Lecture 6: Language Flashcards
Language definition
the systemic, meaningful arrangement of symbols
Parts of language
- Phonology
- Phonemes
- Morphemes
- Semantics
- Linguistic comprehension
- Linguistic production
Phonology definition
basic sounds of language
Phonemes definition
can be combined to produce words and sentences
Morphemes definition
smallest language unit that has meaning
Semantics definition
rules that govern meaning of words and sentences
Linguistic comprehension definition
understand speech
Linguistic production definition
use of language to communicate
How do you acquire language?
- Unspecialized brain
- Proto-understanding of probability
- Human interaction
Acquire language facts
- Lack of brain + brain be specialized to enviro.
- Language made of words
- Neural pathways used more often get reinforced, ones not used are terminated or repurposed
Statistical probability definition and fact
Definition: uses string of syllables, and phonemes always follow another
Fact: Habituate an infant, the change it, infants will notice change
Learning theory and language acquisition facts
- Cause by classical and operant conditioning
- Pairing of stimuli to point where response to first 2. stimuli will also be produced by second stimulus alone
- caregivers respond to infants’ utterance and reinforce verbal behaviours (verbal praise)
Who was the founder of Nativist Theory and Language Acquisition?
Noam Chomsky
Poverty of stimulus argument
- Children are not exposed to every grammatical rule to learn language
- Children are able to construct sentences that they’ve never been exposed to previously
Language acquisition device (LAD) definition and facts
Definition: Innate facilitator of language
- Permits infants to learn fast and efficient
- Analyze everyday speech and determine its rules
Universal grammar definition
LAD innate storehouse
Fact: Language does not emerge in a finished form or occur as quickly and requires more effort on part of children
Interactionist Perspective + Language acquisition process
- Language development is complex influenced by maturation and context
- People have innate needs for communication
- Responsiveness to infants’ vocalization predicts language development
- Infant-directed speech (baby talk but more tolerable)
Critical Period definition and fact
- limited time span when development is optimal for certain capacities to emerge, especially responsive to certain exp.
1. Young infants/children are ideal in learning a language
Pre-linguistic communication stages
- At birth — infants cry
- 2-3 months — infants coo
- 6 months — infants babble
Socially interactive process definition
Babies learn by hearing others speak and reactions of others
First word stages
- 1yr, infant speaks first word
- Holophrase
- 13 months of age
Holophrase definition
one-word expressions
What do infants do at 13 months of age?
infants begin to quickly learn meaning of new word
Learning words stages
- Fast mapping
- Name explosion
- Under-extension
- Overextension
Fast mapping definition
process of quickly acquiring and retaining a word after hearing it applied
Name explosion definiton
vocab spurt
Under-extension definition
using words to narrowly, so word is used more restricted to single object
Overextension definition
applying word too broadly
Two-word utterances
A) Telegraphic speech
B) 20-30 months children showing competence using syntax
Interactionist perspective + language (further expanded)
- Expansion
- Recast
- Cultural shapes in language
Expansion
Enriched versions of child’s statement
(Want cookie —> i want cookie)
Recast
Adults change children’s sentences into new grammatical forms
(Juice please —> i would like some juice, please)
Cultural shapes in language
- Parents from diff. Cultures differ in how and how often respond to infants
- Points to biology and context
Vocab: early childhood
A) 2yrs = 500 words
B) 3yrs = 900-1000 words
C) 6yrs = 2,600 words, understand 20,000
Logical extension
Extend new words to other objects in same category
Mutually exclusivity assumption
Tend to assume that new words are labels for unfamiliar objects
Vocab: early grammar
A) 3yr old use plurals, possessives, + past tense
B) use pronouns
Overgeneralization errors
Grammatical mistakes that young children make cuz they’re appointing grammatically rules to stringently
(Catched instead of “caught” by using past tense — ed’ rule)
Vocab and school
A) end of elementary = 40,000 words
B) understand root words
C) learn there are lots of differences to describe an action, but differ slightly in meaning
D) some words have more then 1 meaning
E) words acquired incidentally from uses in writing and verbal context rather than through explicit vocab instructions
Pragmatics
- Practical application to communicate
- Change speech responses to needs of listeners
- Develop use of irony
Bilingualism question: does 2> language slow development?
- No, if child learns more languages they have more words compared to other children
- Ppl have faster language processing speed, cognitive flexibility, analytical reasoning, selective attention, and metalinguistic awareness
Can animals develop language?
YES!
