language, thought and comm Flashcards
Outline and evaluate Piaget’s theory of language the thought
- Piaget thought that children develop language by matching correct words to their existing knowledge
- They have schemas (templates of knowledge about the world) then they use words to express their understanding of it
- This means that understanding comes first then language, and language can only be used at a level that matches our cognitive development
- Sensorimotor stage: babies just simply copy sounds they hear others making, e.g. Googoo gaga, mama, dada
- Pre-operational stage: children are egocentric. They use language to voice their internal thoughts, rather than communicate with others, e.g. I am hungry, I am cold, I am tired
- Concrete stage: the ability to use language has developed a lot, but still can only be used to talk about actual concrete things, e.g. a chair, a bird, a red car
- Formal Operational stage: language can be used to talk about abstract, theoretical ides, e.g. talking about ghosts, religion, etc.
- He states that thought comes before language
- One strength of Piaget’s theory of language and thought is that it can be applied to everyday life. This is a strength because we can observe children developing language over time within the education setting and teacher’s can prepare tasks based on their stage of language development. Therefore, Piaget’s theory has a good ecological validity.
- One weakness of Piaget’s theory is that it is not the only way to understand language. This is because Sapir-Whorf’s theory says that language comes before thought. This decreases the validity of Piaget’s theory
- A weakness of Piaget’s theory is the way he collected data. This is because he used his own children and small samples which are not only unrepresentative of all children, but also because his personal biases may have affected his judgement. This decreases the reliability of Piaget’s study.
- Another weakness is that schemas cannot be scientifically measured. This is because it is very difficult to know if schemas exist because we cannot directly measure them. This shows that Piaget’s theory of language and thought is not based on solid scientific evidence.
Outline and evaluate Sapir Whorf’s theory of language the thought
- Sapir & Whorf suggested it is not possible to think about something you don’t have words for
- So, they say that language comes first and thought afterwards
- There are two versions of the hypothesis: one which believes words determine our thoughts and one which says they influence them
Strong version
- If there are no words for a thought, object or idea then you can’t think about it
- This is why it is difficult to translate ideas from one language to another
Weak version
- Words help to carve up the world, however, you can still imagin something with no words for it
- So language influences thought, so if you don’t know the word for something, you can still think about it, it would just be more difficult
- A weakness of Sapir-Whorf’s theory is that it is directly challenged by Piaget. This is because Piaget directly contradicts Sapir-Whorf by saying that thought comes before language. This reduces the validity of Sapir-Whorfs theory
- Another weakness of Sapir-Whorf’s theory is that people who grow up not being able to or lose the ability to talk (eg. stroke victims are still able to think). This would suggest that language doesn’t come first and understanding comes first as Piaget suggested. This reduces the validity of Sapir-Whorf’s theory.
Explain the variation of recall of events and recognition of color in different cultures
Variation in recognition of color
- The language we speak can lead us to focus on certain ways of seeing things and make some ways of thinking more likely than others. For example, many languages spoken by native americans in the Hopi tribe don’t have different words for blue and green. Research has found that English speakers can differentiate better between different shades of blue and green due to the different words for each shade.
Variation of recall of events
Researchers studied how English and Spanish speakers described intended and accidental actions. When the action was intended, all the participants identified the person doing it, however when it was accidental, the English speakers identified the person more than Spanish speakers, perhaps because their language contained the words for this, so they could think about it and express their opinions.
Outline the 3 features in human communication that is not present in animals
Displacement
A key feature of human communication is the ability to be able to discuss things that are not present, events that will happen in the future or even things that do not exist, e.g - ghosts. In contrast, animals can only communicate about what is happening now and is physically present. For example food or predators. Displacement is not a part of animal communication like it is for humans, as humans can use language to plan ahead and discuss future events.
Productivity
Productivity is the ability to create an unlimited number of different messages. It allows language to be used creatively and is not found in animal communication. Human communication is an open system and animal communication is a closed system. One example where this has been explored in animals is Koko the female gorilla. She has been taught 2000 signs and uses these to communicate. Researchers suggest she can be creative to an extent as she used the sign for finger and bracelet to refer to a ring
Multiple channels
Another key feature of human communication is that we are able to express something not just with spoken word, but with written words, gestures, sign language, brail and text. Animals tend to use single channels like sounds or movements.
