PSYC 1020H Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Functional Fixedness, Kanzi, Linguistic Relativity
3 May 2018
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Language and Thought
Language: Turning Thoughts into Words
● Languages are symbolic, semantic, generative, and structured. Human
languages are structured hierarchically. At the bottom of the hierarchy are the
basic sound units, called phonemes. At the next level are morphemes, the
smallest units of meaning.
● Children typically utter their first words around their first birthday. Vocabulary
growth is slow at first, but a vocabulary spurt often begins at around 18-24
months. Children begin to combine words by the end of the of the second year.
Their early sentences are telegraphic, in that they omit many nonessential words.
Over the next several years, children gradually learn the complexities of syntax.
● Research does not support the assumption that bilingualism has a negative
effect on language development or on cognitive development.
● Sue Savage-Rumbaugh’s work with Kanzi suggest that some animals are
capable of some genuine language acquisition. Many theorists believe that
humans special talent for language is the product of natural selection.
● According to Skinner and other behaviourist, children acquire a language through
imitation and reinforcement. Nativist theories assert that humans have an innate
capacity to learn language rules. Today, theorists are moving toward
interactionist perspectives, which emphasize the role of both biology and
experience. The evidence supports only a weak version of the linguistic relativity
hypothesis.
Problem Solving: In search of solutions
● Psychologists have differentiated among several types of problems, including
problems of inducing structure, problems of transformation, and problems of
arrangement. Common barriers to problem solving include functional fixedness,
mental set, getting bogged down in irrelevant information, and placing
unnecessary constraints on one’s solutions.
● A variety of strategies, or heuristics, are used for solving problems, including trial
and error, forming subgoals, working backward, searching for analogies, and
changing the representation of a problem.
● Some cultures encourage a field-dependent cognitive style, whereas other foster
more field independence. People who are field independent tend to analyze and
restructure problems more than those who are holistic cognitive style, whereas
western cultures display a more analytic cognitive style.
Document Summary
Languages are symbolic, semantic, generative, and structured. At the bottom of the hierarchy are the basic sound units, called phonemes. At the next level are morphemes, the smallest units of meaning. Children typically utter their first words around their first birthday. Vocabulary growth is slow at first, but a vocabulary spurt often begins at around 18-24 months. Children begin to combine words by the end of the of the second year. Their early sentences are telegraphic, in that they omit many nonessential words. Over the next several years, children gradually learn the complexities of syntax. Research does not support the assumption that bilingualism has a negative effect on language development or on cognitive development. Sue savage-rumbaugh"s work with kanzi suggest that some animals are capable of some genuine language acquisition. Many theorists believe that humans special talent for language is the product of natural selection. According to skinner and other behaviourist, children acquire a language through imitation and reinforcement.
