1. Chapter 8: Language and Thought

2. The Cognitive Revolution
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 – first computer program simulating human problem solving
Chomsky – new model that changed the study of language
Miller – famous paper arguing for the 7 plus or minus two capacity of STM
When psychology first emerged as an independent science, the focus was on the mind. Yet introspective methods yielded unreliable results.
The behaviorist focus on overt responses was empirically more sound, yet theorists argued that it provided an incomplete picture of human functioning.
Renegade theorists continued to study cognition, the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.
3 major advances in this empirical study were reported at a scientific conference in 1956, a watershed in the history of psychology.
Simon and Newell described the first computer program simulating human problem solving, Noam Chomsky outlined a new model that changed the study of language, and George Miller presented his famous paper arguing for the 7 plus or minus two capacity of STM.
Cognitive science has since grown into a robust, interdisciplinary field focusing on language, problem solving, decision-making, and reasoning.

3. Language: Turning Thoughts into Words
Cognitive science has since grown into a robust, interdisciplinary field focusing on language, problem solving, decision-making, and reasoning
Language is defined as consisting of symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining those symbols, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages.

4. Language: Turning Thoughts into Words
Properties of Language
Symbolic: people use spoken sounds and written words to represent objects, actions, events, and ideas
Semantic: meaningful
Generative: a limited number of symbols can be combined in an infinite number of ways to generate novel messages
Structured: there are rules that govern arrangement of words into phrases and sentences
Language is symbolic, that is, people use spoken sounds and written words to represent objects, actions, events, and ideas.
It is semantic, or meaningful.
It is generative, that is, a limited number of symbols can be combined in an infinite number of ways to generate novel messages.
It is structured; there are rules that govern arrangement of words into phrases and sentences.

5. The Hierarchical Structure of Language
Basic sounds are combined into units with meaning, which are combined into words, which are combined into phrases, which are combined into sentences.
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
(Verb or subject first in a sentence?)
Basic sounds are combined into units with meaning, which are combined into words, which are combined into phrases, which are combined into sentences.
Phonemes are the smallest units of speech. Research indicates that there are about 100 possible phonemes, but most languages use between 20-80, English about 40.
Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a language, consisting of root words, prefixes, and suffixes. S has meaning beyond being a letter (pluralization).
Semantics refer to the meaning of words and word combinations. Learning semantics involves learning the variety of objects and actions to which words refer.
Syntax is a system of rules for arranging words into sentences. Different languages have different rules. (Verb or subject first in a sentence?)

6. Language Development: Milestones
Initial vocalizations similar across languages
Crying, cooing, babbling (of all phonemes.)
6 months – babbling sounds begin to resemble surrounding language
1 year – first word
similar cross-culturally – usually dada, mama, papa, etc
While few words are spoken (expressive language) at this stage, research indicates that very young children may actually understand (receptive language) more language than they can produce.
Infant vocalizations are initially similar across languages, involving all phonemes. Infants cry, coo, and make repetitive babbling vocalizations of all phonemes.
By the age of 6 months, the babbling sounds being to resemble those of the infants’ surrounding language.
By the time an infant is 12 months of age, the first word is typically spoken, usually dada, mama, papa, etc. This is similar across cultures.
While few words are spoken (expressive language) at this stage, research indicates that very young children may actually understand (receptive language) more language than they can produce.

7. Language Development: Milestones Continued
18-24 months – vocabulary spurt, slow acquisition of new words suddenly spurts
fast mapping: process by which children map a word onto an underlying concept after only one exposure
Toddlers often make errors in using new words. Overextensions occur when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a wider set of objects or actions than it is meant to…using the word ball for anything round
At about the age of months, the previously very slow acquisition of new words suddenly spurts. This proceeds at a dizzying pace, by the first grade the average child has a vocabulary of approx. 10,000 words, by the 5th grade, 40,000. Some 2-year-olds learn as many as 20 new words a week.
Fast mapping is the process by which children map a word onto an underlying concept after only one exposure.
Toddlers often make errors in using new words. Overextensions occur when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a wider set of objects or actions than it is meant to…using the word ball for anything round.
Underextensions occur when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a narrower set of objects or actions than it is meant to…using the word doll only to refer to a favorite doll.

