Language Development What is language? It’s written, spoken, and symbolic communication between individuals or groups. Grammar – Rules of language Syntax – Rules for words Semantics – Deriving meaning from sound Surface structure: Literal meaning Deep structure: Intended or Implied meaning.

A little history B.F. Skinner: Claimed that all learning was random and could only be held due to rewards that the organism sustained. Imitation, association, reinforcement Chomsky: Said that that language was acquired too quickly to be conditioning alone. Perhaps, he felt, we have an innate sense of how words are supposed to go together. Linneberg: Critical Period. We do have a faculty for language, but only a certain time period to master it. After this mastery is no longer possible. Cognitivists: Neural networks that do highly advanced statistical analysis on the recurrence of certain sounds and syllables.

Feral Children? Can the “Jungle Book” be true? Benjamin Whorf (1956). Linguistic relativism Does language determine what we think? Do we think and then put names to objects, or must we name the thing before we can think of it? Whorf said that we must NAME the object first, before we can think of it. Think about being abducted by aliens, taken to their planet. Now you’ve returned and must explain to your Earth friends what you saw? What would your story sound like? Isaac Asimov stated that if we came into contact with real aliens, their technology would appear to us as “magic.”

Ko-Ko The Gorilla Ko-Ko was a gorilla who was taken from the wild at a young age. She was taught ASL and learned to communicate with humans this way. Without being rewarded, she could point to (or ask for) a banana. She knew where she was. However, it could never be proven beyond a doubt that Ko-Ko wasn’t just doing fairly random signs and the care-takers just knew what she meant (or wanted). …..so the Story ends like this….. What do you think? Is there a way to really prove that Ko-Ko was speaking her mind?

On achievement tests and IQ tests, people who are bilingual outscore monolingual individuals. Prototypes: These are objects that encompass all of the basic details of an object. Think “Chair” and Men in Black. Deductive reasoning: Going from a large concept to one individual (like Sherlock Holmes) Inductive reasoning: Going from one specific individual to a general topic Heuristic: A problem solving “short cut” that has worked for you before (like Wikipedia) Algorithm: A problem solving technique where every single permutation must be done to find ALL possible outcomes. Guaranteed to find the answer

Obstacles to Problem solving Confirmation bias: Seek only info that confirms your view Mental set: Repeatedly approaching a problem from one direction only Fixation: Inability to see a problem from a different point of view Functional fixedness: To perceive a problem as immovable Mental set: Limits what we see (sometimes everything is a problem – even if it’s not). Someone tries to help you and you tell them to go away Overconfidence: Willingness to believe that we are correct (instead of the possibility that we might be wrong)

Belief Bias: When our beliefs distort our logic and we believe something that is highly unlikely to be true. Belief Perseverance: When we cling to a position even in the face of contrary evidence

Creative People Enjoy the creative process (not always the outcome) Incubation, Illumination, Translation Divergent thinking Are experts in their field Open to new experience Independent minded Intrinsic motivation Perseverence

Savant Syndrome Some individuals with Autism can do one thing really well, but can’t take care of themselves enough to be independent (“Rain Man.”) Not all autistic persons are Savants Examples Music Painting Birthdays Distances to local hotels

How Smart are YOU! Which of the following KILL more people each year? All accidents or Stroke Homicides in the U.S. or Diabetes Cancer digestive tract or Motor vehicle accidents Appendicitis or Lightning strikes Drowning or Leukemia

Which Country has a LARGER population? Morocco or Saudi Arabia Vietnam or South Africa Sri Lanka or Libya

Which City has a higher CRIME rate Detroit MI or Gary IN Manhattan NYC or San Juan PR Dallas TX or Flint MI