psychology: from inquiry to understanding 1/e scott o. lilienfeld steven jay lynn laura namy nancy...
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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
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
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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!”)
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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
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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)
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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
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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
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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
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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)
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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
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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.
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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.
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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
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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
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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
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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.
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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
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Cognitive EconomyCognitive EconomyImposing Order on the WorldImposing Order on the World
Top-down processing streamlines cognitive functioning by utilizing preexisting knowledge
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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
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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
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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.”
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