Interrelation of Thought and Language

Question 1

Position 1

Answer 1

Language is independent of cognition

Question 2

evidence of Position 1

Answer 2

• abstract thinking can take place without language (bird)
• babies have concepts before language
• Pinker, Language Instinct
• Mainstream views in cognitive science

Question 3

Position 2

Answer 3

Language influence cognition

Question 4

evidence for Position 2

Answer 4

• language profoundly influences cognition
• children’s conceptual development correlate strongly with language development
• Stephen Levin
• Variation & Diversity in cognition…

Question 5

The Whorfian Hypothesis

Answer 5

Having a specific language determines (strong version) or influences (weak version) how we think

Question 6

evidence for the weak version of Whorfian hypothesis

Answer 6

• colour processing
• space/ time (metaphors)
• culture/ thinking style

Question 7

colour cognition/ language for colour

Answer 7

berlim & Kay: focal colours

• languages vary widely in no. of colour terms they use
• basic colour terms reflect a systematic underlying order

Question 8

colour terms/ processing:

Answer 8

universal focal colours = labels for colour categories systematically evolve overtime - grouped that are privileged for memory

Question 9

evidence against the Whorfian hypothesis

Answer 9

Elanor Rosch (studied Dani tribe w only 2 colour terms)

• discovered memory for focal colours were similar between groups, even if they have different no. of colour terms

Question 10

perception, memory and discrimination of focal colours were…

Answer 10

SIMILAR to speakers whose language coded many colour terms

(only in last 20yrs this advantage has resurfaced

Question 11

evidence for the Whorfian Hypothesis

does the lack of colour terms influence the perception og colour?

Answer 11

Russian Blue Experiment
- which of the two squares matches the top (impulse decision)
- (goluboy & siniy)

main finding: the effect on language was more pronounced with finer discrimination between colours

Question 12

Findings of the Russian Blue Experiment

Answer 12

1. High Accuracy
2. Russian speakers faster to discriminate colours between categories than within categories
3. English speakers showed no categorical advantage
4. Russian speakers discrimination affected by verbal influence - not English speakers

Question 13

ego v time moving

Answer 13

Wednesday’s lecture has been moved forward 2 days…

friday = ego moving
monday = time moving

Question 14

spatial priming
(in relation to thought about space changing conception of time)

Answer 14

thinking about spatial motion appears to underlie thinking about the abstract concept of ‘time’

Question 15

Spatial Metaphors and time

are our concepts of time shaped by the way we talk about time?

Answer 15

temporal relations are often marked by spatial metaphors (looking forward to holidays)

these metaphors vary between languages

Question 16

Boroditsky experiment - spatial metaphors for time

Answer 16

• mandarin speakers think about time vertically
• english speakers think about time horizontally

findings: priming does have an impact: English speakers were faster with horizontal prime, Mandarin speakers faster with vertical prime

Question 17

Culture and Thinking Styles

Answer 17

independent vs Interdependent

Question 18

Absolute v Relative

Answer 18

absolute: ignoring contextual info
relative: incorporating contextual info

Americans better at absolute tasks and Japanese are better at relative tasks.
maybe because…
Western Culture = analytic - focus on objects
Eastern Culture = holistic - emphasising context

Question 19

dialectical v non-dialectical proverb

Answer 19

dialectical: early bird catches the worm (presents contrasting ideas/ perspectives)

non-dialectical: more straightforward

Question 20

Can priming a language activate a general cognitive style of thinking

(relate to dialectical thinking)

Answer 20

YES

(Chinese scored higher on dialectical thinking than English version)

Question 21

so does evidence support the Whorfian Hypothesis?

Answer 21

there is evidence that the language we speak influences thought, BUT not enough evidence to support the strong version (that language determines thought)

Question 22

do time- spatial metaphors reinforce habitual ways of thinking about time

Answer 22

YES