Chapter 8/language and thought

what is language/use of symbols to communicate meaning

structure of language

phonemes

morphemes

grammar

semantics

syntax

pragmatics

 

milestones in language development

pattern of language development is consistent for all infants

babbling

holophrases

telegraphic speech

 

bilingualism/learning more than one language

what is the appropriate stage for language development/what are the implications for teaching language in schools?

 

can animals develop language?

research on animal intelligence and communication/do animals possess language capabilities?

 

evolutionary context of language development

theories of language acquisition

nature/Chomsky/language acquisition device (LAD)/born with genetic predisposition for learning structures of one’s language/precludes the fact that there are critical periods for language development

nurture/Skinner/behaviorism/principles of reinforcement in learning language through the operant conditioning procedure of shaping

 

culture/language/thought

thinking and language/whorf’s linguistic hypothesis and relationship between thought and language

how much does language determine thought?

 

problem solving/search of solutions

types of problems

barriers to effective problem solving

functional fixedness

mental sets

approaches to problem solving/algorithm method versus heuristic method

culture and cognitive style to problem solving

 

 

decision making/choices and chances

making choices/selecting from alternatives

factors weighted in risky decisions

heuristics in judging probabilities

tendency to ignore base rates

conjunction fallacy

alternative outcomes effect

gambler’s fallacy

law of small numbers

confirmation bias

belief perseverance

overconfidence effect

hindsight bias

framing

 

 

 

 

(7) describe artificial intelligence, and contrast the human mind and the computer as information processors