Lecture 4

Question 1

Phonemes

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Morphemes

Answer 2

smallest units of meaning in a language; “cat” or “bat

Question 3

grammar

Answer 3

rules that specify how units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages

Question 4

Syntactical Rules

Answer 4

the structure of a language, underlying rules of order/function for how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences

Question 5

Gleason Study

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Overregularizations

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

Linguistic Relativity (Whorf)

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Language Acquisition Device (Chomsky)

Answer 8

Humans possess an inborn/hard-wired language mechanism.
Hard-wired to sort input from 20-80 phonemes.
Lose by 12 months

Question 9

Janet Werker’s Research

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Surface Structure

Answer 10

particular words used, how a sentence is worded

Question 11

Deep Structure

Answer 11

underlying meaning of the words (people usually remember this)

Question 12

Expressive (productive) language

Answer 12

the ability to produce language

Question 13

Receptive Language

Answer 13

the ability to comprehend, process and integrate the meaning of language

Question 14

Stages in Linguistic Development

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Nonverbal Communication

Answer 15

Vocal intonation: stress, pitch & volume – got my test scores back
Body language:  crossed arms, sitting up
Gestures
Physical Distance
Facial Expressions
Touch

Question 16

Learning Theory and Language

Answer 16

Language is based on modeling, imitation, exposure and reinforcement (behaviorist theory)

Question 17

Flaws of Learning Theory and Language

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Nativist theory of language development

Answer 18

humans are neurologically prewired to learn language

Question 19

Interactionist theory of language development

Answer 19

both biology and experience make important contributions to language development

Question 20

Critical Periods in Language Development

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Bi-lingualism

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Deaf Children

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Thought

Answer 23

an extension of perception and memory. Mental representations are formed, recalled and manipulated

Question 24

Concept

Answer 24

a mental representation of a category; we often recognize an object as a member of a group

Question 25

Language and it relationship to thought

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Family Resemblance Theory

Answer 26

identifying members of a category based on characteristic features, but this attribute may not be shared by all

Question 27

Examplar Theory

Answer 27

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)

Question 28

Reasoning

Answer 28

the process by which we generate and evaluate arguments, organizing information into series of steps to reach conclusions

Question 29

Practical Reasoning

Answer 29

figuring out what to do. Reason toward an action

Question 30

Theoretical Reasoning

Answer 30

reasoning directed toward a belief

Question 31

Cultural differences with Reasoning

Answer 31

Most find practical reasoning easier than theoretical reasoning

Question 32

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 32

draw conclusions from a set of assumptions; the conclusion is true if the premise is true.

Question 33

Syllogism

Answer 33

form of deductive reasoning, consists of 2 premises and a conclusion

Question 34

Belief Bias

Answer 34

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

Question 35

framing

Answer 35

how a problem is posed may change the decision making tasks and the solutions; avoiding losses is more important than achieving gains

Question 36

Hypothesis Testing

Answer 36

make and test an educated guess about a problem/solution

Question 37

Mental Simulation

Answer 37

mental rehearsal of the steps needed to solve a problem

Question 38

Mental Set

Answer 38

tendency to stick to solutions which have worked in the past

Question 39

Functional Fixedness

Answer 39

our tendency to rely on a function for an object and ignore other possible uses Classis problem Solving Task: string and weights

Question 40

Confirmation Bias

Answer 40

we seek to confirm what we already believe

Question 41

Distraction

Answer 41

people often get sidetracked and it detracts from effective problem solving

Question 42

Unnecessary Constraints

Answer 42

we put restrictions on our problem solving which don’t exist

Question 43

insight

Answer 43

the sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error. The AHA experience

Question 44

Compensatory Decision Models

Answer 44

allows attractive attributes to compensate for unattractive attributes

Question 45

Noncompensatory Decision Models

Answer 45

do not allow some attributes to compensate for others

Question 46

Conjunction Fallacy

Answer 46

Basic flawed assumption that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event

Question 47

Additive Decision Model

Answer 47

rating the attributes of each alternative and selecting the one which has the highest sum

Question 48

Elimination by aspects

Answer 48

gradually eliminate options whose attributes fail to satisfy a minimum criteria

Question 49

Heuristics

Answer 49

shortcuts that guide us in decision making about probabilities

Question 50

Availability Heuristic

Answer 50

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)

Question 51

Representative Heuristic

Answer 51

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)

Question 52

Decision Making and the brain

Answer 52

significant involvement in the prefrontal cortex related to our judgment. Damage to this part of the brain leads to riskier decisions