The exam will consist of two parts. The first is an ongoing work (e.g. presentation during the lessons, writing a
project, etc.) based on research articles. The second is a written test with open questions (duration 1h, 3
questions).
Oct 2
Language = species-specific comm sys. both bio and social
Linguistics = scientific study of language
levels of description
I. phonetics = physical form and production of speech sounds
II. phonology = abstract regularities characterizing speech sounds
III. morphology = shape and internal structure of words
IV. syntax = structure of sentences
V. semantics = meaning of words and sentences
levels of analysis/disciplines
I. pragmatics = the use of lang in interactions
II. psycho & neurolinguistics = how lang is processed and represented in the mind/brain
III. typology = variation across langs
IV. historical linguistics = language (change) over time
V. sociolinguistics = use of lang in society
VI. discourse analysis = analysis of linguistic units above the sentence (texts, dialogues, etc.)
linguistic signs
I. symbols: most words. ex: dog
II. icons: onomatopoeic words. ex: woof woof
Oct 9
ways to measure and conduct experiments with infants
I. conditioned head turn: head turn to a stim conditioned by reward
➢ used to test discrimination
➢ intermediate attrition rates
II. eye tracking: measures eye mvmts and fixations on screen
III. EEG/ERP (event-related potentials): measures change in the electric field related to neural
activity
➢ non-invasive, easy to apply
➢ limitation: sensitive to mvmt artifacts
IV. NIRS: measures concentration changes in oxyHb and deoxyHB related to neural activity
➢ non-invasive, easy to apply
Oct 15
Nativist theories - human knowledge and concepts are mostly innate
I. descartes: certainty can only comes from the thinking subject
➢ “i am thinking therefore i am”
II. fodor: all concepts are innate. no learning is ever possible beyond simple combination
III. chomsky: domain-specific learning mech
Empiricist theories (behaviourist) - human knowledge and concepts derive from exp
➢ John Locke, Berkeley, David Hume
➢ different forms of conditioning and imitation
, Intermediate theories: neuroconstructivism, core knowledge theory
➢ Piaget: there are innate concepts and others that get acquired through stages of development
AI: first talk about AI was in 1943. films aided in speeding up the process and popularity of AI
- Turing test = a deceptively simple method of determining whether a machine can demonstrate
human intelligence: If a machine can engage in a conversation with a human without being
detected as a machine, it has demonstrated human intelligence
Large Language Model (LLM): deep learning algorithm that summarizes, translate, predict and
generate human-sounding text
I. closed-source: not accessible, not democratic, don’t know how it really works. ex: chatGPT
II. open-source: can be downloaded and modified
the mechanism of LLM: AI > Machine Learning > Neural Networks > Transformers > LLMs
- compare a bunch of data and pulls out similarities then makes predictions
Demszky et al. 2023
- fine-tuning (only for open-sourced models): can only upload documents that are specific to a
domain.
- prompt-tuning: when the model changes its mind and/or when you keep on sending the same
prompt but provide feedback to the model so that it gives you the answer you are looking for
uses in psych: diagnostic tool
LLMs are still very limited and do not reflect the human mind. the best way to utilize the tool is to
understand the limitations.
Oct 16
Language for babies is a physical and concrete input. for non-hearing babies, the language can be
visual (sign language) but either way, it is always physical. this is only applicable for humans, animals
have a different mechanism.
Human language vs Animal communication
- human = open system: can have new words and can express any meaning. double articulation
- animal = closed, predetermined meanings. single articulation (a list of items)
the induction problem/poverty of stimulus: infinite possibilities for a data set
- chomsky claims that babies have innate ways to select the correct possibility/rule
- berko: the “wug” test. proves that it is not imitation but rather an understanding of plural rule
(there are two wugs)
states in life - universal biological foundations
1. birth - 1yr = universal perceptual abilities
2. 1 yr - 5yr = native language acquisition. rapid, implicit, critical period
3. puberty + = L2 learning. slow, effortful, not super native/a small accent will be there
➢ sex hormones during puberty remodels the brain so it is more difficult to learn
to support the critical period theory
- isolated children. the 6yo child was able to acquire language whereas the 13yo and 31yo
could not
project, etc.) based on research articles. The second is a written test with open questions (duration 1h, 3
questions).
