Language, thought and communication Flashcards
How do we learn?
Through developing schemas (mental structures)
Define language depends on thought
Thought and understanding first, language develops after
Do young children have language?
They can have language without understanding but will not be able to use it effectively
What happens in the sensorimotor stage?
Children start to speak
What age are children in the sensorimotor stage?
0-2 years
What happens in the pre-operational stage?
Children can talk about things that are not present
What age does the pre-operational stage occur?
2-7 years
What happens in the concrete operational stage?
Children develop own ideas
What age is the concrete operational stage?
7-11 years
What is a strength of Piaget’s theory?
Supporting evidence. The order of children’s two-word phrases shows understanding
What is a weakness of Piaget’s theory?
Language comes first. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis challenges Piaget suggesting that sometimes language comes first
Vocal sign of survival
Vervet monkeys communicate danger with an alarm call
Visual sign of survival
Rabbits lift tail, pin ears back and leap forward
Reproduction
Peacocks stretch out their feathers like an umbrella to communicate genetic fitness
Territory
Rhinos leave piles of dung to communicate territorial boundaries
Food
Ants leave pheromone trail to communicate food source
Differences between animal and human communication: Plan ahead and discuss future events
Humans can discuss things that aren’t present or haven’t happened yet (displacement). Animals are focused on present, eg. Food sources and predators
Human vs animal communication: creativity
Humans have an open system combining many words together. Animals have a closed system using communication for specific events.
Single vs multiple channels
Human language expressed using many channels - spoken, written, sign language, social media. Animals tend to communicate with a single channel, eg. Pheromones
What is eye contact?
When two people look in each others eyes at the same time
Explain regulating flow of conversation
Participants looked away when about to speak and gave prolonged gaze when about to finish (Kendon)
Explain signalling attraction
People who use eye contact are judged as more attractive (Conway et al)
Explain expressing emotion
Participants judged emotions as more intense if faces looking straight at them (Adams and Kleck)
What is one strength of eye contact studies?
Real-world application. People with autism could be taught to increase eye contact to improve social skills
What is one weakness of eye contact studies?
Use of rating scales. Rating ‘attractiveness’ can lack objectivity
What is body language?
Communication through unspoken movements and gestures
What is closed posture?
Crossing arms/legs, shows disgreement
What is open posture?
Uncrossed, shows acceptance
What did McGinley et al find?
Arguments given by people with open posture led to greater opinion change than closed posture
What is postural echo?
Copying each others body position
What were tanner and chartrand’s findings?
Participants rated new drink more highly when presented with postural echo