8. Language Development: Milestones Continued
End of second year – children begin combining words to produce meaningful sentences
These sentences are characterized as telegraphic, because they resemble telegrams, consisting mainly of content words, with articles, prepositions, and other less critical words omitted…ex., “Give doll,"
Researchers study the language of young children by calculating the MLU (mean length of utterance), the average length of their spoken statements (measured in morphemes).
By the end of the second year, children begin combining words to produce meaningful sentences. These sentences are characterized as telegraphic, because they resemble telegrams, consisting mainly of content words, with articles, prepositions, and other less critical words omitted…ex., “Give doll,"
Researchers study the language of young children by calculating the MLU (mean length of utterance), the average length of their spoken statements (measured in morphemes).

9. Language Development: Milestones Continued
End of third year – complex ideas, plural, past tense
Overregularization: generalizing grammatical rules incorrectly to irregular cases where they do not apply…”he goed home,” for example.
Years 4-5: Largest strides in developing language
By the end of the third year, children can express complex ideas; however, they continue to make mistakes such as overregularizing…generalizing grammatical rules incorrectly to irregular cases where they do not apply…”he goed home,” for example.

10. Table 8.2 Overview of Typical Language Development

11. 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
Greater acculturation facilitates acquisition
Acculturation is the degree to which a person is socially and psychologically integrated into a new culture
Does learning two languages simultaneously cause problems? There is little empirical evidence that learning two languages has a negative effect on language development.
Research findings are summarized on this slide.
Acculturation is the degree to which a person is socially and psychologically integrated into a new culture.

12. Figure 8.4 Age and second language learning

13. Can Animals Develop Language?
Researchers have attempted to teach language to a variety of animals, but the most success has been shown with chimpanzees.
Dolphins, sea lions, parrots, chimpanzees
One of the biggest problems in teaching human language to non-human animals is that the vocal apparatus is not the same
American Sign Language
Researchers have attempted to teach language to a variety of animals, but the most success has been shown with chimpanzees.
One of the biggest problems in teaching human language to non-human animals is that the vocal apparatus is not the same. Researchers, therefore, began to use ASL with chimpanzees.

14. Can Animals Develop Language?
Allen and Beatrice Gardner (1969)
Chimpanzee - Washoe
160 word vocabulary, combining them into simple sentences, but showing little evidence of mastering the rules of language
The Gardners were successful at teaching a chimpanzee, Washoe, to use ASL. In fact, Washoe developed a vocabulary of about 160 words, combining them into simple sentences, but showing little evidence of mastering the rules of language.

15. Can Animals Develop Language?
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
Bonobo chimpanzee – Kanzi
geometric symbols that represent words on a computer-monitored keyboard
the star pupil, has taught his younger sister much that he has learned about this system. Kanzi has acquired hundreds of words and has used them in thousands of combinations, many apparently spontaneous and rule governed
his receptive language appears much more developed, as he was able to carry out 72% of 660 spoken requests such as “Pour the Coke in the lemonade."
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and colleagues have reported striking advances with the bonobo pygmy chimpanzees. These bonobos have been trained to use geometric symbols that represent words on a computer-monitored keyboard. Kanzi, the star pupil, has taught his younger sister much that he has learned about this system. Kanzi has acquired hundreds of words and has used them in thousands of combinations, many apparently spontaneous and rule governed. In addition, his receptive language appears much more developed, as he was able to carry out 72% of 660 spoken requests such as “Pour the Coke in the lemonade."
Still, chimps by no means approach the language facility of a human toddler, suggesting an evolutionary basis for human language development.

16. Theories of Language Acquisition
Behaviorist
Skinner
B.F. Skinner from the Behaviorist School
Baby may imitate a parent.
If they are reinforced they keep saying the word.
If they are punished, they stop saying the word.
According to Skinner and the behaviorists, children acquire language through conditioning and imitation.
Nativist theorists, led by Noam Chomsky, assert that humans have an innate capacity to learn the rules of language, an LAD, which facilitates language development.

17. Theories of Language Acquisition
Nativist
Chomsky
assert that humans have an innate capacity to learn the rules of language
Language Acquisition Device (LAD): facilitates language development.
We learn language too quickly for it to be through reinforcement and punishment.

18. Theories of Language Acquisition
Interactionist: hold that biology and experience both make important contributions
Cognitive: asserts that language development is an important aspect of more general cognitive development, depending, like all development, on both maturation and experience.
Social communication: interpersonal communication has functional value and emphasizes the social context in which language evolves.
Interactionist theories hold that biology and experience both make important contributions. Two prominent interactionist theories are the cognitive and social communication theories.
Cognitive theory asserts that language development is an important aspect of more general cognitive development, depending, like all development, on both maturation and experience.
Social communication theory holds that interpersonal communication has functional value and emphasizes the social context in which language evolves.

