Thought and Language - Lecture Six

Question 1

Position One

Answer 1

Language is independent of cognition

Question 2

Pinker (1994) The Language Instinct

Answer 2

Common language connects people

Question 3

Position Two

Answer 3

Language influences cognition

Question 4

Stephen Levison (2012) The Original Sin of Cognitive Science

Answer 4

The variation and diversity in human cognition is vital to understanding how our mental processes work

Question 5

The Whorfian Hypothesis

Answer 5

Having a specific language determines (strong version) or influences (weak version) how we think

Question 6

Evidence for a weak version of the Whorfian Hypothesis

Answer 6

Colour processing, space and time, and culture and thinking style

Question 7

If you don’t have a separate label for the colour, will it be easily confused in memory with other colours?
Evidence against the Whorfian Hypothesis I
(Recognise answer, don’t memorise)

Answer 7

Eleanor Rosch (aka Heider) studied Dani tribe in Papua New Guinea which only use two colour terms, light and dark. The perception, memory, and discrimination of focal colours were similar to speakers whose language coded many colour terms BUT only in the last 20 years has this advantage of language resurfaced

Question 8

If you don’t have a separate label for the colour, will it be easily confused in memory with other colours?
Evidence against the Whorfian Hypothesis II
(Recognise answer, don’t memorise)

Answer 8

Russian Blues studied Russian and English speakers ability to discriminate colours between and within categories and if this discrimination was affected by verbal interference. Russian speakers were faster to discriminate colours between categories than within categories and discrimination was affected by verbal interference. English speakers discrimination was not affected by verbal interference and they also showed no categorical advantage

Question 9

How do Mandarin speakers think about time?

Answer 9

Vertically e.g. up for earlier events and down for later events

Question 10

How do English speakers think about time?

Answer 10

Horizontally e.g. ahead, behind, forward and before

Question 11

Western thinking style

Answer 11

All about objects

Question 12

Eastern thinking style

Answer 12

All about relationships

Question 13

Does the language you speak influence your thinking style?

Answer 13

Yes