Psychology Chapter 8
Language, thinking, and reasoning
How does language work?
Language- largely arbitrary system of communication that combines symbols in rule-based ways
to create meaning
o Transmission
o 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 language
4 levels of analysis- a dining analogy
o Phonemes- the sound ingredients
o Morphemes- the menu items
Smallest units of meaning
o Syntax- putting together a meal
Grammatical rules that dictate sentence construction
o Extra linguistic information- the overall dining experience
Social context, prior statements by others, nonverbal cues of speaker, etc
Where did language originate and why?
Language is costly
o It requires lengthy learning period and a vocal tract that puts us at risk for choking
o But it is adaptive because it allows us to convey complex thoughts
Studying language evolution is tricky
o Phonemes, words, syntax rules are largely arbitrary (don’t resemble the things to which
they refer)
How do children learn language?
Babbling- intentional vocalizations that lack specific meaning
o Becomes gradually more complex over first year with increasing control of vocal tracts
Figuring out phonemes
o Begin with basic global phoneme categories
o By 10 months, phonemes are similar to adult speakers of native languages
Learning words
o Comprehension of name begins as early as 6 months
o First words produced near first birthday
Pronunciation errors
o Common, usually related to production difficulty with complex sounds
Errors in word meaning
o Over-and-under generalizations
Syntactic development
, o Holophrases- single-word phrases used in early development to convey an entire
thought (e.g. “Ballon!” for “I want a balloon!”)
o Kids understand basic syntactic rules before they can produce them
Theoretical accounts of language acquisition
Imitation account- learning through imitation
o However language is generative
Nativist account- we come into the world knowing how language works
Noam Chomsky and the language acquisition device
o Brain “organ” in which knowledge of syntax resides
o Not easily falsifiable
Social Pragmatics account- children infer what words and sentences mean from context and
social interactions
o But do young children really know what others think?
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
o However children learn language better than adults, but adults are better at learning
things generally
o Specific brain areas are recruited during language, which are not recruited for other
cognitive activities
Non-human animal communication
Differs in type and complexity
o Scent marking vs visual display vs location of food or predator identification
o Aggression and mating are when communication is most common
Teaching human language to non-human animals
Chimps’ vocal apparatus differs; researchers use a lexigram board, however;
o Word learning is difficult
o Requires thousands of trials with rewards
o Chimps don’t point and label objects, just request reinforcing items. Never master
syntactic rules.
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
Special cases of language learning
Sign language- developed by members of deaf communities, visual form of communication
o Has own phonemes, words, syntax, extra linguistic information
o Same brain areas for spoken language
o Babies who are deaf pass through the same stages of language development, at the
same ages, as hearing babies
Myths about sign language
Language, thinking, and reasoning
How does language work?
Language- largely arbitrary system of communication that combines symbols in rule-based ways
to create meaning
o Transmission
o 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 language
4 levels of analysis- a dining analogy
o Phonemes- the sound ingredients
o Morphemes- the menu items
Smallest units of meaning
o Syntax- putting together a meal
Grammatical rules that dictate sentence construction
o Extra linguistic information- the overall dining experience
Social context, prior statements by others, nonverbal cues of speaker, etc
Where did language originate and why?
Language is costly
o It requires lengthy learning period and a vocal tract that puts us at risk for choking
o But it is adaptive because it allows us to convey complex thoughts
Studying language evolution is tricky
o Phonemes, words, syntax rules are largely arbitrary (don’t resemble the things to which
they refer)
How do children learn language?
Babbling- intentional vocalizations that lack specific meaning
o Becomes gradually more complex over first year with increasing control of vocal tracts
Figuring out phonemes
o Begin with basic global phoneme categories
o By 10 months, phonemes are similar to adult speakers of native languages
Learning words
o Comprehension of name begins as early as 6 months
o First words produced near first birthday
Pronunciation errors
o Common, usually related to production difficulty with complex sounds
Errors in word meaning
o Over-and-under generalizations
Syntactic development
, o Holophrases- single-word phrases used in early development to convey an entire
thought (e.g. “Ballon!” for “I want a balloon!”)
o Kids understand basic syntactic rules before they can produce them
Theoretical accounts of language acquisition
Imitation account- learning through imitation
o However language is generative
Nativist account- we come into the world knowing how language works
Noam Chomsky and the language acquisition device
o Brain “organ” in which knowledge of syntax resides
o Not easily falsifiable
Social Pragmatics account- children infer what words and sentences mean from context and
social interactions
o But do young children really know what others think?
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
o However children learn language better than adults, but adults are better at learning
things generally
o Specific brain areas are recruited during language, which are not recruited for other
cognitive activities
Non-human animal communication
Differs in type and complexity
o Scent marking vs visual display vs location of food or predator identification
o Aggression and mating are when communication is most common
Teaching human language to non-human animals
Chimps’ vocal apparatus differs; researchers use a lexigram board, however;
o Word learning is difficult
o Requires thousands of trials with rewards
o Chimps don’t point and label objects, just request reinforcing items. Never master
syntactic rules.
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
Special cases of language learning
Sign language- developed by members of deaf communities, visual form of communication
o Has own phonemes, words, syntax, extra linguistic information
o Same brain areas for spoken language
o Babies who are deaf pass through the same stages of language development, at the
same ages, as hearing babies
Myths about sign language
