Week 9b - Theoretical approaches Flashcards
1
Q
Define behaviourism
A
- Conditioning of behaviour through positive and negative reinforcement
- B F Skinner
2
Q
Operant conditioning
A
- The repetition of an initially spontaneous response
- Behaviour increased in probability by positive reinforcement
- Behaviour decreased in probability by negative reinforcement
3
Q
What does behaviourism state children do?
A
- Begin to speak through imitation
- Their linguistic behaviour is reinforced and punished by the audience
4
Q
What is verbal and non verbal praise?
A
- Verbal: praise, agreement and matching
- Non-verbal: audience acting upon a request
5
Q
Novel responses
A
- B F Skinner 1976
- Produced by varying old responses
- eg. ‘red’ and ‘car’ to make ‘red car’
- May explain children’s early morphological/ syntax errors
6
Q
Define nativism
A
- The theory that language is innate
- Chomsky
7
Q
What is generative grammar?
A
- Innate
- Grammar in terms of logical rules that can be used to generate infinite sentences
8
Q
Poverty of the stimulus argument
A
- Stimulus is impoverished
- Children can’t possibly hear everything in the input and acquire it
- They can produce more than what they have heard
- eg. Jean Berko Wug test, haven’t heard wugs
9
Q
Critical period
Name
Date
Hypothesis
A
- Lenneberg
- 1967
- Critical period for language acquisition which ends when the maturation of the brain is complete
- After the period language can’t be normally acquired
10
Q
Nativism study
Name
Date
Method
Result
A
- Lenneberg 1967
- Effects of brain lesions in children
- Younger the child the less effects on language
- Over 14 there had long lasting effects
11
Q
Define usage based approach
A
- Assumes that language development is linked to other cognitive skills
- Focus on how language structure develops in mind on basis of input and interaction
- Input is crucial
- Socio-cultural
12
Q
What are the four aspects of usage based theory?
A
- Intention reading
- Schematisation and analogy
- Entrenchment
- Distributional analysis
13
Q
Schematisation and analogy
A
- Children develop schemas
- Set of ideas linked to certain objects or things
- Facilitates their language production
14
Q
Entrenchment
A
Formation of habits
15
Q
Distributional analysis
A
- Parts of language grouped due to use
- Patterns identified by children and used to create linguistic units
- eg. SVO, children learn where objects go and interchange them in utterances