Oct 2
Language = species-specific comm sys. both bio and social
Linguistics = scientific study of language
levels of description
I. phonetics = physical form and production of speech sounds
II. phonology = abstract regularities characterizing speech sounds
III. morphology = shape and internal structure of words
IV. syntax = structure of sentences
V. semantics = meaning of words and sentences
levels of analysis/disciplines
I. pragmatics = the use of lang in interactions
II. psycho & neurolinguistics = how lang is processed and represented in the mind/brain
III. typology = variation across langs
IV. historical linguistics = language (change) over time
V. sociolinguistics = use of lang in society
VI. discourse analysis = analysis of linguistic units above the sentence (texts, dialogues, etc.)
linguistic signs
I. symbols: most words. ex: dog
II. icons: onomatopoeic words. ex: woof woof
Oct 9
ways to measure and conduct experiments with infants
I. conditioned head turn: head turn to a stim conditioned by reward
➢ used to test discrimination
➢ intermediate attrition rates
II. eye tracking: measures eye mvmts and fixations on screen
III. EEG/ERP (event-related potentials): measures change in the electric field related to neural
activity
➢ non-invasive, easy to apply
➢ limitation: sensitive to mvmt artifacts
IV. NIRS: measures concentration changes in oxyHb and deoxyHB related to neural activity
➢ non-invasive, easy to apply
Oct 15
Nativist theories - human knowledge and concepts are mostly innate
I. descartes: certainty can only comes from the thinking subject
➢ “i am thinking therefore i am”
II. fodor: all concepts are innate. no learning is ever possible beyond simple combination
III. chomsky: domain-specific learning mech
Empiricist theories (behaviourist) - human knowledge and concepts derive from exp
➢ John Locke, Berkeley, David Hume
➢ different forms of conditioning and imitation
, Intermediate theories: neuroconstructivism, core knowledge theory
➢ Piaget: there are innate concepts and others that get acquired through stages of development
AI: first talk about AI was in 1943. films aided in speeding up the process and popularity of AI
- Turing test = a deceptively simple method of determining whether a machine can demonstrate
human intelligence: If a machine can engage in a conversation with a human without being
detected as a machine, it has demonstrated human intelligence
Large Language Model (LLM): deep learning algorithm that summarizes, translate, predict and
generate human-sounding text
I. closed-source: not accessible, not democratic, don’t know how it really works. ex: chatGPT
II. open-source: can be downloaded and modified
the mechanism of LLM: AI > Machine Learning > Neural Networks > Transformers > LLMs
- compare a bunch of data and pulls out similarities then makes predictions
Demszky et al. 2023
- fine-tuning (only for open-sourced models): can only upload documents that are specific to a
domain.
- prompt-tuning: when the model changes its mind and/or when you keep on sending the same
prompt but provide feedback to the model so that it gives you the answer you are looking for
uses in psych: diagnostic tool
LLMs are still very limited and do not reflect the human mind. the best way to utilize the tool is to
understand the limitations.
Oct 16
Language for babies is a physical and concrete input. for non-hearing babies, the language can be
visual (sign language) but either way, it is always physical. this is only applicable for humans, animals
have a different mechanism.
Human language vs Animal communication
- human = open system: can have new words and can express any meaning. double articulation
- animal = closed, predetermined meanings. single articulation (a list of items)
the induction problem/poverty of stimulus: infinite possibilities for a data set
- chomsky claims that babies have innate ways to select the correct possibility/rule
- berko: the “wug” test. proves that it is not imitation but rather an understanding of plural rule
(there are two wugs)
states in life - universal biological foundations
1. birth - 1yr = universal perceptual abilities
2. 1 yr - 5yr = native language acquisition. rapid, implicit, critical period
3. puberty + = L2 learning. slow, effortful, not super native/a small accent will be there
➢ sex hormones during puberty remodels the brain so it is more difficult to learn
to support the critical period theory
- isolated children. the 6yo child was able to acquire language whereas the 13yo and 31yo
could not
