unit 6 - language thought & communication Flashcards
describe Piaget’s theory of COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT and its 4 main elements
this theory concerns how our thinking develops
he believes learning happens by developing schemas about the world
language depends on though - children develop language by matching the correct word to their knowledge (though and understanding first -> language develops after)
young children - children only understand words when they have reached the correct stage of development and are ready - they can use language without understanding before but not EFFECTIVELY
development of language - at the sensorimotor stage children speak towards the end of their first year
from 2 years old (preoperational stage) they talk about things not present
logical thinking - concrete operation stage - by age 7 children’s language becomes mature and logical as they question things and create their own ideas
give three brief evaluation points of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
STRENGTH - early language is not random
WEAKNESS - challenged by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
WEAKNESS - a schema can’t be scientifically measured
describe one strength of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
early language is not random
when children start talking they use two word phrases such as mummy sock (CROMER), showing that they can see how two objects are related to one another
this suggests that children only start to use language when they have some understanding of it
describe two weaknesses of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
challenged by the Sapir Whorf hypothesis
this states that language comes before though as people need a word or phrase for an object in order to be able to think about it
suggests that Piaget may have been wrong therefore
a schema cannot be scientifically measured
this makes it very difficult to know if a schema exists if it can’t be directly measured
this shows that Piaget’s theory of language and though is not based on solid scientific evidence
describe the Sapir Whorf hypothesis and its 4 main elements
Sapir and Whorf suggested that it is not possible to think about something you don’t have words for
thinking depends on language - language comes FIRST and thought AFTERWARDS
there are two versions of the hypothesis - one says that words determines language and the other that words influence it
strong version - language determines thought - if there are no words for something then you can’t think about it which is why it is difficult to translate ideas from one language to another
weak version - words help to ‘carve’ up the world but you can still imagine something without a word for it
preferred version? - the weaker version is preferred
give three brief evaluation points of the Sapir Whorf hypothesis
STRENGTH - the hypothesis explains the link between language and intelligence
WEAKNESS - differences between cultures may have been exaggerated by Boas (Inuit study guy)
WEAKNESS - having more words for snow doesn’t mean that the words came first
describe one strength of the Sapir Whorf hypothesis
the hypothesis explains the link between language and intelligence BERNSTEIN suggested that working class children will fall behind in school because of their use of restricted code which a negative effect on their ability to think this shows that language influences a particular type of thinking
describe two weakness of the Sapir Whorf hypothesis
the differences between cultures may have been exaggerated by BOAS
there are really only two words for snow in Inuit culture and actually English has other words for different types of snow (eg. sleet, slush, blizzard, flurry)
this shows that the differences aren’t that great and challenges the conclusion that language may determine though
having more words for snow doesn’t mean that the words came first
the Inuit language may have more words for snow because there is always a lot of snow
this suggests that language develops because of the way we perceive our environment which supports Piaget’s view that thinking influence language
who did Whorf study?
Native Americans, the Hopi
describe what Whorf found about variation in the Hopi’s language
Whorf found that Hopi language doesn’t distinguish between past, present and future
therefore this influences the way they think about time
give one evaluation of Whorf’s study of the Hopi
WEAKNESS
only one individual was studied
other have argued that the way the Hopi language describes the passing of time is not that different to European language
this suggests that Whorf’s conclusions lacked a firm factual basis
who studied how language affects the recall of events
Carmichael et al.
describe what Carmichael studied
Carmichael et al. gave two groups of participants the same pictures but each group heard different descriptions
when they were asked to draw them, the picture drawn reflected the labels they had heard
this suggests that language influences memory
give one evaluation of Carmichael et al.’s study
WEAKNESS
the materials used were ambiguous
in everyday life we would be less influenced by labels
so we ay not be able to generalise the results to everyday life
who did Brown and Lenneberg study
Native Americans, the Zuni people
describe what Brown and Lenneberg found about variation in the recognition of colours with the Zuni people
Brown and Lenneberg found that the Zuri people have only one word for shades of yellow and orange and had difficulty recognising and recalling these colours compared to English speakers
this suggests that their lack of words for those two colours affected their ability to distinguish between them
give one evaluation of Brown and Lenneberg’s study
WEAKNESS
research on different cultures is that there are issues with the interpretation of participants’ responses
the language barrier could have affected how well the Zuni people communicated their understanding of colour to the researchers
this causes the research to lack validity
who did Roberson et al. study?
the Berinmo people of New Guinea
describe what Roberson et al found about variation in the recall of colours with the Berinmo people
Roberson et al. found that the Berinmo people of New Guinea had difficulty recalling and distinguishing between a variety of colours as they only have FIVE words for different colours in their own language
this is evidence for the Sapir Whorf hypothesis as it suggested that specific cognitive processes are influenced by language
give one evaluation of Roberson et al.’s study
WEAKNESS
some researchers have found the opposite
the Dani people have only two words for colour but were still as good as English speaking participants on a colour matching task (HEIDER AND OLIVIER)
this suggests that their lack of colour words did not influence their ability to think about colour
who studied animal communication in terms of bees
Von Frisch
aim of Von Frisch’s bee study
to describe the dances performed by honey bees to explain how they communicate information with each other
method of Von Frisch’s bee study
Von Frisch put a food source close to the hive (10-20 metres away) as well as one further away (up to 300m)
he made over 6000 observations of honey bees over 20 years
results of Von Frisch’s bee study
worker bees tell others where the pollen is located by two types of dance
round dance - moving in a circle to indicate the food is less than 100m away
waggle dance - moving in a figure of 8, waggling its abdomen in the middle of the eight and this straight line pointing to the source of the pollen
the speed of the dance indicated distance (faster - closer)
60% of bees went to food sources at the distance indicated by the dances
conclusions of Von Frisch’s bee study
bees use a sophisticated form of animal communication
the signalling system has evolutionary value as it helps their survival
give three brief evaluation points of Von Frisch’s bee study
STRENGTH - important contribution to science
WEAKNESS - importance of sound was overlooked
WEAKNESS - bees didn’t always respond to the waggle dance
describe one strength of Von Frisch’s bee study
Von Frisch’s work made an important contribution to science
people knew that bees danced but had no understanding of the meaning of the movements
this shows how valuable his research was
describe two weaknesses of Von Frisch’s bee study
the importance of sound was overlooked
ESCH found that when bees performed the dance in silence, the other bees would not go on to investigate food dources
this shows that sound based signals also play a part in directing other bees which Von Frisch did not consider
bees do not always respond to the waggle dance
bees do not use the information from the waggle dance to fly to nectar if it was placed in a boat in the middle of a lake (GOULD)
this shows that Von Frisch’s account was incomplete
4 functions of animal communication
survival
reproduction
territory
food
describe survival as a function of animal communication and give an example
vervet monkeys use sound to warn of danger using alarm calls - a specific sound warns other monkeys close by
rabbits use visual signals, lifting their tail high, pinning ears back and leaping forwards to communicate danger
these signals increase survival of members of the signaller’s species
describe reproduction as a function of animal communication and give an example
animals use mating displays
mating displays communicate genetic fitness through brightly coloured and plentiful feathers
peacocks stretch their feathers in an umbrella to attract females
describe territory as a function of animal communication and give an example
animals mark territory through spreading scents
rhinos produce 20-30 piles of dung to communicate that an area is occupied
this has evolutionary value as it takes less energy than fighting (which can also be dangerous)
describe food as a function of animal communication and give an example
animals use signals to show the location of food
ants leave a pheromone (chemical which an animal releases) trail to communicate the location of a food source
