Language Though And Communication Flashcards
(9 cards)
Piaget’s theory of language thought and communication
Piaget’s theory -We learn through developing schemas (mental structures).
Language depends on thought - Thought and understanding first. Language develops after. Young children Can have language without understanding but will not be able to use it effectively.
The development of language - Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years): Children start to speak. Pre-operational stage (2-7 years): Talk about things not present.
Logical thinking - Concrete operational stage (7-11 years): Children develop own ideas.
Piaget’s theory of language thought and communication evaluation
Evaluation
Supporting evidence - The order of children’s two-word phrases shows understanding.
Language comes first - Sapir-Whorf hypothesis challenges Piaget suggesting that sometimes language comes first.
Extra: Schemas - These can’t be scientifically measured.
Sapir whorf hypothesis of language thought and communication
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis Not possible to think about something you have no words for.
Thinking depends on language - Language comes first, thought afterwards.
Strong version: Language determines thought If there are no words for an object or idea then you can’t think about it.
Weak version: Language influences thinking Words help to ‘carve up’ the world. You can still imagine things with no words for them.
Which version is better?
Weaker version preferred. We have limited memory for things we have no words for.
Our view of the world Variation in recall of events ( the Hopi)
Native Americans: The Hopi lopi don’t distinguish past, present and future. This affects the way they think about time.
Limited sample
Only one individual studied from the Hopi.
Our view of the world Variation in recall of events
Language affects recall of events Memory for pictures affected by labels given (Carmichael et al.).
Ambiguous materials
Carmichael’s study not reflective of everyday life because less ambiguity.
Variation in recognition of colours
Native Americans: The Zuni
Zuni people have only one word for shades of orange and yellow, and in a research study had difficulty distinguishing them (Brown and Lenneberg).
Language affects recall of colour
Berinmo people had difficulty recalling colours as they only have five words for colour (Roberson et al.).
Difficulties with cross-cultural understanding
Participants from other cultures may
misunderstand the task or fail to communicate their answers correctly.
Opposite results
Dani people had no problem matching colour despite having only two words for colour (Rosch and Oliver).
Human and animal communication Von Frisch’s bee study
Changed the way scientists thought about animal communication.
Aim - To describe dances of honey bees to understand their communication.
Method - Put food close to hive (10-20 metres) and far away (up to 300 metres).
Observed bees 6000 times over 20 years.
Results - Round dance: Moving in a circle to show pollen less than 100 metres away.
Waggle dance: Figure-of-eight shape points direction.
60% of bees went to sources at the distance indicated by the dances.
Conclusion - Sophisticated communication system.
Evaluation - Scientific value Opened eyes to capabilities of animals.
Sounds matters too - Dances performed in silence ignored (Esch).
Extra: Other factors are important - Bees don’t respond to waggle dance if they have to fly over water (Gould).
Human versus animal communication Functions of animal communication
