Page 1 Chapter 8: Language and Thought. Page 2 The Cognitive Revolution Cognition: Mental processes...

Chapter 8: Language and Thought

The Cognitive Revolution

Cognition: Mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.19th Century focus on the mind

IntrospectionBehaviorist focus on overt responses

arguments regarding incomplete picture of human functioning

Empirical study of cognition – 1956 conference

Simon and Newell – problem solvingChomsky – new model of languageMiller – memory (7 +/-2)

Language: Turning Thoughts into Words

Properties of LanguageSymbolic: Use sounds/words to represent objectsSemantic: MeaningGenerative: Limited number of symbols can be combined & generate infinite combinationsStructured: Rules that govern how you can arrange sentences

The Hierarchical Structure of Language

• Phonemes = smallest speech units– 100 possible, English – about 40

• Morphemes = smallest unit of meaning– 50,000 in English, root words, prefixes, suffixes

• Semantics = meaning of words and word combinations– Objects and actions to which words refer

• Syntax = a system of rules for arranging words into sentences– Different rules for different languages

Language Development: Milestones

• Initial vocalizations similar across languages– Crying, cooing, babbling

• 6 months – babbling sounds begin to resemble surrounding language

• 1 year – first word– similar cross-culturally – words for parents– receptive vs. expressive language

Overview of Typical Language Development

Language Development:Milestones Continued

• 18-24 months – vocabulary spurt, productive vocab (understanding) is greater then receptive vocab (spoken).– Fast Mapping: map a word onto an

understanding concept after 1 exposure – Overextension: incorrectly use words to describe

similar objects (ball: anything around)– Underextension: incorrectly use words to

narrower set of objects (doll: their favorite doll)

Language Development:Milestones Continued

• End of second year – combine words – Telegraphic Speech: omitting words that are less

critical (Give Doll)– Mean Length of Utterance (MLU): average length

of spoken statements (morphemes)

• End of third year – complex ideas, plural, past tense– Overregularization: grammar rules are

incorrectly use (I goed to sleep)

• 4-5 years old- formal training in writing– Metalinguistic Awareness: to reflect on the use

of language (coming up with jokes)

Bilingualism:Learning More Than One Language

• Research findings:– Smaller vocabularies in one language, combined

vocabularies average– Higher scores for middle-class bilingual subjects on

cognitive flexibility, analytical reasoning, selective attention, and metalinguistic awareness

– Slight disadvantage in terms of language processing speed

– 2nd languages more easily acquired early in life– Acculturation: how much a person is socially &

psychologically integrated into a new culture facilitates acquisition

Figure 8.4 Age and second language learning

Can Animals Develop Language?

• Dolphins, sea lions, parrots, chimpanzees– Vocal apparatus issue– American Sign Language

• Allen and Beatrice Gardner (1969)– Chimpanzee - Washoe– 160 word vocabulary

• Sue Savage-Rumbaugh– Bonobo chimpanzee - Kanzi– Symbols– Receptive language – 72% of 660 requests

Theories of Language Acquisition

• Behaviorist – Skinner

• learning of specific verbal responses

• Nativist– Chomsky

• learning the rules of language• Language Acquisition Device (LAD): innate mechanism

that facilitates learning of language (biologically)

• Interactionist – Cognitive, social communication, and biological

theories

Interactionist theories of language acquisition

Problem Solving: Types of Problems

• Greeno (1978) – three basic classes• Problems of inducing structure

– Series completion and analogy problems

• Problems of arrangement– String problem and Anagrams

• Often solved through insight

• Problems of transformation– Hobbits and orcs problem– Water jar problem

Six standard problems used in studies of problem solving

The tower of Hanoi problem

Effective Problem Solving

• Well defined vs. ill defined problems• Barriers to effective problem solving:

– Irrelevant Information– Functional Fixedness: to see an item for

only its most common use– Mental Set: when people use problem

solving strategies that have worked in the past

– Unnecessary Constraints

Approaches to Problem Solving

• Problem Space: the set of possible pathways to a solution considered by the problem solver.

• Algorithms: method, step by step procedure in searching for a solution– Trial-&-Error: trying possible solutions & discarding those

that don’t work until you find a solution.

• Heuristics: “rule of thumb” – Shortcuts– No guaranteed solution

• Forming subgoals• Working backward• Searching for analogies• Changing the representation of a problem

Figure 8.16 Representing the bird and train problem

Culture, Cognitive Style,and Problem Solving

• Field dependence – relying on external frames of reference

• Field independence – relying on internal frames of reference– Western cultures inspire field independence– Cultural influence based in ecological

demands• Holistic vs. analytic cognitive styles

Decision Making:Evaluating Alternatives and Making

Choices• Simon (1957) – theory of bounded

rationality• Making Choices

– Additive strategies– Elimination by aspects– Risky decision making

• Expected value• Subjective utility• Subjective probability

Table 8.3 Application of the additive model to choosing an apartment

Heuristics in Judging Probabilities

• The availability heuristic• The representativeness heuristic• The tendency to ignore base rates• The conjunction fallacy• The alternative outcomes effect

Figure 8.18 The conjunction fallacy

Understanding Pitfalls in ReasoningAbout Decisions

• The gambler’s fallacy• Overestimating the improbable• Confirmation bias and belief

perseverance• The overconfidence effect• Framing

Evolutionary Analyses: Flaws in Decision Making and Fast and Frugal Heuristics

• Cosmides and Tooby (1996)– Unrealistic standard of rationality– Decision making evolved to handle real-

world adaptive problems– Problem solving research based on

contrived, artificial problems• Gigerenzer (2000)

– Quick and dirty heuristics– Less than perfect but adaptive

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