PSYC 140 Practice Questions and Answers|2025
Update|100% Correct.
Q1. Several researchers have argued for a critical or sensitive periods for the acquisition of
language. Describe three different pieces of evidence for critical periods. For what aspects of
language do critical period effects seem to be strongest and weakest?
Case Studies of Children with Limited Early Language Exposure (Victor and Genie):
-Victor, the Wild Child of Aveyron: Discovered at around 12 years old, Victor had lived in the
forests of southern France with no human contact. Despite efforts by Jean Marc Gaspard Itard,
Victor never fully developed language abilities, indicating a missed critical period.
-Genie: Found at 13 after extreme isolation and abuse. While her non-linguistic cognitive
abilities improved to the level of an 8-year-old, her language skills, particularly in grammar and
syntax, lagged significantly. Despite intensive training, Genie never fully acquired the
grammatical aspects of language, suggesting that early exposure is crucial for full language
development.
Acquisition of ASL After the Critical Period:
-Early exposure leads to better mastery of its structure. Those who start learning ASL later
struggle to match the fluency of early learners. critical period for spoken languages and for sign
languages.
Invention of Nicaraguan Sign Language:
-This case demonstrates the innate capacity for language creation in children. When groups of
deaf children in Nicaragua, who had no previous exposure to an established sign language,
were brought together, they spontaneously created a new sign language. Younger children
developed more complex and fluent forms of this language, suggesting a critical period effect
for the creation and acquisition of language.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Critical Period Effects:
-Strongest in Grammar and Syntax
-Weakest in Vocabulary and Pragmatics
,Q2a. Describe Vygotsky's view of the relation between language and thought in
development. Why, in Vygostky's account does language provide a special boost to the
nature of thought? How are Vygostky's views different from those of Whorf? Are they
compatible or is there a tension between them? Explain your view in detail with concrete
examples.
Mediation Role of Language: language serves as a fundamental tool that mediates the
relationship between the individual and their environment. children learn to regulate their
behavior and internalize external information
Social Origins of Individual Thinking: all higher cognitive functions originate in social
interactions. language acquisition begins as a means of communication and gradually becomes
internalized as private speech (self-talk), which is pivotal for cognitive development.
Language as a Cultural Tool: language carries the knowledge and values of a particular
community
Boost to Thought: enables higher cognitive processes, such as abstract thinking, planning, and
conscious awareness. provides categories and concepts that are used to process information
and solve problems.
Q2b. Describe Vygotsky's view of the relation between language and thought in
development. Why, in Vygostky's account does language provide a special boost to the
nature of thought? How are Vygostky's views different from those of Whorf? Are they
compatible or is there a tension between them? Explain your view in detail with concrete
examples.
Difference from Whorf's Views
Benjamin Lee Whorf's theory, often referred to as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, suggests
that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition. Whorf argued that
different language structures lead to different ways of understanding and experiencing the
world.
-Language Determines Thought: -Specificity of Language Influence: specific language structures
(such as grammar, vocabulary) influence specific patterns of thought and perception
, Compatibility and Tension as similarity
Compatibility: significant role of language in shaping cognitive processes, language and thought
are interrelated and that language is not merely a tool for expressing pre-existing thoughts
Tension: Vygotsky focuses on the developmental and sociocultural aspects of how language
shapes thought, suggesting that thought evolves from social interactions. Whorf, on the other
hand, emphasizes how the structure of language itself influences cognitive processes and
perception. Vygotsky's theory suggests a more dynamic interaction between thought and
language, where thought can also influence language, while Whorf's theory posits a more
unidirectional influence from language to thought.
Concrete Examples
Vygotsky: A child learning to solve a puzzle might initially need verbal guidance from an adult.
As the child becomes more skilled, they begin to talk to themselves (private speech) to guide
their actions, demonstrating how language mediates the development of problem-solving skills.
Whorf: An English speaker and a Russian speaker, given their language's different treatments of
the concept of time (tenses in English vs. aspect in Russian), might perceive and cognitively
process temporal aspects of events differently.
Q3. Piaget argued that, prior to a certain age, the child is incapable of transitive reasoning;
but others have argued that, with the right task manipulations, much younger children are
capable of transitive reasoning. From the viewpoint of such a later task, why were the
children failing when Piaget assessed them? How might a supporter of the traditional
Piagetian view respond to these later studies of apparently precocious transitive reasoning?
Piaget's theory on transitive reasoning posits that children in the preoperational stage (roughly
ages 2-7) lack the cognitive structures necessary for understanding transitive relations. It's only
in the concrete operational stage (starting around age 7) that children develop the ability to
understand and apply transitive reasoning, which involves recognizing relationships among
various elements in a logical sequence. For instance, if A is greater than B, and B is greater than
C, then A is greater than C. This discrepancy between Piaget's findings and later studies can be
attributed to several factors:
-Task Complexity and Familiarity: Piaget's original tasks might have been too complex or
Update|100% Correct.