Outline & evaluate the Von Frisch bee study
- The aim of the study was to investigate how bees communicate the location of a food source to each other
- Glass containers filled with sugar water were placed at different locations
- A hive with glass sides was used to easily observe the bee’s behaviour
- When the bees visited the containers of sugar-water to feed, they were marked with a tiny spot of different coloured paint, this made the bees easily identifiable
- The researchers recorded the movements {hat
the bees made when they returned to the hive after collecting the food - The bees made different movements depending on how far away the food source was from the hive
- When the food was no further than 100m away from the hive, the bees did a round dance by turning in rapid circles to the right and then the left
- When the food was further away, the bees performed a waggle dance
- The bees moved forward in a straight line, wagging their bodies from side to side, before turning a circle to the left
- This was followed by the bees moving forward again before turning in a circle to the right
- Von Frisch found that the number of turns a bee makes in 15 seconds of waggle dancing is actually communicating how far away the food source is
- Von Frisch concluded that bees use a variety of different movements to communicate to each other the distance and direction of food sources
- One strength of Von Frisch’s study was that his work made an important contribution to science. This is a strength because people knew that bees danced but had no understanding of the meaning of movements. Therefore, it shows how valuable the research was to the scientific community, increasing its credibility
- A weakness is that the importance of sound was overlooked. This is because when bees performed dances in silence, other bees would not then go on and investigate food sources. This shows that sound based signals also play apart in directing other bees, which is something that Von Frisch did not consider.
- Another weakness is that bees do not always respond to the waggle dance. This is because bees do not use the information from the waggle dance to fly to nectar if it was placed in a boat in the middle of the lake. This shows that Von Frischs account was incomplete
Define verbal communication
The use of words as a way of expressing thoughts and how one feels
Define non-verbal communication
Conveying messages without the use of words
Discuss the function of eye contact in human communication
Flow of conversation:
- Eye contact makes conversations run smoothly by giving the other person feedback about the listener’s level of interest and emotional state
- A study by Adam Kendon (1967) investigated pairs of participants through a two-way mirror, who were meeting for the first time
- Kendon (1967) found that eye contact was important in encouraging turn taking, so speakers look away when they were about to speak and prolong eye contact when they were about to finish talking
- This is how people knew whose turn it was to talk. If it did not happen, there would be awkward pauses in the conversation
Signalling attraction:
- Eye contact is often the first signal we use to communicate our attraction to someone
- We may ‘check out a person’ from a distance. - - Our level of eye contact may increase when we are talking to someone we like
- A study by Clair Conway et al., (2007) suggests that people who maintain eye contact are judged to be more attractive than people who do not
- In their research, students were shown photos of males and females looking straight at them or looking away slightly
- The faces looking straight at them were rated as more attractive, even when it featured a negative expression such as disgust
- Conway and her colleagues concluded that eye contact is an evolutionary behaviour to signal attraction to a potential mate
Expressing emotion:
- Eye contact is also used to express emotion, particularly how intense the emotion is that is being felt
- Adams and Kleck (2005) gave participants pictures of faces showing different emotions, such as joy, anger, fear and sadness. Some of the faces showed a direct gaze (looking straight at the participant) and some showed an averted gaze (looking away)
- The task was to judge how intense the emotion was in each picture
- Adams and Kleck (2005) found that joy and anger were judged as most intense when there was a direct gaze and fear and sadness were most intense when there was an averted gaze
- Suggesting eye contact is used in different ways to express how intense the emotion we are experiencing is
One weakness of eye contact as a communication tool is that we do not solely react on eye contact. This is because we have to consider other non-verbal communications like facial expressions, and body language. Therefore, this means that eye contact alone may not be the most effective way to understand a conversation
Another weakness is that research conducted into eye contact’s role in communication only reflects the behaviour of the sample used. For example, Conway looked only into students. Therefore results would be harder to generalise to a wider population like old people
One strength is that research that has investigated eye contact is that it has a good real world application. This is because we can understand the role that eye contact plays in our daily conversations. Therefore, we can apply this in order to have a more harmonious society.
Discuss the function of body language in human communication
Body posture - open and closed posture
- Crossing your arms whilst in conversation is called closed posture
- This indicates that your are unfriendly and makes you seem unapproachable
- Having your arms uncrossed and relaxed is known as open posture
- This makes you appear friendly and approachable
- Research studies have shown that posture impacts on how well someone is liked
- Open posture makes people think you are more friendly and attractive
- Closed posture means you are more unfriendly and less attractive.
Posture echo
- People who like each other tend to copy or mirror each other’s posture
- Research has found that when someone mirrors your posture and shows posture echo it is an unconscious sign of friendliness and people are more liked because of it
Touch
- Touch is a very powerful signal that can produce unconscious emotional reactions
- There are huge cultural differences in the amount of permitted touch between individuals
- British society seems to be more restricted than other Western societies, and there are big differences in touch between genders too
- Research conducted in a library, where the librarian was told to briefly touch the hand of some of the students as they returned a book, showed that even though they were not aware they had been touched, those that had, had a much more positive attitude towards the library and the librarian
- One weakness of the role of body language as a form of non-verbal communication, is that one its own its functions are limited. This is a weakness, because we have to consider other forms of non verbal communication like facial expressions and eye contact. Therefore, we cannot rely solely on eye contact
- A strength of research into body language is that it can be applied to real-world situations. This is a strength because This is because we can understand the role that body language plays in our daily conversations. Therefore, we can apply this in order to have a more harmonious society.
