9 - Language Flashcards
(26 cards)
Language
System of communicating according to rules of grammar. Complex and representational.
Grammar
Set of rules to specify how words combined to produce meaning
Three characteristics of language development
- Children learn extremely fast
- Make few errors while learning
- Passive mastery develops fastest (comprehension before production)
Behaviorist theory
Belief that language is learned via operant conditioning; imitation. But this is dubious because parents don’t spend time teaching; kids can generate more than what they hear; errors cannot be explained via imitation
Nativist explanation
Belief that language is innate. Language acquisition device - processes that facilitate language learning. Genetic dysphasia - inability to learn grammatical structure despite having otherwise normal intelligence
Interactionist explanation
Social interactions play crucial role in language. Social experiences interact with innate biological abilities
Broca’s area
Left frontal cortex; involved in language production
Wernicke’s area
Left temporal cortex; involved in language comprehension
Bilingualism and the brain
Monolingual and bilingual children do not differ in language development. Second language seems to increase left parietal lobe’s ability to handle linguistic demands
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
Whorfian hypothesis. Proposes language shapes the nature of thought. Newer studies cast doubt on this.
Linguistic relativity and color
Indication that language does effect color perception in one visual field. (??)
Concept
Mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, stimuli.
Prototype theory of gategories
Make category judgments by comparing new instances to the prototype (best or most typical member of category)
Exemplar theory of categories
Make category judgments by comparing new instance with stored memories for other instances in that category.
Rational choice theory
We make decisions by determining likelihood, judging value of outcome, and multiplying the two. (However note that we are good at estimating frequency but not probability)
Heuristics
Efficient quick strategy facilitating decision making; may not guarantee a solution. Availability bias - items more available in memory judged as more frequent. Conjunction fallacy - believed that two events are more likely to occur together than individually. Representativeness heuristic - probability judgment by comparing object or event to prototype of object or event.
Framing effects
People give different answers to same question depending on how it is phrased. Sunk-cost fallacy - making decisions based on previous investments in the situation
Prospect theory
People take on risk when evaluating losses and avoid risks when evaluating gains. Simplify available information and choose prospect with greatest expected utility
Frequency format hypothesis
Minds evolved to notice how frequently things occur, not how likely they are to occur. Perhaps because probability is a recent tool
Prefrontal lobe and risk-taking
People with prefrontal lobe damage do not show emotional reaction when making risky decision. Insensitivity to consequences. Similar to substance-dependent individuals
Analogical problem solving
Solve problem by finding similar problem with known solution and applying solution to current problem
Insight
The spontaneous restructuring of problem or unconscious incremental processes.
Functional fixedness
Aspect of framing effects that can limit insightful problem solving. View functions of objects as fixed, when in fact knowledge from diverse areas can be applied to solve a problem.
Reasoning
Organizing information or beliefs into series of steps to reach conclusions