Q1. Several researchers have argued for a critical or sensitive periods for the acquisition of
language. Describe three different pieces of evidence for critical periods. For what aspects of
language do critical period effects seem to be strongest and weakest?
Case Studies of Children with Limited Early Language Exposure (Victor and Genie):
-Victor, the Wild Child of Aveyron: Discovered at around 12 years old, Victor had lived in the
forests of southern France with no human contact. Despite efforts by Jean Marc Gaspard Itard,
Victor never fully developed language abilities, indicating a missed critical period.
-Genie: Found at 13 after extreme isolation and abuse. While her non-linguistic cognitive
abilities improved to the level of an 8-year-old, her language skills, particularly in grammar and
syntax, lagged significantly. Despite intensive training, Genie never fully acquired the
grammatical aspects of language, suggesting that early exposure is crucial for full language
development.
Acquisition of ASL After the Critical Period:
-Early exposure leads to better mastery of its structure. Those who start learning ASL later
struggle to match the fluency of early learners. critical period for spoken languages and for sign
languages.
Invention of Nicaraguan Sign Language:
-This case demonstrates the innate capacity for language creation in children. When groups of
deaf children in Nicaragua, who had no previous exposure to an established sign language,
were brought together, they spontaneously created a new sign language. Younger children
developed more complex and fluent forms of this language, suggesting a critical period effect
for the creation and acquisition of language.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Critical Period Effects:
-Strongest in Grammar and Syntax
-Weakest in Vocabulary and Pragmatics
,Q2a. Describe Vygotsky's view of the relation between language and thought in
development. Why, in Vygostky's account does language provide a special boost to the
nature of thought? How are Vygostky's views different from those of Whorf? Are they
compatible or is there a tension between them? Explain your view in detail with concrete
examples.
Mediation Role of Language: language serves as a fundamental tool that mediates the
relationship between the individual and their environment. children learn to regulate their
behavior and internalize external information
Social Origins of Individual Thinking: all higher cognitive functions originate in social
interactions. language acquisition begins as a means of communication and gradually becomes
internalized as private speech (self-talk), which is pivotal for cognitive development.
Language as a Cultural Tool: language carries the knowledge and values of a particular
community
Boost to Thought: enables higher cognitive processes, such as abstract thinking, planning, and
conscious awareness. provides categories and concepts that are used to process information
and solve problems.
Q2b. Describe Vygotsky's view of the relation between language and thought in
development. Why, in Vygostky's account does language provide a special boost to the
nature of thought? How are Vygostky's views different from those of Whorf? Are they
compatible or is there a tension between them? Explain your view in detail with concrete
examples.
Difference from Whorf's Views
Benjamin Lee Whorf's theory, often referred to as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, suggests
that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition. Whorf argued that
different language structures lead to different ways of understanding and experiencing the
world.
-Language Determines Thought: -Specificity of Language Influence: specific language structures
(such as grammar, vocabulary) influence specific patterns of thought and perception
, Compatibility and Tension as similarity
Compatibility: significant role of language in shaping cognitive processes, language and thought
are interrelated and that language is not merely a tool for expressing pre-existing thoughts
Tension: Vygotsky focuses on the developmental and sociocultural aspects of how language
shapes thought, suggesting that thought evolves from social interactions. Whorf, on the other
hand, emphasizes how the structure of language itself influences cognitive processes and
perception. Vygotsky's theory suggests a more dynamic interaction between thought and
language, where thought can also influence language, while Whorf's theory posits a more
unidirectional influence from language to thought.
Concrete Examples
Vygotsky: A child learning to solve a puzzle might initially need verbal guidance from an adult.
As the child becomes more skilled, they begin to talk to themselves (private speech) to guide
their actions, demonstrating how language mediates the development of problem-solving skills.
Whorf: An English speaker and a Russian speaker, given their language's different treatments of
the concept of time (tenses in English vs. aspect in Russian), might perceive and cognitively
process temporal aspects of events differently.
Q3. Piaget argued that, prior to a certain age, the child is incapable of transitive reasoning;
but others have argued that, with the right task manipulations, much younger children are
capable of transitive reasoning. From the viewpoint of such a later task, why were the
children failing when Piaget assessed them? How might a supporter of the traditional
Piagetian view respond to these later studies of apparently precocious transitive reasoning?
Piaget's theory on transitive reasoning posits that children in the preoperational stage (roughly
ages 2-7) lack the cognitive structures necessary for understanding transitive relations. It's only
in the concrete operational stage (starting around age 7) that children develop the ability to
understand and apply transitive reasoning, which involves recognizing relationships among
various elements in a logical sequence. For instance, if A is greater than B, and B is greater than
C, then A is greater than C. This discrepancy between Piaget's findings and later studies can be
attributed to several factors:
-Task Complexity and Familiarity: Piaget's original tasks might have been too complex or