- taught chimps and gorillas to sign language
- conditioned to use sign language, don’t understand it
- grammatical rules hard to understand
- sea lions, parrots have been taught language-like skills
Evolutionary reasons for language
- Humans form language and most languages are complex
- Advantage in evolutionary advantage in able to get info more sources then first-hand experience
- Not sure why language skulls are evolved
Linguistic relativity
One language determines nature of ones thought
Linguistic relativity criteria
- Cultural differences in important of some thing create more words to distinguish them
- Quickly learnt use language to communicate our thoughts and feelings to others
- Tend to use words we think — inner monologue
- People’s who language doesn’t distinguish between blue or green are slower to make those visual distinctions, compared to visual distinctions than people who languages differ blue and green
COGNITION
mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and senses
Mental process that take place in brain
- thinking
- attention
- language
- learning
- memory
- perception
4 pillars of cognition
- Working memory
- Processing speed
- Attention
- Executive functioning
Concepts
mental grouping of similar objects, people, ideas or events
- Example: concept of tree
Prototype
- mental image or pinnacle of example of a certain thing
- The first thing that comes to mind when hearing words (dog)
Prototype
- mental image or pinnacle of example of a certain thing
- The first thing that comes to mind when hearing words (dog)
Adaptation
- building concepts/schemas through direct interaction with the environment
(First time encountering something, need to create concept for it)
Assimilation
- use pre-existing schemas to interact with the world
(Something new fits existing category, so lump it in category as well)
Accommodation
- create a new category or assimilation after realizing that our schemas don’t accurately fit
Example:
concept of swans (swans were white, until they discovered black ones) (assimilation - cat, accommodation - hairless cat)
Equilibrium
Little cognitive changes: more assimilation then accommodation, schemas match outside world
Disequilibrium
More cognitive change, more accommodation as schemas don’t match outside world very well
Equilibration
Back + forth movement between equilibrium and disequilibrium
- people want equilibrium but no
- Desire for cognitive equilibrium is basis for cognitive change
Problem solving
active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal that is not readily attainable
Problem inducing structure
- requires ppl discover relationship among numbers, words, symbols or ideas
Problem of arrangement
- requires people to arrange parts of problem in way that satisfies criterion
Problem of transformation:
- requires ppl to carry out sequence of transformations in order to reach specific goal
Barriers to problem solving
- Irrelevant info
- Functional fixedness
- Mental sets
- Unnecessary constraints
Irrelevant info
info you don’t need to solve the problem and distract you from finding a solution
Functional fixedness
tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use
Mental sets
ppl persist in using problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past
Unnecessary constraints
don’t assume limits exist
Approaches to problem solving
- Insight
- Problem space
- Trial and error
- Algorithm
- Heuristics
Insight
sudden discovery of correct solution following incorrect attempts based on primarily trial and error
Problem space
set of pathways to a solution considering by the problem solver
Trial and error
trying possible solutions and discoursing those that are in error until one works
Algorithm
methodical, step-by-step procedure for trying possible alternatives in searching for a solution (math problem ((3,6,9)
Heuristics
Guiding principle or “rule of thumb” used in solving problems or making decisions
Types of Heuristics
- Availability heuristic
- Representativeness heuristic
Availability heuristic
Basic the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind
Representativeness heuristic
Basing estimated probability of an event on how similar it is to typical prototype of event
Forming subgoals
creating intermediate steps towards a goal
Search for analogies
looking for similarities between things to use similar strategies
Changing representation of the problem
- represent problem by using words, numbers, shapes, etc.
- Reframing question to give you different perspective of the problem
Incubation effect
- New solutions come into our conscious mind for a previously unsolved problem after a period Go no yt consciously thinking about the problem
(Brain continues to work on problem when you’re not consciously aware of it)
Decision making
- evaluating alternatives and making choices among them
Basic strategies
- using preferences — too many choices lead to uncertainty about decision
- Thinking too much about complex decisions lead to dissatisfaction
Risky decision making
making choices under conditions of uncertainty
Bad choices/decisions
- Subjective utility
- Subjective probability
Subjective utility
what outcome is personally worth to the individual
Subjective probability
personal estimates of the odd
Example: Gambling and casino, DnD, A is more probably then A + something else
Conjunction fallacy
- people estimate odds of two uncertain events happening together, greater alone than the odds of either event happening alone
Gambler’s fallacy
- event is believed to be more or less likely given previous events
Anchoring bias
- tendency to rely too heavily on trait or piece of info when making decisions
Confirmation bias
- tendency to focus on information that confirms what we already know rather than searching for info we know is wrong
Egocentric bias
- tendency to focus on our own perspective and/or have a different perception of oneself relative to others
Framing effect
- how you structure a question influences how it’s answered
Logical fallacies
- errors in reasoning that undermine logic of argument
