PSY 200 Study Guide - Final Guide: Universal Grammar, Language Development, Reinforcement
Document Summary
12-18 months: one word stage of speech, extend vocabulary dramatically. 2 years: start two-word sentences and move to three-word sentences. 3 years: create complex sentences and ask questions. 5 years: have acquired most of the grammatical rules of native language. Modeling and imitation seems to play a more important role, but it doesn"t explain everything. Children seem to analyze for themselves the underlying patterns of language to learn the governing rules. Evidence suggests that humans are innately "prewired" for language. Uncover genetic mechanisms behind some speech and language disorders. We are born with a built-in universal grammar, a mechanism that allows us to identify the basic dimensions of language. We don"t entirely learn language; we develop it as genetic predisposition interact with experience. Language development reflects the development of more general sensory, perceptual, and cognitive skills. We don"t inherit a single, specific "grammar gene" Easier to learn a third language late in life.
