Thinking & Language (Chapter 10) Unit 5 Thinking & Language (Chapter 10)

Part 3 Thinking & Language

Language & Thinking Language and thinking intricately intertwine.

Language Influences Thinking Linguistic Determinism: Whorf (1956) suggested that language determines the way we think. Ex: Whorf noted that the Hopi people do not have the past tense for verbs. Therefore, the Hopi cannot think readily about the past. OBJECTIVE 14| Summarize Whorf’s linguistic determinism hypothesis, and comment on its standing in contemporary psychology.

Language Influences Thinking When language provides words for objects or events, we can think about these things more clearly & remember them. It is easier to think about two colors with two different names (A) than colors with the same name (B) (Özgen, 2004).

Linguistic Determinism Questioned To say language determines the way we think is too strong Although people from Papua New Guinea do not use our words for colors and shapes, they still perceive them as we do. But language definitely influences the way we think

Word Power Expanding language = expanding ability to think Very difficult to think about or conceptualize certain abstract ideas without language Increasing word power pays its dividends New words = new ideas & ways of thinking

Thinking & Language B/C of the subtle influence of words on thinking, we should choose our words carefully. Ex. Referring to women as girls Ex. Using the generic pronoun “he” Handout 10-11

We don’t think in words, when: Thinking in Images To a large extent thinking is language-based. When alone, we may talk to ourselves. However, we also think in images. We don’t think in words, when: OBJECTIVE 15| Discuss the value of thinking in images. 1. When we open the hot water tap. 2. When we are riding our bicycle.

Handout 10-12 Your task: Decide which item is bigger in each pair You have 25 seconds How many did you get? What’s the difference between the two lists? Conclusion: the decision time increases as the size difference between the 2 decreases

Images and the Brain Imagining a physical activity activates the same brain regions as when actually performing the activity. Mentally practicing an activity is an important part of getting better

Thinking in Images Taylor & colleagues at UCLA (1998) Outcome simulation: mentally pictured getting an A on a test for 5 minutes a day until the exam Added 2 points to their score Process simulation: mentally pictured the process of studying Started studying sooner, spent more time studying, & beat the control group by 8 points Conclusion: It is better to spend your time planning how to get somewhere than to dwell on the destination

Language and Thinking Traffic runs both ways between language and thinking. Thinking affects our language, which then affects our thought.