19. Figure 8.5 Interactionist theories of language acquisition

20. Theories of Language Acquisition
Emergentist theories:
neural circuits supporting language are not prewired,
rather emerge gradually in response to learning experiences via incremental changes in connectionist networks
Emergentist theories hold that neural circuits supporting language are not prewired, but rather emerge gradually in response to learning experiences via incremental changes in connectionist networks.

21. Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity
The idea that language determines the way we think.
The Hopi tribe has no past tense in their language, so Whorf says they rarely think of the past.

22. Problem Solving: Types of Problems
Greeno (1978) – three basic classes
Problems of inducing structure
Series completion and analogy problems
where people are required to discover relations among numbers, words, symbols, or ideas
Problems of arrangement
String problem and Anagrams
where people arrange the parts of a problem in a way that satisfies some criterion. These types of problems are often solved by insight, a sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error
Jim Greeno, 1978, proposed that there are 3 basic types of problems:
Problems of inducing structure – where people are required to discover relations among numbers, words, symbols, or ideas.
Problems of arrangement – where people arrange the parts of a problem in a way that satisfies some criterion. These types of problems are often solved by insight, a sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error.

23. Problem Solving: Types of Problems
Problems of transformation
involve carrying out a sequence of transformations in order to reach a specific goal
Hobbits and orcs problem
Water jar problem
Problems of transformation – involve carrying out a sequence of transformations in order to reach a specific goal.
Examples of each of these are depicted in the following slides.

24. Figure 8.6 Six standard problems used in studies of problem solving

27. Effective Problem Solving
Well defined vs. ill defined problems
Problems vary in the degree to which they are well defined, where the initial state, the goal state, and the constraints are clearly specified;
most problems in the real world are ill-defined, that is, one or more elements among the initial state, the goal state, and the constraints are incompletely or unclearly specified.
Problems vary in the degree to which they are well defined, where the initial state, the goal state, and the constraints are clearly specified; most problems in the real world are ill-defined, that is, one or more elements among the initial state, the goal state, and the constraints are incompletely or unclearly specified.

28. Effective Problem Solving
Barriers to effective problem solving:
getting bogged down in Irrelevant Information
Functional Fixedness: the tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use
Mental Set: people persist in using problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past
Unnecessary Constraints: assuming unnecessary constraints on the problem
Common barriers to problem solving include getting bogged down in irrelevant information; functional fixedness, which is the tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use; mental set, which exists when people persist in using problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past; and assuming unnecessary constraints on the problem, as in the 9 dots problem and the matchstick problem depicted on the following slides.

29. Figure 8.12 The tower of Hanoi problem

33. Approaches to Problem Solving
Algorithms
A rule that guarantees the right solution to a problem.
Usually by using a formula.
They work but are sometimes impractical.
An algorithm is a methodical, step-by-step procedure for trying all possible alternatives in searching for a solution to a problem…guarantees a solution.

34. Guess my phone number using an algorithm.
Algorithms are slow, but eventually accurate. Computers use algorithms

35. Approaches to Problem Solving
Heuristics
Shortcuts, guiding principles or “rules of thumb” used in solving problems; no guaranteed success
Forming subgoals: allows one to solve part of the problem
Working backward: works well for a problem that has a specified end point
Searching for analogies: involves using a solution to a previous problem to solve a current one
Heuristics are guiding principles or “rules of thumb” used in solving problems…don’t guarantee success.
Formulating subgoals allows one to solve part of the problem, therefore moving toward success.
Working backward works well for a problem that has a specified end point.
Searching for analogies involves using a solution to a previous problem to solve a current one.
The following figure depicts the representation of a problem heuristic.

36. Heuristics Who would you trust to baby sit your child?
Your answer is based on your heuristic of their appearances.

37. Figure 8.16 Representing the bird and train problem

38. The caravan of a wealthy desert dweller is approaching an oasis after a long, hot day. He says to two of his lieutenant, To the one of you whose horse gets to the oasis last, I’ll give this camel laden with gold. Immediately they both stop. By the time the rear guard of the caravan reaches the two lieutenants, they have dismounted their horses and each is waiting on the sand for the other to become so hot and thirsty that getting to the oasis cannot be resisted. Finally, they tell the guard their dilemma and ask for help. He says two words to them, whereupon the lieutenants jump onto the horses and race toward the oasis. What did the guard tell them?

