Language, thought and communication

Question 1

Piaget’s theory: Language and thought

Answer 1

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development concerns how our thinking develops

He believe that we learn by developing schemas about the world

Question 2

Piaget’s theory-

Language depends on thought

Answer 2

Children develop language by matching the correct word to their knowledge

Thought and understanding comes first, languages develops after.

Question 3

Piaget’s theory-

Young Children

Answer 3

Children only understand words when they have reached the correct stage of development and are ready

They can have language without understanding it but will not be able to use it properly

Question 4

Piaget’s theory-

The development of language

Answer 4

Sensorimotor stage: children speak towards the end of their first year

Pre-operational stage: From 2 years old they begin to talk about objects that aren’t present

Question 5

Paiget’s theory-

Logical thinking

Answer 5

Concrete operational stage: By 7, children’s language becomes mature and logical as they question things and create their own ideas.

Question 6

Piaget’s theory strength

Answer 6

A strength is that early language is not random.
When children start talking they use two-word phrases like ‘Mummy sick’ which shows they can see how objects relate to eachother.
This suggests that children only start to use language when they have some understanding of it.

Question 7

Piaget’s theory weakness

Answer 7

A weakness is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis challeneges Piaget.
It states that language comes before thought as people need a word or phrase for an object in order to think about it.
This suggests that Piaget may have been wrong.

Question 8

Paiget’s theory weakness (schema)

Answer 8

Another weakness is that schema cannot be scientifically measured.
It is very difficult to know if schema exist as we cannot directly measure them.
This shows that Piaget’s theory of language and thought is not based on solid scientific evidence.

Question 9

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Answer 9

Sapir and Whorf suggested it is not possible to think about something you don’t have the words for.

Question 10

Sapir-Whorf-

Thinking depends on language

Answer 10

Languages 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.

Question 11

Sapir-Whorf-

The strong version

Answer 11

Language determines thought.

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.

Question 12

Sapir-Whorf-

The weak version

Answer 12

Language influences thought.

Words help to ‘carve up’ the world. However, you can still imagine something with no words for it.

Question 13

Sapir-Whorf -

Which version is better?

Answer 13

Weaker version is preferred. If the words we have for a concept or idea are limited, our ability to notice or recall that idea will be limited.

Question 14

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis weakness

Answer 14

A weakness is that differences between cultures may have been exaggerated by Boas.
There are only reallt two words for snow in Inuit culture and actually English has other words for different types of snow.
This shows that the differences aren’t that great and challenges the conclusion that language may determine thought.

Question 15

Sapir-whorf weakness

Answer 15

Another weakness is that having more worlds for snow doesn’t mean the words came first.
The Inuit language may have more words for snow because there is always lots of snow.
This suggests thats language develops because of the way we perceive our environment, which supports Piaget’s view that thinking influences language.

Question 16

Sapir-Whorf strength

Answer 16

A strength is that the hypothesis explains the link between language and intelligence.
Bernstein suggested that working class children will always fall behind in school because their use of restricted code will have a negative effect on their ability to think.
This shows that language influences a particular type of thinking (intelligence)