psychology: from inquiry to understanding 1/e scott o. lilienfeld steven jay lynn laura namy nancy...

Psychology: Psychology:

From Inquiry to Understanding From Inquiry to Understanding 1/e1/e

Scott O. LilienfeldScott O. LilienfeldSteven Jay LynnSteven Jay LynnLaura Namy Laura Namy Nancy J. WoolfNancy J. Woolf

Prepared by Jennifer SagePrepared by Jennifer Sage

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Chapter 8:Chapter 8:Language, Thinking, and ReasoningLanguage, Thinking, and Reasoning

Getting Inside Our Talking HeadsGetting Inside Our Talking Heads

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009


Lecture PreviewLecture Preview

Discuss features of language and how it emerged Explore the development of language, nonhuman

animal communication, and special cases of language learning

Consider the relationship between language and thought

Discuss the development and features of reading Explore aspects of thinking and reasoning


How Does How Does Language Work?Language Work?

Language - largely arbitrary system of communication that combines symbols in rule-based ways to create meaning Transmission of information Social and emotional functions Requires implicit abilities to access knowledge, draw

conclusions, make decisions, and interpret new phrases (e.g., “Shut up! You did NOT just do that!”)


Features of LanguageFeatures of Language

4 levels of analysis - a dining analogy:1) Phonemes - the sound ingredients

2) Morphemes - the menu items• Smallest units of meaning (e.g., “dog,” “re-,” “-ish”)

3) Syntax - putting together a meal• Grammatical rules that dictate sentence construction

4) Extralinguistic Information - the overall dining experience

• Social context, prior statements by others, nonverbal cues of speaker, etc.

Hindu Dialects Across India: Hindu Dialects Across India: Variations on a Shared LanguageVariations on a Shared Language



Where Did Language Where Did Language Originate and Why?Originate and Why?

Language is costly It requires lengthy learning period and a vocal tract

that puts us at risk for choking But it is adaptive because it allows us to convey

complex thoughts

Studying language evolution is tricky Phonemes, words, syntax rules are largely arbitrary

(don’t resemble the things to which they refer)


How Do ChildrenHow Do ChildrenLearn Language?Learn Language? Babbling - intentional vocalizations that lack

specific meaning becomes gradually more complex over first year with

increasing control of vocal tracts Figuring out phonemes

begin with basic global phoneme categories by 10 months, phonemes are similar to adult

speakers of native language Learning words

Comprehension of name begins as early as 6 mo. First words produced near first birthday

Language Comprehension Precedes ProductionLanguage Comprehension Precedes Production



How Do ChildrenHow Do ChildrenLearn Language?Learn Language?

Pronunciation Errors common, usually related to production difficulty with complex

sounds (e.g., “th”)

Errors in Word Meaning Over- and undergeneralizations

Syntactic Development Holophrases - single-word phrases used in early development

to convey an entire thought (e.g., “Balloon!” for “I want a balloon!”)

Kids understand basic syntactic rules before they can produce them

Comprehension of Word Order Prior to Comprehension of Word Order Prior to Sentence ProductionSentence Production



Theoretical Accounts of Theoretical Accounts of Language AcquisitionLanguage Acquisition

1) Imitation Account - learning through imitation

However, language is generative

2) Nativist Account - we come into the world knowing how language works

Noam Chomsky and the language acquisition device• Brain “organ” in which knowledge of syntax resides• Not easily falsifiable


Theoretical Accounts of Theoretical Accounts of Language AcquisitionLanguage Acquisition

3) Social Pragmatics Account - children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactions

• But do young children really know what others think?

4) General Cognitive Processing Account - children’s ability to learn language is a result of general skills that are applied across many situations (e.g., ability to perceive and recognize patterns)

• However, children learn language better than adults, but adults are better at learning things, generally

• Specific brain areas are recruited during language, which are not recruited for other cognitive activities

Language Processing Areas of the BrainLanguage Processing Areas of the Brain



Nonhuman Animal CommunicationNonhuman Animal Communication

Differs in type and complexity: scent marking vs.

visual displays vs. location of food or predator identification

Aggression and mating are when communication is most common


Teaching Human Language to Teaching Human Language to Nonhuman AnimalsNonhuman Animals

Chimps’ vocal apparatus differs; researchers use a lexigram board, however: Word learning is difficult Requires thousands of trials with rewards Chimps don’t point and label objects, just

request reinforcing items Never master syntactic rules


Teaching Human Language to Teaching Human Language to Nonhuman AnimalsNonhuman Animals

Bonobos do better at language learning, but still have trouble with syntax

African gray parrots use spoken language much as humans do, even mastering syntax, but only as a result of learning through repetition


Apply Your Thinking

Bonobos and African gray parrots display some features of human language learning. But what features seem to be uniquely human?

• Large vocabularies• Great generativity• Flexibility to discuss infinite topics• Ability to follow complex rules of usage• Use of complicated information


Special Cases of Special Cases of Language LearningLanguage Learning

Sign Language - developed by members of deaf communities, visual form of communication Has own phonemes, words, syntax,

extralinguistic information Same brain areas for spoken language Babies who are deaf pass through the same

stages of language development, at the same ages, as hearing babies


Myths About Sign LanguageMyths About Sign Language People who are deaf don’t need sign language

because they can lip-read Even skilled lip-readers can only understand about

30–35% of what is said

For children who are deaf, learning to sign impedes the ability to learn to speak Those who sign make faster progress in speaking

American Sign Language (ASL) is English translated word-for-word into signs Bears no resemblance to English


BilingualismBilingualism

Typically, one language is dominant As compared to monolinguals, bilinguals:

Have typical vocabulary development Have delayed knowledge of syntactical rules Exhibit heightened awareness of language

structure and usage (metalinguistic ability) If second language is learned early, the

two languages use similar brain structures


Second Language Learning and Second Language Learning and Critical PeriodsCritical Periods

Evidence that younger children are superior to adults at learning language: Fluency failures of language-deprived

children (e.g., Genie)• But what is a potential rival hypothesis concerning

these subjects? Immigrants who arrived in the U.S. after age

7 were less proficient English speakers (especially for syntax and pronunciation)

Early Language Proficiency in Second Early Language Proficiency in Second Language Learners Language Learners

The gradual drop-off suggests that human The gradual drop-off suggests that human language doesn’t have a strict critical period.language doesn’t have a strict critical period.



