Thinking and Thinking and LanguageLanguage
Chapter 8Chapter 81
LanguageLanguage
Language, our spoken, written, or gestured work, is the way we communicate meaning
to ourselves and others.
2Language transmits culture.
M. &
E. B
ernheim/ W
oodfin Cam
p & A
ssociates
Language DevelopmentLanguage Development
Children learn their native languages
much before learning to add 2+2.
We learn, on average (after age 1), 3,500
words a year, amassing 60,000
words by the time we graduate from high
school.3
Tim
e Life Pictures/ G
etty Images
When do we learn language?When do we learn language?
Babbling Stage: Beginning at 4
months, the infant spontaneously utters various sounds, like ah-goo. Babbling is
not imitation of adult speech.
4
When do we learn language?When do we learn language?
5
One-Word Stage: Beginning at or around his first birthday, a child starts to speak one word at a time and is able to make family members understand him. The word doggy may mean look at the dog out there.
Gwen “Eat- Ot” (about 16 months old)Gwen practices lettersGwennie wanna cracker
When do we learn language?When do we learn language?
Two-Word Stage: Before the 2nd year, a child starts to speak in two-word sentences. This form of speech is called telegraphic speech because the child speaks like a telegram: “Go car,” means I would like to go for a ride in the car.
Gwen starting to countGwen sings Old MacDonaldGwen names dinosaurs
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When do we learn When do we learn language?language?
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Longer phrases: After telegraphic speech, children begin uttering longer phrases (Mommy get ball) with syntactical sense, and by early elementary school they are employing humor.
You never starve in the desert because of all the sand-which-is there.
Gwen reads Animal SerenadeGwen sings We Wish You a Merry Christmas
OverregularizationOverregularizationApplying regular rules to all
situationsI “goed” to the store.Momma “taked” the clothes out
of the dryer.
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When do we learn language?When do we learn language?
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Explaining Language Explaining Language DevelopmentDevelopment
1. Operant Learning: Skinner (1957, 1985) believed that language development may be explained on the basis of learning principles such as association, imitation, and reinforcement.
10
Explaining Language Explaining Language DevelopmentDevelopment
2. Inborn Universal Grammar: Chomsky (1959, 1987) opposed Skinner’s ideas and suggested that the rate of language acquisition is so fast that it cannot be explained through learning principles, and thus most of it is inborn.
Language Acquisition Device
3. Interactionist ◦Cognitive, social communication, and emergentist theories
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Theories of Language Theories of Language AcquisitionAcquisitionBehaviorist
◦Skinner learning of specific verbal responses
Nativist◦Chomsky
learning the rules of language Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
Interactionist ◦Cognitive, social communication, and
emergentist theories
Thinking and Thinking and LanguageLanguage
Chapter 8 (Part 2)Chapter 8 (Part 2)13
Explaining Language Explaining Language DevelopmentDevelopment
Childhood is a critical period for fully developing certain aspects of language. Children never exposed to any language (spoken or signed) by about age 7 gradually lose their ability to master any language.
14
Genes, Brain, & LanguageGenes, Brain, & Language
Genes design the mechanisms for a language, and experience modifies the
brain.
15
Mic
hael
New
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to E
dit,
Inc.
Eye
of
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ence
/ Pho
to R
esea
rche
rs, I
nc.
Dav
id H
ume
Ken
nerl
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ages
Critical PeriodCritical PeriodLearning new languages gets harder
with age.
The Case of Genie 16
The Case of GenieThe Case of GenieDescribe what happened to
“Genie”◦Include background information◦How was her brain development
affected?◦What became of Genie?◦What have we learned about language
development from this case?
Write at least ½ a page; due today
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18
Thinking & LanguageThinking & LanguageLanguage and thinking intricately
intertwine.
19
Rubber B
all/ Alm
ay
Language Influences Language Influences ThinkingThinking
Linguistic Determinism: Whorf (1956) suggested that language determines the way we think. For example, he noted that the Hopi people do not have the past tense for verbs. Therefore, the Hopi cannot think readily about the past.“Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis”
(Eskimo words for snow)
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Language Influences Language Influences ThinkingThinking
When a language provides words for objects or events, we can think about these objects
more clearly and remember them. It is easier to think about two colors with two different names (A) than colors with the
same name (B) (Özgen, 2004).
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New Words in 2013…New Words in 2013…babymoonblondiebuzzworthycake popchandelier earri
ngdigital detoxemojifauxhawkflatformfood babygeek chic
guachackerspaceme timepixie cutselfiespace tourismstreet foodtwerkunlike
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Word PowerWord Power
-Increasing word power pays its dividends. It helps explain the bilingual advantage of bilingual children to inhibit one language while using another. -Research is divided and incomplete about bilingualism-Acculturation
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Thinking in ImagesThinking in Images
To a large extent thinking is language-based. When alone, we may talk to ourselves.
However, we also think in images.
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2. When we are riding our bicycle.
1. When we open the hot water tap.
We don’t think in words, when:
Images and BrainImages and Brain
Imagining a physical activity activates the same brain regions as when actually
performing the activity.
