to phonological discrimination age
looking while listening task
two images (one distractor shown) and voice telling them to look at the target image
see how quickly they shift to target object
18 months looking while listening
last syllable doggIE
24 months looking while listening
middle syllable doGGie
30 months looking while listening
first phoneme DOggie
findings of looking while listening task research
inverse relationship between age and processing speed
right side preference
babies have a tendency to spend more time looking at stimuli on right side of visual field
left hemisphere of brain is linked to language processing
forced choice novel noun generalization
tests ability to generalize
shown objects with same shape but different colors/patterns/sizes
see if they can determine what else would also be named that
forced choice novel noun generalization findings
humans have a shape preference over a color preference because of shape function
fast mapping
see many objects, not clear exactly which is which (no clear relationship between label and object)
can they figure out across many trials what the target object is (uses process of elimination)
general measures of language speech samples
record speech in natural contexts (no manipulations), transcribe words/grammar, calculate relevant info like # of words/length of utterance/unique words, etc.
LENA recorders
vests worn by children to record natural conversations in different settings like classrooms
may test # of child vocalizations vs other children or adults present, tests conversational turn count (back and forths of conversations),
standardized assessments of vocabulary
MBCDI
vocabulary checklist, do they understand/say the word, measures comprehension/production
neuroscience techniques
neural signatures that show how they respond to novel language
language is not a ____ process, development is dependent on ____
maturational
experience
strengths of nativism
children acquire language rapidly without direct instruction, supports critical period of language development, understand and apply rules of language (negatives, verb forms, etc), poverty of the stimulus example
weaknesses of nativism
ignores importance of experience and social interaction, all children develop language differently, word meaning is dependent upon context
strengths of connectionism
children improve through gradual practice, “universal listeners” phenomenon, incorrect grammar does not last long because those connections are not reinforced
weaknesses of connectionism
overlooks importance of critical period, overlooks importance of social interactions
strengths of social interactionism
emphasizes that caregivers do play a role in how children develop language, varies across cultures depending on styles of interactions, scaffolding
weaknesses of social interactionism
babies still learn language in the absence of interaction, poverty of the stimulus example, hard to measure how much it accounts for
strengths of usage based
emphasizes role of social interaction, supported by general cognitive skills (detecting patterns), children’s learning paths are not identical
weaknesses of usage based
lacks evidence of critical period, poverty of the stimulus example
difference between usage based and social interactionism
social interaction: experience is primary driver
usage based: learned through usage, cognitive abilities, pattern recognition
strengths of behaviorism
accounts for imitation and other methods of learning, highlights importance of exposure and practice
weaknesses of behaviorism
application of incorrect grammar rules without reinforcement, does not emphasize critical period
when do babies lose universal listening ability
around 8-10 months
prenatal auditory exposure
third trimester: fetus hears sounds, mother’s voice and heart beat, develops preference for mother’s voice
neural development of auditory/language information processing structures
oral motor reflexes
in infants
sucking helps develop early motor control
2-4 months speech
cooing and making vowel sounds, no meaning behind them (experimental)
6-9 months speech
babbling, controlled/intentional articulations
multimodal sensory input 6-12 months
follow visual cues like pointing and engage in joint attention
multimodal sensory input 12-24 months
gestures, linking visual cues with tactile cues
0-6 months phonemes
can distinguish between phonemes belonging to native and foreign languages
6-12 months phonemes
prefer native phonemes to foreign ones, lose ability to distinguish between foreign phonemes
12 months phonemes
distinguish between similar phonemes at the beginning of words, begin to produce speech, linking phonemes with meanings, may simplify phonemic sounds
24 months phonemes
can produce phonemes in words, may not have motor control to properly articulate though
stager and werker 8-14 months
single-word object association task
stager and werker 14+ months
task now involves word learning which complicates the task
12-18 months word learning
context dependent through repetitive interactions, simple consonant vowel combinations
18-24 months word learning
can begin fast mapping which is ability to learn a new word after hearing it only once/twice, guesses on meaning based off of use in a context, overextension, grouping words into overgeneralized categories (all animals are dogs, all foods are snacks)
overextension
tendency to associate a word with one thing and believe it applies to other things with similar features (dog has four legs, so do cats and other animals)
24-30 months word learning
refining understanding of word meanings and that they may have multiple meanings, two word combinations, social conversations like turn taking
30-36 months word learning
rapid vocab growth, increased sentence complexity, understanding abstract concepts
important prenatal language experience
develop preference for mother’s voice, begin to comprehend variability like intonation and pitch
helps them prepare for sound distinguishing after birth, habituate to native language
infant voice preference
mother’s voice due to habituation and familiarity, may be more attentive or soothed
female voices in general most likely due to similarity to that of mother, high pitch voices are more effective for capturing infant attention
