1. Chapter 8: Language and Thought

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)

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

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

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

6. Overview of Typical Language Development

7. Language Development: Milestones Continued
18-24 months – vocabulary spurt, receptive vocab (understanding) is greater then productive 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)

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)

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

10. Age and second language learning

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

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

13. Interactionist theories of language acquisition

14. Thinking
Thinking refers to mental activities used to reason or reflect
Mental Representations: representations of knowledge & thought. Two type:
1) Analogical: the representation has some of the qualities
of the thing it represents
2) Symbolic: the representation has none of the qualities of
the thing it represents

15. Thinking
Visual Imagery: representations of sensory experience that occur in the brain w/out the presence of sensory input.
Concept Formation: mental classification of objects & events based on common features
1) Concept: a class or category w/ individuals or subtypes (birds)
2) Prototype: the best example of a concept (sparrow)

16. 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

17. Six standard problems used in studies of problem solving

18. The tower of Hanoi problem

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. Decision Making: Evaluating Alternatives & Making Choices
Framing: the way a problem is posed affects the
perception of how
Theory of Bounded Rationality: people use
simple strategies that focus on a few facts of available option which leads to irrational decisions (Simon)
Making Choices
Additive strategies: list positives of two things
Elimination by aspects

23. Application of the additive model to choosing an apartment

24. Taking Chances
Risky Decision Making: making choices under uncertain conditions
Expected Value: engage in activity only if we except to win or gain something. (gambling)
Subjective Utility: represents what an outcome is personally worth to a person (having insurance)
Subjective Probability: personal estimates of probabilities if actual probability is not available.

25. Heuristics in Judging Probabilities
Availability Heuristic: estimating the probability based on instances that come to mind
Representativeness Heuristic: estimates the probability based on how similar it is to a typical prototype
Tendency to Ignore Base Rates: pg 326
Conjunction Fallacy: people estimate the odds of 2 uncertain events happening together are greater then happening alone
Alternative Outcomes Effect: beliefs about outcomes change depending how the info is presented

26. The Conjunction Fallacy

27. Understanding Pitfalls in Reasoning About Decisions
Reasoning: the determination of the conclusions that can be drawn from examples or assertions
1) Inductive Reasoning: the construction of conclusions
from particular examples
2) Deductive Reasoning: the process of deciding
whether a conclusion can be drawn from the premises or facts
The gambler’s fallacy
Overestimating the improbable
Confirmation bias and belief perseverance
The overconfidence effect