39. Switch Horses!

40. Culture, Cognitive Style, and Problem Solving
Some cultures foster field dependence, a reliance on external frames of reference.
Others foster field independence, reliance on internal frames of reference.
People who are field independent tend to analyze and restructure problems more than those who are field dependent.
Western cultures inspire field independence
Cultural influence based in ecological demands: the necessary survival skills in a culture
Some cultures, because of ecological demands (the necessary survival skills in a culture), foster field dependence, a reliance on external frames of reference.
Others foster field independence, reliance on internal frames of reference. People who are field independent tend to analyze and restructure problems more than those who are field dependent.

42. Culture, Cognitive Style, and Problem Solving
Holistic vs. analytic cognitive styles
Nisbett and colleagues (2001) argue that people from East Asian cultures display a holistic cognitive style – focusing on context and relationships among elements in a field (wholes).
People from Western cultures show an analytic cognitive style – focusing on objects and their properties rather than context (parts).
Nisbett argues that field-dependence/ independence is just one facet of a broader preference for holistic vs. analytic thinking
Nisbett and colleagues (2001) argue that people from East Asian cultures display a holistic cognitive style – focusing on context and relationships among elements in a field (wholes). People from Western cultures, alternatively, show an analytic cognitive style – focusing on objects and their properties rather than context (parts). While research shows that people from Eastern cultures are more field-dependent than those from Western cultures, Nisbett argues that field-dependence/independence is just one facet of a broader preference for holistic vs. analytic thinking.

43. Decision Making: Evaluating Alternatives and Making Choices
Simon (1957) – theory of bounded rationality
holds that human decision making strategies are simplistic and often yield irrational results
Making Choices
Additive strategies: used to make choices by rating the attributes of each alternative and selecting the alternative with most desirable attributes
Elimination by aspects: making choices by gradually eliminating unattractive alternatives
Simon’s theory of bounded rationality holds that human decision making strategies are simplistic and often yield irrational results.
Additive decision models are used to make choices by rating the attributes of each alternative and selecting the alternative with most desirable attributes.
Elimination by aspects involves making choices by gradually eliminating unattractive alternatives.

44. Decision Making: Evaluating Alternatives and Making Choices
Making Choices (cont.)
Research shows that people tend to use additive strategies when decisions involve relatively few options that need to be evaluated on only a few attributes
They shift to elimination by aspects when more options and factors are added to a decision making task
Research shows that people will often pursue useless information that will not alter their decisions when making choices
Research shows that people tend to use additive strategies when decisions involve relatively few options that need to be evaluated on only a few attributes, but shift to elimination by aspects when more options and factors are added to a decision making task.
Research shows that people will often pursue useless information that will not alter their decisions when making choices.
Risky decision making involves making choices under conditions of uncertainty.
Expected value involves what you stand to gain…subjective utility and subjective probability help explain why people engage in activities that violate expected value.
Subjective utility represents what an outcome is personally worth to an individual…insurance and sense of security.
Subjective probability involves personal estimates of probabilities…often quite inaccurate.

45. Decision Making: Evaluating Alternatives and Making Choices
Risky decision making: making choices under conditions of uncertainty
Expected value: involves what you stand to gain
Subjective utility: what an outcome is personally worth to an individual…insurance and sense of security
Subjective probability: involves personal estimates of probabilities…often quite inaccurate
Risky decision making involves making choices under conditions of uncertainty.
Expected value involves what you stand to gain…subjective utility and subjective probability help explain why people engage in activities that violate expected value.
Subjective utility represents what an outcome is personally worth to an individual…insurance and sense of security.
Subjective probability involves personal estimates of probabilities…often quite inaccurate.

46. Table 8.3 Application of the additive model to choosing an apartment

47. Heuristics in Judging Probabilities
The availability heuristic: involves basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind…
estimate divorce rate by recalling number of divorces among your friends’ parents
The availability heuristic involves basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind…estimate divorce rate by recalling number of divorces among your friends’ parents.
The representativeness heuristic involves basing the estimated probability of an event on how similar it is to the typical prototype of that event…this plays into the tendency to ignore base rates...guessing that Steve is a librarian because he looks like a librarian, even though you know that salespeople greatly outnumber librarians in the population.

48. Availability Heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in our memory.
Although diseases kill many more people than accidents, it has been shown that people will judge accidents and diseases to be equally fatal. This is because accidents are more dramatic and are often written up in the paper or seen on the news on TV., and are more available in memory than diseases.
If it comes to mind easily (maybe a vivid event) we presume it is common.

49. Representativeness Heuristic
Below is Linda. She loves books and hates loud noises. Is Linda a librarian or a beautician?
A rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they match our prototype.
Can cause us to ignore important information.

