CLA - behaviourist theory Flashcards
who is the theorist behind the behaviourist theory
Skinner
what is language similar to
other kinds of human behaviour
how is language similar to other kinds of human behaviour
If we do something and it has a positive, pleasurable response, we are more likely to do it again. If we do something with a negative response, we’re less likely to do it again
how do behaviourists believe children learn to speak
by imitating the speech and language structures they hear
what do behaviourist believe about a newborn child
that they’re a ‘blank-slate’ to be moulded and formed by its environment
what is the matter of language development
a matter of acquiring a set of linguistic habits
what do behaviourist believe is crucial to language development
reinforcement
who uses reinforcement and how
parents use reinforcement to correct children’s utterances, helping to form the basis of what a child knows about language
case study for children who aren’t exposed to language don’t learn to speak
twins Amala and Kamala who were reared by wolves and had no language because they didn’t have anyone to ‘copy’
what is a criticism of the behaviourist theory
doesn’t explain how children don’t pick up correct forms of imitation
examples of children not picking up correct forms of imitation
over-extension - using ‘doggie’ to refer to all furry animals
case study that criticises the behaviourist theory
Cazden’s research 1972
summary of Cazden’s research 1972
research into a Childs use of ‘holded’. An adult rephrased a sentence several times using the correct form ‘held’ but the children didn’t notice the difference and kept saying ‘holded’