25
Jean Duffy D
ecety, Septem
ber 2003
Language and ThinkingLanguage and ThinkingTraffic runs both ways between language
and thinking.
26
Animal Thinking & LanguageAnimal Thinking & Language
Do animals have a language?
27
Honey bees communicate by dancing. The dancemoves clearly indicate the direction of the nectar.
Do Animals Think?Do Animals Think?
Common cognitive skills in humans and apes
include the following:
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1. Concept Formation
2. Insight3. Problem Solving4. Culture
African grey parrot sorts redblocks from green balls.
William
Munoz
InsightInsight
Chimpanzees show insightful behavior when solving problems.
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Sultan uses sticks to get food.
Problem SolvingProblem Solving
Apes are, much like us, shaped by reinforcement when solving
problems.
30
Chimpanzee fishing for ants.
Courtesy of Jennifer B
yrne, c/o Richard B
yrne, D
epartment of P
sychology, University of S
t. Andrew
s, Scotland
Animal CultureAnimal Culture
Animals display customs and culture that are learned and transmitted over generations.
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Dolphins using sponges asforging tools.
Chimpanzee mother using andteaching a young how to use
a stone hammer.
Copyright A
manda K
Coakes
Michael N
ichols/ National G
eographic Society
Do Animals Exhibit Do Animals Exhibit Language?Language?There is no doubt that animals communicate.
Vervet monkeys, whales and even
honey bees communicate with members of their species and other
species.(Einstein the Parrot)
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Rico (collie) has a200-word vocabulary
Copyright B
aus/ Kreslow
ski
The Case of ApesThe Case of Apes
Gardner and Gardner (1969) used American Sign Language (ASL) to train Washoe (3:20), a chimp, who
learned 181 signs by the age of 32.
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Gestured CommunicationGestured Communication
Animals, like humans, exhibit communication through gestures. It is
possible that vocal speech developed from gestures during the course of evolution.
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Sign LanguageSign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is instrumental in teaching chimpanzees
a form of communication.
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When asked, this chimpanzee usesa sign to say it is a baby.
Paul Fusco/ Magnum
Photos
Syntax ComprehensionSyntax Comprehension
Others have shown that pygmy chimpanzees can develop even greater vocabularies and perhaps
semantic nuances in learning a language (Savage-Rumbaugh, 1993). Kanzi (shown below)
developed vocabulary for hundreds of words and phrases.
36
Copyright of G
reat Ape T
rust of Iowa
But Can Apes Really Talk?But Can Apes Really Talk?1. Apes acquire their limited vocabularies
with a great deal of difficulty, unlike children who develop vocabularies at amazing rates.
2. Chimpanzees can make signs to receive a reward, just as a pigeon who pecks at the key receives a reward. However, pigeons have not learned a language.
3. Chimpanzees use signs meaningfully but lack human syntax.
4. Presented with ambiguous information, people tend to see what they want to see (perceptual set).
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Language: Turning Thoughts Language: Turning Thoughts into Wordsinto WordsProperties of Language (IMPORTANT!!!)
◦Symbolic--spoken sounds and written words to represent objects, actions, events, and ideas.
◦Semantic--meaningful
◦Generative--a limited number of symbols can be combined in an infinite number of ways to generate novel messages
◦Structured--there are rules that govern arrangement of words into phrases and sentences.
The Hierarchical Structure of The Hierarchical Structure of LanguageLanguage
Phonemes = smallest speech units◦100 possible, English – about 40
Morphemes = smallest unit of meaning◦50,000 in English, root words, prefixes,
suffixesSemantics = 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
The handsome soccer player The handsome soccer player scored a goal.scored a goal.1) Phoneme: “goal” has 3
phonemes—g, o, l2) Morpheme: “player” has 2
morphemes—play and er3) Semantics: the meaning of the
words & sentences4) Syntax: “handsome” is an
adjective that goes before the noun it describes, for ex.
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ThinkingThinking
Thinking, or cognition, refers to a process that involves knowing,
understanding, remembering, and communicating.
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Cognitive PsychologistsCognitive Psychologists
Thinking involves a number of mental activities, which are listed below. Cognitive
psychologists study these in great detail.
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1. Concepts2. Problem solving3. Decision making4. Judgment
formation
ConceptsConcepts
The mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. There are a variety of chairs but
their common features define the concept of a chair.
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Category HierarchiesCategory HierarchiesWe organize concepts into category hierarchies.
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Courtesy of C
hristine Brune
Development of ConceptsDevelopment of Concepts
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We form some concepts with definitions. For example, a triangle has three sides. Mostly, we form concepts with mental
images or typical examples (prototypes). For example, a robin is a prototype of a
bird, but a penguin is not.
Triangle (definition) Bird (mental image)
Daniel J. C
ox/ Getty Im
ages
J. Messerschm
idt/ The Picture C
ube
Problem SolvingProblem SolvingProblem solving strategies
include:
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1.Trial and Error2.Algorithms3.Heuristics4. Insight
Trial & ErrorTrial & ErrorTrying possible solutions and throwing out ones that don’t work until you find one that does work
Random/haphazard
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AlgorithmsAlgorithms
Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a solution.