50. Heuristics in Judging Probabilities
The conjunction fallacy: occurs when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone
this also appears to be due to the powerful nature of the representativeness heuristic
The alternative outcomes effect: occurs when peoples’ belief about whether an outcome will occur changes, depending on how alternative outcomes are distributed
even though the summed probability of the alternative outcomes is held constant.
The conjunction fallacy occurs when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone…this also appears to be due to the powerful nature of the representativeness heuristic.
The alternative outcomes effect occurs when peoples’ belief about whether an outcome will occur changes, depending on how alternative outcomes are distributed, even though the summed probability of the alternative outcomes is held constant.

51. Figure 8.18 The conjunction fallacy

52. Understanding Pitfalls in Reasoning About Decisions
The gambler’s fallacy: the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn’t occurred recently
Overestimating the improbable: describes how people tend to greatly overestimate the likelihood of dramatic, vivid, but infrequent, events that receive heavy media coverage
Confirmation bias: tendency to seek information that supports one’s decisions and beliefs, while ignoring disconfirming information
The gambler’s fallacy is the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn’t occurred recently.
Overestimating the improbable describes how people tend to greatly overestimate the likelihood of dramatic, vivid, but infrequent, events that receive heavy media coverage.
Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek information that supports one’s decisions and beliefs, while ignoring disconfirming information.

53. Understanding Pitfalls in Reasoning About Decisions
Belief perseverance: the tendency to hang onto beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence
The overconfidence effect: the tendency for people to put too much faith in their estimates, beliefs, and decisions, even when they should know better
Framing: how decision issues are posed or how choices are structured
People often allow a decision to be shaped by context or by the language in which it is presented.
Belief perseverance is the tendency to hang onto beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence.
The overconfidence effect is the tendency for people to put too much faith in their estimates, beliefs, and decisions, even when they should know better.
Framing refers to how decision issues are posed or how choices are structured. People often allow a decision to be shaped by context or by the language in which it is presented.

54. Belief Perseverance
Clinging to your initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.
All Cowboys fans who still believe that this is their year are suffering from belief perseverance.

55. The tendency to be more confident than correct.
Overconfidence
The tendency to be more confident than correct.
To overestimate the accuracy of your beliefs and judgments.
Considering “overconfidence” do you want to risk 1 million dollars on an audience poll?

56. Framing
90% of the population will be saved with this medication…..or
10% of the population will die despite this medication.
You should not drink more than two drinks per day….or
You should not drink more than 730 drinks a year.
The way a problem is presented can drastically affect the way we view it.

57. Evolutionary Analyses: Flaws in Decision Making and Fast and Frugal Heuristics
While research shows that human decision making is replete with bias and error, evolutionary psychologists argue that this is due to the laboratory tasks used to measure it.
They argue that traditional decision research has imposed an unrealistic standard in that questions are asked in ways that have nothing to do with the adaptive problems that humans have evolved to solve
While research shows that human decision making is replete with bias and error, evolutionary psychologists argue that this is due to the laboratory tasks used to measure it. They argue that traditional decision research has imposed an unrealistic standard in that questions are asked in ways that have nothing to do with the adaptive problems that humans have evolved to solve

58. Evolutionary Analyses: Flaws in Decision Making and Fast and Frugal Heuristics
Cosmides and Tooby (1996)
argue that human decision making emerged to solve adaptive problems
such as finding food, shelter, and mates and dealing with allies and enemies
many reasoning errors disappear when problems are presented in ways that resemble the type of input humans would have processed in ancient times
Unrealistic standard of rationality
Problem solving research based on contrived, artificial problems
Cosmides and Tooby argue that human decision making emerged to solve adaptive problems such as finding food, shelter, and mates and dealing with allies and enemies.
Consistent with this theory, many reasoning errors disappear when problems are presented in ways that resemble the type of input humans would have processed in ancient times.

59. Less than perfect but adaptive
Evolutionary Analyses: Flaws in Decision Making and Fast and Frugal Heuristics
Gigerenzer (2000)
argues that humans do not have the time, resources, or capacities to gather all information, consider all alternatives, calculate all probabilities and risks, and then make the statistically optimal decision
Instead, they use the fast and frugal route, making quick, one-reason decisions which yield inferences that are often just as accurate as much more elaborate and time-consuming strategies
Less than perfect but adaptive
Gigerenzer (2000) argues that humans do not have the time, resources, or capacities to gather all information, consider all alternatives, calculate all probabilities and risks, and then make the statistically optimal decision. Instead, they use the fast and frugal route, making quick, one-reason decisions which yield inferences that are often just as accurate as much more elaborate and time-consuming strategies