PSYC 1101 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Language Acquisition Device, Behaviorism, Noam Chomsky

• School: Northeastern University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1101
• Professor: Frank Naarendorp

Document Summary

Crit. for behaviorist theory of language -- says child learns through imitation, gets everything from the parents. But it"s clear that sometimes a kid speaks grammatically incorrect. So everyone must have their own spontaneous stuff that they bring. You don"t sit down and teach a child how to speak. The theory cannot explain these sorts of things: behaviorist theory of language. Chomsky - language acquisition device = something in the brain that we are born with, that develops language. Telegraphic speech - you use as few words as possible to express something (babies!) Where you pay per word so you reduce the number of words you use. Control of movement head->toes <<<outward << proximal. Culturally acquired skills include dancing, basketball (you"re not born as a football star) The skill to judge something like quantity, in an abstract matter (think tall and.