CLPS 0020- Lectures - Nature vs Nurture

Question 1

What is the nature perspective of cognitive science?

Answer 1

that we are innately endowed with specialized mechanisms

Question 2

What is the nurture perspective of cognitive science?

Answer 2

that we are clean slates and only have the neural apparatus that, with experience and interaction with the environment, results in our shaping and learning; no specilized modules

Question 3

What is most likley the right answer, a nature or nurture model?

Answer 3

A combination of both

Question 4

How does deafness subvert the nature model?

Answer 4

If speech was already there, then we could subvert is and avoid a language problem!

Question 5

What is the spectrum of opinions from nature ot nurture?

Answer 5

Nativism, constructivism, and empiricism

Question 6

What is suggested by the kitten-blinding experiment?

Answer 6

There are critical periods! If there is an innate system, it is TIMELOCKED

Question 7

What do birdsongs imply about nature vs nurture?

Answer 7

Not everything is innate: birds need a model tutor to learn their songs

Question 8

What are the results of L unilateral lesions during the crystallized song stage, plastic stage, or even earlier before onset of song development?

Answer 8

sever pathology, some recovery of funciton, or normal song development; the earlier you lesion, the better prognosis before puberty for recovery than after puberty

Question 9

What does the infant sucking with VOT continuum suggest?

Answer 9

Since they can identify small phoneme shifts even in unfamiliar languages, it supports the nature perspective; if you don’t use it you lose it, too, maybe

Question 10

Is morality rational?

Answer 10

Not at all.

Question 11

What is the difference between judgments of wrongness and punishment if intentional or not?

Answer 11

If it wasn’t intentional, we still judge the same level of wrongness but attribute less punishment

Question 12

What is the two-process model of punishment determination?

Answer 12

Our decision of punishment is affected by the input of beliefs and desires AND consequences and consequences

Question 13

What matters more when determining punishment, causality or intentionality?

Answer 13

Causality, by a little bit

Question 14

How does luck/causation affect legal punishment?

Answer 14

Big difference: outcome matters more for punishment than intention

Question 15

When determining punishment, what matters more, outcome or intention?

Answer 15

Outcome: less likely to punish selfish die roller for being selfish if he’s accidentally generous

Question 16

Judging wrongness recruits what cognitive process?

Answer 16

theory of mind

Question 17

Judging punishment recruits what cognitive regions?

Answer 17

executive control and emotion; whether or not to punish and how much

Question 18

Executive control and emotion regions are activated for what kind of judgement, punishment or wrongness?

Answer 18

Punishment

Question 19

Theory of mind is recrutied for what kind of judgment, punishment or wrongness?

Answer 19

Wrongness

Question 20

How do we know there is a critical period for language?

Answer 20

Infants gradually lose sensitivity to speech sounds

Question 21

Why are preterm infants more at risk for language delays than full term infants?

Answer 21

Autidotry system is not as functional yet, but under the stress of input that full-term infants receive later; much richer than the prosody they’re equipped for

Question 22

What is the difference in visual vs temporal activation in deaf vs hearing signers?

Answer 22

In deaf, both areas activatied; but in hearing, only the visual area, because the temporal area is already recruited for speech rather than signing; whereas with the deaf signers, it’s also used for language signing

Question 23

Do the blind recruit occipital cortical neurons for functions other than sight, such as tactile functions for reading Braille?

Answer 23

Yes! cross-modality plasticity

Question 24

What does it mean that plasticity cuts across cognitive domains?

Answer 24

Langauge can cause areas to be activated for different stimuli: visual area activation for tactile, auditory for visual, etc.