thought and language (chapter 8) Flashcards
concepts
the mental representation of an object, event or idea
-can be grouped through categorization
categories
clusters of interrelated concepts
prototypes
mental representations of an average category member
categorization is based on experience
quick and accurate process
linguistic relativity (whorfian hypothesis)
the theory that the language we use determines how we understand and categorize the world
networks and hierarchies
Nodes include
basic-level categories; bird and fish
broader category; animal
lowest three nodes, specific categories; robin, emu, trout
priming;
Semantic networks
a technique in which previous exposure to a stimulus can influence that individuals later responses either to the same stimulus or to one that is related to it
How can you explain priming effects?
lexical decision task; participants must determine if a string of letters forms a word
bargh, chen and burrows
priming participants with concepts related to the elderly stereotype caused them to walk more slowly at the end of the experiment
bounded rationality
there are limits to human processing, due to available information and time
satisficing
decisions are often a combination of satisfying and sufficing, rather than optimizing
maximizers
are those who attempt to evaluate every option for every choice until they find the perfect fit
problem solving
the process of finding solutions to problems encountered in life
algorithms
problem-solving strategies based on a series of rules
-more objective, logical and slower
heuristics
problem solving-strategies that stem from prior experiences and provide an educated guess as to what is more likely solution
representativeness heuristic
the degree to which an event is similar in essential characteristics to its parent population
availability heuristic
assessing the probability of an event by the ease with which instances or occurrences can be brought to mind
“if you can think of it, it must be important”
adjustment and anchoring effect
the individual uses a specific target number as a starting point (the anchor) and then adjusts to final answer according to that value
framing effects
decision making can be influenced by how a problem is worded or framed
belief perseverance
occurs when an individual remains committed to their decision or belief even in the face of evidence against it
confirmation bias
occurs when an individual searches for only evidence that will confirm his or hers beliefs instead of evidence that might disconfirm them
language
a form of communication that involves the use of spoken, written or gestural symbols that are combined in a rule-based form
aphasia
a language disorder caused by damage to the brain structures that support using and understanding language
wernickes area
the area of the brain most associated with finding the meaning of words
wernickes aphasia
damage to the wernickes area results
language disorder in which a person has difficulty understand the words he or she hears
brocoas area
helps physically produce speech, but also in syntax processing musical notes
brocas asphasia
damage to the brooks area
an individual can still speak but it is very difficult and consist of limited single words filed with pauses. even gesturing with speech can be affected
fast mapping
the ability to map words onto concepts or objects after only a single exposure
sensitive period
brains are primed to develop language skills
ability fades starting around 7
the bilingual brain
cost; children smaller vocabulary
adults; bilingual adults are slower at accessing words
benefits; better executive functions: people who speak more than one language to inhibit one language while speaking and listening to another
genetic basis of language: FOXP2 gene
the physical and chemical processes this gene codes for are related to language
-FOXP2 gene is shared with other species, but only humans have language
chimpanzee Viki (1950s)
cross-fostered
four words
chimpanzee Washoe (1960s)
ASL
-200 signs
-generalized words
Bonobo Kanzi
lexigrams
-350 symbols
-3,000 spoken words
sentence-rerifcation technique
volunteers wait for a sentence to appear in front of them on a computer screen and respond as quickly as they can to yes or no statements
mental set
a cognitive obstacle that occurs when an individual attempts to apply a routine solution to what is actually a new type of problem
functional fixedness
which occurs when an individual identifies an object a technique that could potentially solve a problem
anchoring effect
occurs when an individual attempts to solve a problem involving numbers and uses previous knowledge to keep the responses within a limited range.
morphemes
the smallest meaningful units of a language.
“pig” cant be broken down into smaller units
semantics
the study of how people come to understand meaning from words
syntax
the rules for combining words and morphemes into meaningful phrases and sentences
-the recipe for language
cross-fostered
animal was raised as a member of a family that she was not of the same species
two biological explanations of children having superior fast mapping
- the development of brain beings to form language-related functions in the left hemisphere
- increased in amount of myelin on the brains axon terminals, a change that would increase the speed of communication between neurons
