Warm Up- pg 15 1. What is cognition? 2. What is the most sure way to solve a problem? 3. What is the difference between an algorithm and a heuristic? 4. What is wrong with using heuristics to solve problems? 5. What is fixation? 6. What day is your test? 7. What day is your midterm packet due?

Language

Development of Language Language: refers to our spoken, written, or gestured words and how they are combined to communicate.

Language: Building Blocks 1. Phonemes: the smallest distinctive sound unit. How many phonemes is in the word: Chat? 2. Morphemes: the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix) How many Morphemes is in the word “previewed?” How many Morphemes is in the word “rabbits?”

Language: The Rules Grammar: a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. Includes semantics and syntax. Semantics: the study of meaning; rules for how we get meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language. Syntax: the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.

Examples of Language Rules Semantic Examples: adding –ed to end of word does what? Adding –s to a noun does what? Syntax Examples: In English adjectives come before nouns but the opposite is true in Spanish. Pretty girl Chica bonita

Stages of Language 1. Babbling Stage: beginning at 3 to 4 months the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language 10 months start to only learn the language of the household Start to lose the ability to make sounds other than the sounds of the spoken language at home

Stages of Language 2. One word stage: from about age 1 to 2 the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Stages of Language 3. Two-Word Stage beginning about age 2 the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements 4. Telegraphic Speech early speech stage in which the child speaks like a telegram – “go car” – using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting “auxiliary” words

Language Summary Summary of Language Development Month (approximate) Stage 4 10 12 24 24+ Babbles many speech sounds. Babbling reveals households language. One-word stage. Two-world, telegraphic speech. Language develops rapidly into Complete sentences.

Theories of Language Development: B. F. Skinner vs. Noam Chomsky

Theory 1: Skinner Believes We Learn Language Through Learning Techniques (Class. Cond., Op. Cond, and Observation) Tools for learning language according to Skinner: Association: associate the sight of things with certain sound of words Imitation: watch models speaking words and syntax and then we imitate them. Reinforcement: given positive feedback and words of encouragement when we speak correctly.

Theory 2: Chomsky Believes Our Brains Are Hardwired With Inborn Universal Grammar. Language is Enabled by a: Language Acquisition Device: humans are born with innate abilities to acquire language. Argued although children do learn the language of their environment, the rate they acquire words and grammar without being taught is too astonishing to be explained purely from external learning principles.

Experience Modifies Brain to Learn Native Language 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Percentage able to discriminate Hindi t’s Hindi- speaking adults 6-8 months 8-10 10-12 English- Infants from English-speaking homes

Importance of Early Language Learning 100 90 80 70 60 50 Native 3-7 8-10 11-15 17-39 Percentage correct on grammar test Age at school

Cognitive Neuroscientists: Statistical Learning Mix between inborn ability and environment Genes do play a role in language development Learning during the first 7 years is critical Learn a new language easiest when younger When a young brain does not learn any language, its language capacity never fully develops

Languages Influence on Thinking Linguistic Determinism : Benjamin Whorf’s idea that language determines the way we think. English has many self-focused emotions vs. Japanese which has many words for interpersonal emotions.

Language Relativity and Doublespeak Double-Speak describes when language is used to disguise the actual meaning and possibly mislead people. Examples: “Downsizing”=multiple firings of employees. “Physical Persuasion”=torture “Collateral Damage”=death of civilians “Concentration Camp”=labor/death camp

Thinking Without Language There are some ideas in which we do not depend on language. Ex: Remembering different colors. What direction do you turn in your driveway when you come home from school? What direction do you turn a knob to turn water on? LANGUAGE AFFECTS THINKING AND THINKING AFFECTS LANGUAGE.

Animal Thinking and Language Yes animals think Count, exhibit insight, use tools, and transmit cultural innovations Animals also use deception http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/08/05/am.kluger.animals.think.cnn

Animal Thinking and Language Yes animals use language Chimps have learned 181 different signs Can form sentences Human language similar to a 2 year old Animal language much more sophisticated