SHS 367 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH GRADED A+
SOLUTIONS, UPDATED 2026,
GUARANTEED SUCCESS
The Functions of Language
Language serves as the multi-tool of human cognition and social life:
Communication: The primary transfer of data.
Maintain Social Ties: Building rapport (e.g., "How are you?").
Relieve Nervous Energy or Emotions: Using "vocal grooming" or
exclamations to vent stress.
Help Us Think: Internal monologue and problem-solving.
Establish Identity: Using specific vocabulary, accents, or dialects to signal
who we are and where we belong.
Wilhelm Wundt: The Introspectionist
Wundt is often called the "Father of Experimental Psychology."
Key Contribution: He argued that mental properties are worth studying.
Introspection: He believed we could understand the mind by having
subjects carefully report their internal sensations and thoughts.
Legacy: His work laid the groundwork for the Cognitive Revolution, which
later moved away from purely observable behavior to look back inside the
"black box" of the human mind.
B.F. Skinner: The Behaviorist
Skinner took the opposite approach to Wundt, focusing entirely on observable
actions.
, Behaviorism and Language
Skinner viewed language not as a mental process, but as a verbal behavior. He
believed everything could be explained through stimulus-response associations.
Associative Chain Theory
Skinner proposed that we learn sentences as chains.
The Idea: We learn that certain words frequently follow others. A sentence
is "grammatical" simply because the words are in a frequently encountered
order.
Example: If you hear "The boy hits the..." your brain predicts "ball" because
of the frequency of that chain in your environment.
Skinner’s Language Assumptions
1. Language is Learned: It is not innate; it is acquired entirely from the
environment.
2. Stimulus-Response: Words are prompted by external stimuli (seeing an
apple) and rewarded by a response (getting the apple).
3. Shaping: Language is refined over time through imitation of adults and
reinforcement (praise or getting what you want) from caregivers.
Chomsky
arguments against Skinner (Poverty of stimulus argument)
language assumptions
universal grammar
linguistic competence vs. performance -ANSWER✔✔Poverty of stimulus
argument-we aren't exposed to all possible sentences
-language is innate
-language is creative
-Universal grammar=knowledge of grammar underlying all languages
ANSWERS WITH GRADED A+
SOLUTIONS, UPDATED 2026,
GUARANTEED SUCCESS
The Functions of Language
Language serves as the multi-tool of human cognition and social life:
Communication: The primary transfer of data.
Maintain Social Ties: Building rapport (e.g., "How are you?").
Relieve Nervous Energy or Emotions: Using "vocal grooming" or
exclamations to vent stress.
Help Us Think: Internal monologue and problem-solving.
Establish Identity: Using specific vocabulary, accents, or dialects to signal
who we are and where we belong.
Wilhelm Wundt: The Introspectionist
Wundt is often called the "Father of Experimental Psychology."
Key Contribution: He argued that mental properties are worth studying.
Introspection: He believed we could understand the mind by having
subjects carefully report their internal sensations and thoughts.
Legacy: His work laid the groundwork for the Cognitive Revolution, which
later moved away from purely observable behavior to look back inside the
"black box" of the human mind.
B.F. Skinner: The Behaviorist
Skinner took the opposite approach to Wundt, focusing entirely on observable
actions.
, Behaviorism and Language
Skinner viewed language not as a mental process, but as a verbal behavior. He
believed everything could be explained through stimulus-response associations.
Associative Chain Theory
Skinner proposed that we learn sentences as chains.
The Idea: We learn that certain words frequently follow others. A sentence
is "grammatical" simply because the words are in a frequently encountered
order.
Example: If you hear "The boy hits the..." your brain predicts "ball" because
of the frequency of that chain in your environment.
Skinner’s Language Assumptions
1. Language is Learned: It is not innate; it is acquired entirely from the
environment.
2. Stimulus-Response: Words are prompted by external stimuli (seeing an
apple) and rewarded by a response (getting the apple).
3. Shaping: Language is refined over time through imitation of adults and
reinforcement (praise or getting what you want) from caregivers.
Chomsky
arguments against Skinner (Poverty of stimulus argument)
language assumptions
universal grammar
linguistic competence vs. performance -ANSWER✔✔Poverty of stimulus
argument-we aren't exposed to all possible sentences
-language is innate
-language is creative
-Universal grammar=knowledge of grammar underlying all languages