- However, body language research only reflects the culture of the sample used. For example, research conducted in a library is limited to the cultures of the participants, because different cultures have different ways of using body language to express emotion. Therefore, the study cannot be applied to other cultures.
personal space
Outline and evaluate Darwin’s theory of non-verbal communication
- Charles Darwin proposed a theory of evolution which can be used to explain non-verbal behaviour as innate
- Genetic characteristics that increase an organism’s chance of survival and successful reproduction are more likely to be passed down to future generations
- Darwin suggested that we have evolved several ways such as serviceable habits, which are behaviours that have a purpose
- For example humans may have used biting as an early form of self-defence which is a serviceable habit because when we are in a similar experience, the behaviour doesn’t have the same purpose
- Darwin also suggested that some forms of non-verbal communication are due to the construction of the nervous system
- Darwins theory suggests that non verbal behavior is innate and we have evolved several ways of expressing emotion
- He refers to survival of the fittest which means successfully adapted organisms that have made changes in order to fit in with their environment are more likely to survive
- For example, serviceable habits
- A strength of Darwin’s theory is that it is supported by research. Ekman et al. identified six primary emotions” surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness and sadness that are found in all people. This is because if a behaviour is universal, this suggests that it is in our genes. Therefore, Ekman’s evidence supports Darwin’s evolutionary theory
- Another strength is that there is further support from the studies of newborn babies. This is because research found that babies are born with the ability to smile and maintain eye contact, suggesting that these behaviours are present and birth and therefore, innate. Therefore, this supports the idea that these behaviours have been selected by evolution to help the childs chances of survival
- A weakness is that Darwin’s theory struggles to explain cultural differences in non verbal communication. This is because personal space and gestures are expressed differently in different cultures. For example, research has shown that Arabs have a lot less personal space than the English. This suggests that the theory only takes nature into account however it overlooks the impact of nurture
Describe 2 studies that support the idea of non verbal behavior being innate
- John Bowlby (1969) conducted research to support the idea that non-verbal behavior is innate. Bowlby suggested that neonates are born with social releasers. These include non verbal behaviours such as smiling and giving eye contact. Social releasers have an effect on others - they ‘make’ others want to look after the baby, releasing a desire to offer care. Without these social releasers, the baby would be ignored and could not look after itself - so social releasers are adaptive because they mean the baby will be cared for and the parents genes will be passed on.
- Jane Thompson (1941) studied blind children aged between 7 weeks and 13 years old. Eleven of the children were blind from birth (called congenitally blind) and this group was compared with a control group who had normal vision. There was a lot of similarity between the blind children and the control group in terms in terms of other facial expressions such as surprise. Blin children also showed typical non-verbal behaviours when they were angry or in a sulk, suggesting that such behaviours are innate.
Describe 2 studies that support the idea of non verbal behavior being due to nurture
- Roxie Black (2011) has described how pointing one’s finger can mean different things depending on where you are in the world. Black pointed out that pointing one’s index finger is acceptable in Western culture to emphasize what is being said. However in Hindu culture to emphasize what is being said. However, in Hindu culture this is regarded as offensive so Hindu’s tend to point with their thumbs.
- One cultural difference in non-verbal behaviours is in terms of personal space. This is because personal space and gestures are expressed differently in different cultures. For example, research has shown that Arabs have a lot less personal space than the English, showing that some forms of non-verbal communication are affected by cultural norms.
Outline & evaluate Yuki’s study
- The aim of Yuki’s study was to investigate if culture affects how facial cues are used when understanding other peoples emoticons
- Yuki showed American and Japanese participants emoticons with 6 different combinations of eyes and mouths
- The eyes and mouths were happy, neutral, or sad
- Participants were asked to rate from 1-9 how happy they thought each face was
- The Japanese students gave the highest ratings to the faces with happy eyes and lowest ratings to the faces with sad eyes
- The American students gave the highest rating to the faces with happy mouths, and the lowest ratings to faces with sad mouths
- The results suggest that Japanese and American people give more weight to different parts of the face when interpreting another persons emoticons
- The Japanese focus more on the eyes, whilst the Americans focus more on the mouth
- This may lead to differences in understanding facial expressions
- Yuki concluded that people learn their own culture’s norms for the expression and interpretation of emotions
- American people may be brought up to express emotions more openly, using both eyes and mouths
- Japanese people may be brought up to hide their emotions and so the eyes are the most truthful way of telling how you are feeling
- A strength of Yuki’s study is the research method used. This is because questionnaires are easy to make online, and they can usually be made in around 10 minutes. Therefore, questionnaires are extremely time and cost effective, and they get you results that you desire.
- A weakness in Yuki’s study is that emoticons may not represent human faces. This is because emoticons do not contain those tell-tale lines on people’s faces which give us further information of how to interpret their eyes and mouth. This means the results of the study may lack ecological validity.
- Another weakness is the study only investigated two types of emotion. This is because, in everyday life, faces express a whole range of emotions - fear, surprise, disgust, etc. Therefore, the study does not give us insight into how the full range of emotional expressions are interpreted by people of different cultures.
