Lecture 4 Flashcards
Phonemes
Phonemes: smallest units of sounds which can be distinguished; change in sound can alter meaning “PHONICS” = sounds
“c” at or “b” at. Initial phonemes
b “i” t or b “a” t Middle phonemes
Morphemes
smallest units of meaning in a language; “cat” or “bat
grammar
rules that specify how units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages
Syntactical Rules
the structure of a language, underlying rules of order/function for how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences
Gleason Study
language rules are generative; if you learn a rule can you apply it? Ex) add an “s” to make things plural with Wug test -> 2 Wugs
Overregularizations
grammatical rules incorrectly generalized to “exception” cases
Take regular rule, and OVER use it
Examples: he “goed” to the park; he “bringed” the cake to the party
If “-ed” is regular, (as opposed to went, brought)
Linguistic Relativity (Whorf)
One’s language determines one’s thoughts; associating words with thoughts
Data does provide support for this theory
Ex) Russian has different words for “blue”, Eskimo words for snow -> culture
Language Acquisition Device (Chomsky)
Humans possess an inborn/hard-wired language mechanism.
Hard-wired to sort input from 20-80 phonemes.
Lose by 12 months
Janet Werker’s Research
Natural infant responses
Young babies can discriminate words from languages while adults have difficulty – When does this occur?
Ex) Japanese adults law/raw
Conditioning babies with anticipatory head-turners and then going into testing phase
Difference with Da/Daw in Hindi up to 6-8 months for both English and Hindi speaking; by 12 months English speaking babies don’t turn heads for Da/Daw
Surface Structure
particular words used, how a sentence is worded
Deep Structure
underlying meaning of the words (people usually remember this)
Expressive (productive) language
the ability to produce language
Receptive Language
the ability to comprehend, process and integrate the meaning of language
Stages in Linguistic Development
Crying – different cries for different emotions
Cooing: vowel like noises
Babbling: consonant/vowel: ba ba; da da
First Words
Holophrases: simple word conveys meaning
Overextensions: all animals are “doggie”
Telegraphic Speech: “content”word sentences
By age 6 learn average of 15 words per day, vocabulary of 8,000 and 14,000 words
Nonverbal Communication
Vocal intonation: stress, pitch & volume – got my test scores back Body language: crossed arms, sitting up Gestures Physical Distance Facial Expressions Touch
Learning Theory and Language
Language is based on modeling, imitation, exposure and reinforcement (behaviorist theory)
Flaws of Learning Theory and Language
Children acquire language with ease, not broad variations
Adult speech is often sloppy; children acquire basic rules/structures anyways
Children’s speech is not a mechanical play back of adult speech
Talking twins illustrate imitation, reinforcement and the integration of non verbal gesture and intonation
Nativist theory of language development
humans are neurologically prewired to learn language
Interactionist theory of language development
both biology and experience make important contributions to language development
Critical Periods in Language Development
There does appear to be some sensitive/critical period for language development
See the ethical challenges of dual roles in research with human subjects
Can apply other course concepts regarding learning, memory as well as language acquisition to this case study
Limitations based on this being a case study
Bi-lingualism
Some question whether learning a second language interferes with acquisition, but often see similar cumulative vocabulary
Most research does not show cognitive limitations when learning two languages in the developmental period—associated with greater flexibility in some recent studies
A second language is learned best when younger at a “sensitive period” for language development
- May enhance cognitive ability & creativity
Deaf Children
learn at a similar rate and pace as hearing children- ASL is a language, not non-verbal communication- Babble with their hands at 10 months- Use similar verbs and concepts; hard-wired language acquisition device
Thought
an extension of perception and memory. Mental representations are formed, recalled and manipulated
Concept
a mental representation of a category; we often recognize an object as a member of a group
Language and it relationship to thought
Speech production is limited
Challenges designing tests to assess comprehension
Capacity for empathy/understanding others/altruism
Learning and imitation
Ability to form concepts and categories is investigated
Ex) Dolphins show element of forming concepts
Family Resemblance Theory
identifying members of a category based on characteristic features, but this attribute may not be shared by all
Examplar Theory
we categorize by comparing the image to other instances stored in our memory of members within the category and make a judgment about inclusion. (compare to all category members)
Reasoning
the process by which we generate and evaluate arguments, organizing information into series of steps to reach conclusions
Practical Reasoning
figuring out what to do. Reason toward an action
Theoretical Reasoning
reasoning directed toward a belief
Cultural differences with Reasoning
Most find practical reasoning easier than theoretical reasoning
Deductive Reasoning
draw conclusions from a set of assumptions; the conclusion is true if the premise is true.
Syllogism
form of deductive reasoning, consists of 2 premises and a conclusion
Belief Bias
Research on syllogisms have noted that people are more likely to accept conclusions if they are believable as opposed to whether the argument is logical
framing
how a problem is posed may change the decision making tasks and the solutions; avoiding losses is more important than achieving gains
Hypothesis Testing
make and test an educated guess about a problem/solution
Mental Simulation
mental rehearsal of the steps needed to solve a problem
Mental Set
tendency to stick to solutions which have worked in the past
Functional Fixedness
our tendency to rely on a function for an object and ignore other possible uses
Classis problem Solving Task: string and weights
Confirmation Bias
we seek to confirm what we already believe
Distraction
people often get sidetracked and it detracts from effective problem solving
Unnecessary Constraints
we put restrictions on our problem solving which don’t exist
insight
the sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error. The AHA experience
Compensatory Decision Models
allows attractive attributes to compensate for unattractive attributes
Noncompensatory Decision Models
do not allow some attributes to compensate for others
Conjunction Fallacy
Basic flawed assumption that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event
Additive Decision Model
rating the attributes of each alternative and selecting the one which has the highest sum
Elimination by aspects
gradually eliminate options whose attributes fail to satisfy a minimum criteria
Heuristics
shortcuts that guide us in decision making about probabilities
Availability Heuristic
decision making based on the fact that things which are easily recalled seem to be typical/common(if you get into a plane crash, you are usually more likely to drive a car on your next vacation even though statistically it is less safe)
Representative Heuristic
matching an object to a concept or category without processing how likely the fit may be (you expect a guy in leather to be in a motorcycle gang, but it’s more likely to be a business man)
Decision Making and the brain
significant involvement in the prefrontal cortex related to our judgment. Damage to this part of the brain leads to riskier decisions