Do We Think in Words?Do We Think in Words?Language and ThoughtLanguage and Thought

Linguistic Determinism - view that all thought is represented linguistically, and as a result, our language defines our thinking

Thinking is a form of internal speech (covert speech)


Linguistic DeterminismLinguistic Determinism

1) Inuits’ “thousand” words for snow Correlation or causation?

2) Helen Keller’s reports of absence of thought before learning language

Evidence against: Preventing covert speech via paralysis (drug-induced)

does not prevent thought Children solve complex cognitive tasks before

developing speech Neuroimaging - language areas are active only during

certain, not all, cognitive tasks


True or False?True or False?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) cantemporarily inactivate, or stimulate, brain areas.

TMS enables us to draw causal conclusions, not just correlations, about the role that specific brain areas play in behavior.

TRUE. TMS can be used as an experimental manipulation. For example, when we “pause” a particular brain area, we can observe which behavior may be directly disrupted.


Linguistic RelativityLinguistic Relativity

The view that characteristics of the language we speak influence some aspects of our thinking

Evidence from cross-language differences Russians who moved to the U.S. recalled Russian

memories better when speaking Russian, and U.S. memories better when speaking English

Korean descriptions of spatial events

Language Influences How Children Perceive Language Influences How Children Perceive EventsEvents

In Korean, the word nehta refers to objects that fit loosely inside other objects (top). The word kkita refers to objects that fit tightly inside of other objects (bottom). English speakers use the word “in” to describe both images.



Evidence Against Linguistic RelativityEvidence Against Linguistic Relativity

Color categorization across cultures is similar, even for cultures that have few color words Language doesn’t always influence thought

Two Korean terms for in: Correlation or causation? Influence of language or influence of culture?

Overall, language shapes some, but not all, aspects of perception, memory, and thought


Apply Your Thinking Some public schools permit instruction only in English.

In what ways would this policy be a disadvantage for students who speak a foreign language?

If instruction is different from the language your parents teach you at home

If instruction is different from the language your peers use

If instruction is different from the language of your thought processes

Schools that are financially challenged may offer poorer-quality foreign language instruction

The Automaticity of Reading: The Stroop EffectThe Automaticity of Reading: The Stroop Effect



How Does Reading Work?How Does Reading Work?

Requires two skills for mastery1) whole word recognition2) phonetic decomposition of new words

Prereading in children requires Realization that writing is meaningful Writing that moves in a particular direction Recognition of graphemes (letters) Knowledge that letters correspond to sounds


Apply Your Thinking If reading speed is correlated with

comprehension, why is it not necessarily true that the faster we read, the more we comprehend?

Correlation vs. Causation:Proficient readers tend to be both faster at reading and better at comprehending than poorer readers, but reading speed does not CAUSE comprehension.


Thinking and ReasoningThinking and Reasoning

Thinking - any mental activity or processing of information including learning, remembering, perceiving, feeling, believing, and deciding

Artificial intelligence - the study and design of computer systems created to mimic human cognitive abilities Human cognitive processing is dynamic, flexible


Cognitive EconomyCognitive EconomyImposing Order on the WorldImposing Order on the World

Top-down processing streamlines cognitive functioning by utilizing preexisting knowledge


Cognitive EconomyCognitive EconomyImposing Order on the WorldImposing Order on the World

Categories - groups of objects, actions, characteristics, that share core properties

Schemas - categories that organize relations among actions, objects, ideas

“Fast and frugal” thinking - heuristics are often valid and increase efficiency


Risks of EconomizingRisks of Economizing

When drawing conclusions about behavior, beware of cognitive errors Availability heuristic

• Thousands avoided flying after Sept. 11, 2001 Confirmation bias Correlation = Causation fallacy Hindsight bias Ignoring base rates


Problem Solving: Problem Solving: More Thinking HurdlesMore Thinking Hurdles

Problem solving - generating a cognitive strategy to accomplish a specific goal

Hurdles:1) Salience of surface similarities2) Mental sets - becoming entrenched in a particular

problem-solving strategy that inhibits the generation of an alternative approach

3) Functional fixedness - difficulty conceptualizing that an object typically used for one purpose could be used for another

4) Context and consequence effects

Mental Set Problems FigureMental Set Problems FigureSolve these problems by figuring out how to add and remove precise amounts of water using the jars provided. The first two problems can be solved using the same formula: Add the amount in the first jug (A), subtract the amount from the second jug (B), and then subtract the amount from the third jug (C) twice (A – B – C– C= Target amount). The third problem requires a different solution. Can you figure it out? If you’re stuck, you maybe experiencing a “mental set.”


Functional FixednessFunctional Fixedness

Can you mount thiscandle on the wall, usingonly the supplies given?


psychology: from inquiry to understanding 1/e scott o. lilienfeld steven jay lynn laura namy nancy...

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