Computers use algorithms. (more systematic and less random)
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S P L O Y O C H Y G
If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word using an algorithmic approach, we would face
907,200 possibilities.
Heuristics Heuristics (guiding principle/rule of (guiding principle/rule of thumb)thumb)
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Heuristics are simple, thinking strategies that allow us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently. Heuristics are less time consuming, but more error-prone than algorithms.
B2M
Productions/D
igital Version/G
etty Images
HeuristicsHeuristics
Heuristics make it easier for us to use simple principles to arrive at solutions to problems.
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S P L O Y O C H Y GS P L O Y O C H G YP S L O Y O C H G YP S Y C H O L O G Y
Put a Y at the end, and see if the wordbegins to make sense.
InsightInsight
Insight involves a sudden novel
realization of a solution to a
problem. Humans and animals have
insight.
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Grande using boxes toobtain food
InsightInsightBrain imaging and EEG
studies suggest that when an insight strikes (the “Aha” experience),
it activates the right temporal cortex (Jung-
Beeman & others, 2004). The time between not knowing the solution
and realizing it is about 0.3 seconds.
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From M
ark Jung-Beekm
an, Northw
estern U
niversity and John Kounios, D
rexel University
Obstacles in Solving Obstacles in Solving ProblemsProblemsConfirmation Bias: A tendency to search for information that confirms a personal bias.
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FixationFixation
Fixation: An inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This impedes
problem solving. An example of fixation is functional fixedness.
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The Matchstick Problem: How
would you arrange six matches to form
four equilateral triangles?
From
“Problem
Solving” by M
. Scheerer. C
opyright © 1963 by
Scientific A
merican, Inc. A
ll Rights R
eserved.
Mental SetMental Setthe tendency to approach
situations in a certain way because that method worked in the past
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Candle-Mounting ProblemCandle-Mounting Problem
Using these materials, how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?
56
From
“Problem
Solving” by M
. Scheerer. C
opyright © 1963 by
Scientific A
merican, Inc. A
ll Rights R
eserved.
Making Decision & Forming Making Decision & Forming JudgmentsJudgments
Each day we make hundreds of judgments and decisions based on our intuition, seldom using systematic reasoning.
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Using and Misusing HeuristicsUsing and Misusing HeuristicsTwo kinds of heuristics, representative
heuristics and availability heuristics, have been identified by cognitive psychologists.
60Amos Tversky Daniel Kahneman
Courtesy of G
reymeyer A
ward, U
niversity of L
ouisville and the Tversky fam
ily
Courtesy of G
reymeyer A
ward, U
niversity of L
ouisville and Daniel K
ahneman
Representativeness HeuristicRepresentativeness Heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things or objects in terms of how well they seem to represent, or
match, a particular prototype.
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Probability that that person is a truck driver is far greater than an ivy league professor just because there are more truck drivers than
such professors.
If you meet a slim, short, man who wears glasses and likes poetry, what do you think his profession would be?
An Ivy league professor or a truck driver?
Availability HeuristicAvailability Heuristic-basing the estimated probability of an event on -basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant examples come to the ease with which relevant examples come to mindmind
Why does our availability heuristic lead us astray?Whatever increases the ease of retrieving
information increases its perceived availability.
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How is retrieval facilitated?
1. How recently we have heard about the event.
2. How distinct it is.3. How correct it is.
Gambler’s FallacyGambler’s FallacyThe false belief that
the probability of an event in a random sequence is dependent on preceding events, its probability increasing with each successive occasion on which it fails to occur
Umm…the longer something doesn’t happen, the more probable it will occur—false!
Family with 5 boys—mom is pregnant again—they think for sure it will be a girl this time—false!
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Conjunction FallacyConjunction FallacyA widespread error
of judgment according to which a combination of 2 or more attributes is judged to be more probable or likely than either attribute on its own
Related to representativeness heuristic
Tattooed biker
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OverconfidenceOverconfidence
Intuitive heuristics, confirmation of beliefs, and the inclination to explain failures
increase our overconfidence. Overconfidence is a tendency to overestimate the accuracy of
our beliefs and judgments.
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In the stock market, both the seller and the buyer may be
confident about their decisions on a stock.
Exaggerated FearExaggerated Fear
The opposite of having overconfidence
is having an exaggerated fear about what may
happen. Such fears may be unfounded.
The 9/11 attacks led to a decline in air travel due to fear.
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AP
/ Wide W
orld Photos
The Effects of FramingThe Effects of Framing
Decisions and judgments may be significantly affected depending upon
how an issue is framed.
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Example: What is the best way to market ground beef — as 25% fat or 75% lean?
The Belief Perseverance The Belief Perseverance PhenomenonPhenomenon
Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary
evidence.
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If you see that a country is hostile, you are likely to interpret their ambiguous
actions as a sign of hostility (Jervis, 1985).
Convergent ThinkingConvergent ThinkingA person attempts to find a single, correct answer to a problem
Narrowing down choices to one
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Divergent ThinkingDivergent Thinkinga person generates many unique, creative responses to a single question or problem.
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