Page 1 Chapter 8: Language and Thought

Page 2 The Cognitive Revolution Cognition: Mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge. 19th Century focus on the mind Introspection Behaviorist focus on overt responses arguments regarding incomplete picture of human functioning Empirical study of cognition – 1956 conference Simon and Newell – problem solving Chomsky – new model of language Miller – memory (7 +/-2)

Page 3 Language: Turning Thoughts into Words Properties of Language Symbolic: Use sounds/words to represent objects Semantic: Meaning Generative: Limited number of symbols can be combined & generate infinite combinations Structured: Rules that govern how you can arrange sentences

Page 4 The Hierarchical Structure of Language Phonemes = smallest speech units – 100 possible, English – about 40 Morphemes = smallest unit of meaning – 50,000 in English, root words, prefixes, suffixes Semantics = meaning of words and word combinations – Objects and actions to which words refer Syntax = a system of rules for arranging words into sentences – Different rules for different languages

Page 5 Language Development: Milestones Initial vocalizations similar across languages – Crying, cooing, babbling 6 months – babbling sounds begin to resemble surrounding language 1 year – first word – similar cross-culturally – words for parents – receptive vs. expressive language

Page 6 Overview of Typical Language Development

Page 7 Language Development: Milestones Continued months – vocabulary spurt, productive vocab (understanding) is greater then receptive vocab (spoken). – Fast Mapping: map a word onto an understanding concept after 1 exposure – Overextension: incorrectly use words to describe similar objects (ball: anything around) – Underextension: incorrectly use words to narrower set of objects (doll: their favorite doll)

Page 8 Language Development: Milestones Continued End of second year – combine words – Telegraphic Speech: omitting words that are less critical (Give Doll) – Mean Length of Utterance (MLU): average length of spoken statements (morphemes) End of third year – complex ideas, plural, past tense – Overregularization: grammar rules are incorrectly use (I goed to sleep) 4-5 years old- formal training in writing – Metalinguistic Awareness: to reflect on the use of language (coming up with jokes)

Page 9 Bilingualism: Learning More Than One Language Research findings: – Smaller vocabularies in one language, combined vocabularies average – Higher scores for middle-class bilingual subjects on cognitive flexibility, analytical reasoning, selective attention, and metalinguistic awareness – Slight disadvantage in terms of language processing speed – 2nd languages more easily acquired early in life – Acculturation: how much a person is socially & psychologically integrated into a new culture facilitates acquisition

Page 10 Figure 8.4 Age and second language learning

Page 11 Can Animals Develop Language? Dolphins, sea lions, parrots, chimpanzees – Vocal apparatus issue – American Sign Language Allen and Beatrice Gardner (1969) – Chimpanzee - Washoe – 160 word vocabulary Sue Savage-Rumbaugh – Bonobo chimpanzee - Kanzi – Symbols – Receptive language – 72% of 660 requests

Page 12 Theories of Language Acquisition Behaviorist – Skinner learning of specific verbal responses Nativist – Chomsky learning the rules of language Language Acquisition Device (LAD): innate mechanism that facilitates learning of language (biologically) Interactionist – Cognitive, social communication, and biological theories

Page 13 Interactionist theories of language acquisition

Page 14 Problem Solving: Types of Problems Greeno (1978) – three basic classes Problems of inducing structure – Series completion and analogy problems Problems of arrangement – String problem and Anagrams Often solved through insight Problems of transformation – Hobbits and orcs problem – Water jar problem

Page 15 Six standard problems used in studies of problem solving

Page 16 The tower of Hanoi problem

Page 17 Effective Problem Solving Well defined vs. ill defined problems Barriers to effective problem solving: – Irrelevant Information – Functional Fixedness: to see an item for only its most common use – Mental Set: when people use problem solving strategies that have worked in the past – Unnecessary Constraints

Page 18 Approaches to Problem Solving Problem Space: the set of possible pathways to a solution considered by the problem solver. Algorithms: method, step by step procedure in searching for a solution – Trial-&-Error: trying possible solutions & discarding those that don’t work until you find a solution. Heuristics: “rule of thumb” – Shortcuts – No guaranteed solution Forming subgoals Working backward Searching for analogies Changing the representation of a problem

Page 19 Figure 8.16 Representing the bird and train problem

Page 20 Culture, Cognitive Style, and Problem Solving Field dependence – relying on external frames of reference Field independence – relying on internal frames of reference – Western cultures inspire field independence – Cultural influence based in ecological demands Holistic vs. analytic cognitive styles

Page 21 Decision Making: Evaluating Alternatives and Making Choices Simon (1957) – theory of bounded rationality Making Choices – Additive strategies – Elimination by aspects – Risky decision making Expected value Subjective utility Subjective probability

Page 22 Table 8.3 Application of the additive model to choosing an apartment

Page 23 Heuristics in Judging Probabilities The availability heuristic The representativeness heuristic The tendency to ignore base rates The conjunction fallacy The alternative outcomes effect

Page 24 Figure 8.18 The conjunction fallacy

Page 25 Understanding Pitfalls in Reasoning About Decisions The gambler’s fallacy Overestimating the improbable Confirmation bias and belief perseverance The overconfidence effect Framing

Page 26 Evolutionary Analyses: Flaws in Decision Making and Fast and Frugal Heuristics Cosmides and Tooby (1996) – Unrealistic standard of rationality – Decision making evolved to handle real- world adaptive problems – Problem solving research based on contrived, artificial problems Gigerenzer (2000) – Quick and dirty heuristics – Less than perfect but adaptive