PSYCH 133C - Language and Thought

Language Socialization

Process by which children learn culturally appropriate ways of using language

Cultural Variation in Language Use

Different cultures emphasize different communicative norms (directness

Noun Bias

Early vocabulary patterns differ across languages due to input and cultural practices

Grammatical Marker Frequency

Frequent forms in input are acquired earlier

Culture and Narrative Style

Cultures differ in typical storytelling (succinct, elaborated, family-centered, action-focused)

Cultural Framing in Language

Language reflects values like obligation

Cognition Leads

View that thought is universal and language maps onto pre-existing concepts

Language Leads (Linguistic Determinism)

View that language shapes or restricts possible thoughts

Interactionist View (Language–Cognition)

Language and cognition influence each other developmentally

Linguistic Relativity

Language influences how we think

Linguistic Determinism

Strong claim that language determines thought (not supported)

Absolute Spatial Terms

Geographic-based reference frame (north/south/east/west)

Relative Spatial Terms

Speaker-centered frame (left/right/front/back)

Levinson (1997)

Found that speakers' spatial reasoning matched the reference frames encoded in their language (Absolute vs Relative)

Li & Gleitman (2002)

Showed spatial reasoning shifts with environmental cues

Grammatical Gender Effects

Gender systems bias how speakers describe objects

Gendered Language and Cognition

Grammatical gender influences stereotypes and descriptive choices

Gender-Neutral Pronoun Effects

Use of neutral pronouns predicts reduced gender bias

Classifier Languages

Languages requiring classifiers for nouns when counting

Classifier–Cognition Link

Classifier systems increase attention to perceptual features such as shape

Language and Abstract Thought

Language supports reasoning about abstract

Number Word Effects

Exact number understanding depends on learning number vocabulary

Approximate Number System (ANS)

Nonverbal system for approximate quantity judgments

Language and Object Permanence

Vocabulary like “gone” coincides with improved object permanence

Language and Means–Ends

Emerging action words align with means–ends reasoning

Self-Recognition Vocabulary

Self words (“me

Middle Concept Learning

Knowledge of the word “middle” predicts middle-based spatial search behavior

Cueing Effects in Spatial Search

Hearing “middle” increases the likelihood of using a geometric middle strategy

Infant Spatial Attention

Infants who know “middle” show increased looking to center regions

Global Bilingualism

Most children worldwide are exposed to multiple languages

U.S. Monolingual Norm

Unlike global patterns

Heritage Language

A home or cultural language with lower societal prestige

Prestige Language

Socially dominant language with higher functional value

Prestige Shift

Children tend to prefer and shift toward higher-prestige languages

Simultaneous Bilingual

Learns two languages from birth

Sequential Bilingual

Acquires a second language after establishing the first

Sibling Divergence

Siblings may differ in language proficiency despite similar input environments