Quiz 6

Language

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the way we combine them to communicate meaning; unlike rigid communication, it lets us create novel sentences that are still understood

Phoneme

Smallest distinctive sound unit in a language (ex: "that" = th, a, t)

Morpheme

Smallest language unit that carries meaning, including prefixes and suffixes (ex: "readers" = read, er, s)

Grammar

A language's system of rules that lets people communicate; guides semantics (meaning) and syntax (order)

Universal grammar (Chomsky)

Built-in predisposition to learn grammar rules; explains why preschoolers pick up language so readily and use grammar so well

Language acquisition device (LAD)

Chomsky's term for an innate ability that helps us structure language

Lenneberg's critical period hypothesis

Biological sensitive period for language acquisition from infancy to puberty; kids learn new languages better than adults and rarely have accents

Genie case study

Child isolated and deprived of language during childhood; supports the critical period hypothesis because she could not fully learn language later

Skinner's view of language

Language is learned through association, imitation, and reinforcement (the nurture side); this is not the whole story

Receptive vs. productive language

Receptive = ability to understand what is said; Productive = ability to produce words (research focuses more on productive)

Cooing and babbling

Cooing (~2 months) = breathy vowel sounds directed at people and things; Babbling (~4 months to 1 year) = consonant-vowel sounds like "dada" that gradually resemble the household language

Expressive jargon

Around end of year 1, babies make up fake words with the sounds and intonation of their language; shows pragmatics (turn-taking, rising tone for questions)

Holophrase

One word that packs in a whole sentence (~13 months); ex: "Dog!" = the dog ate my cheerios

Telegraphic speech

Two-word utterances (~18-24 months) where "every word is precious"; ex: "daddy home," "all gone"

Broca's area

Left frontal lobe; damage causes struggle to speak words, but person can still sing familiar songs and comprehend speech

Wernicke's area

Left temporal lobe; damage causes trouble understanding others' sentences and speech that is fluent but meaningless

Linguistic determinism

Whorf's extreme view that language determines thought (ex: people with no past tense could not think about the past)

Linguistic relativism

Less extreme view that our words influence our thinking (ex: bilinguals can feel like a different person depending on language used)

Language in other species

If language = communicating via meaningful symbol sequences, apes can (ex: Koko the gorilla and ASL); if language = complex grammar to exchange thoughts, only humans have it

Instinct theory

Evolutionary view that motivation comes from genetically predisposed behaviors; an instinct is a fixed pattern throughout a species and is unlearned (ex: rooting reflex)

Drive-reduction theory

A physiological need creates a drive that pushes us to reduce it, aiming for homeostasis (ex: hunger, thirst)

Incentives

Positive or negative environmental stimuli that lure or repel us; they pull us while drives push us

Arousal theory and Yerkes-Dodson law

We seek optimal levels of arousal, not zero arousal; moderate arousal leads to best performance (ex: alert but not trembling during an exam)

Maslow's hierarchy of needs (bottom to top)

Physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, self-actualization, self-transcendence; lower survival needs take priority, but the order is not universally fixed

Lateral hypothalamus

Brings on hunger; stimulate it and you eat, destroy it and you stop eating and lose weight

Ventromedial hypothalamus

Depresses hunger; destroy it and you keep eating and gain a lot of weight

Ghrelin

Hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach; rises before meals and falls after; bypass surgery reduces it

Leptin

Protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, tells the brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger (reinforces fullness)

PYY

Digestive tract hormone that sends "I'm not hungry" signals to the brain

Orexin

Hunger-triggering hormone secreted by the hypothalamus; released when blood sugar drops

Set point (settling point) hypothesis

Body has a predetermined weight and fat mass maintained by homeostasis; lose weight and hunger rises and energy expenditure falls to bring you back up

Basal metabolic rate

Resting rate of energy expenditure for maintaining basic body functions

GLP-1 weight loss drugs (Ozempic/Wegovy)

Mimic a gut hormone: boost insulin, suppress glucagon, slow stomach emptying so you feel full longer, and reduce "food noise"

Neophobia

Dislike of unfamiliar things, including foods; adaptive for ancestors because it protected them from toxins

Food deserts and obesogenic environments

Areas without affordable healthy food, leaving mostly processed, high-sugar and high-salt options; linked to poverty and obesity

Becker's Fiji study

After Western TV arrived, girls scoring high on eating disorder assessments rose from 8 of 63 (1995) to 20 of 65 (1998); more modeled themselves on TV characters and induced vomiting to control weight

Healthy at Every Size (HAES)

Weight-neutral approach with intuitive eating and body acceptance; does not limit health outcomes to weight, though there are still risks at higher weights

Ludus (Lee's love style)

Love as a game; follows rules of engagement and an underlying set of DOs and DON'Ts (ex: man pays on the first date, don't say "I love you" too soon); more men describe this pattern

Eros (Lee's love style)

Tremendously passionate love that is intense and physically intimate

Storge (Lee's love style)

Friendship-based love; you're friends first, then lovers ("the long game"); more women describe this pattern

Mania (Lee's love style)

Combination of Ludus + Storge; jealous, intense, codependent, and suspicious; can be very problematic

Pragma (Lee's love style)

Logical love; searching for a partner with specific characteristics (same culture or religion, good parent, certain profession); arranged marriage cultures are Pragma; more women describe this pattern

Agape (Lee's love style)

Altruistic, spiritual love; being able to sacrifice yourself for your partner, with their happiness put above your own

Sternberg's triangular theory of love

Passion = infatuation; Intimacy = liking; Commitment = empty love; combinations of the three produce different types of love

Adult attachment styles

Secure = trusting; Avoidant = cold, little intimacy; Anxious-ambivalent = hot and cold, resists intimacy; Disorganized = trauma or lack of relationships; not fixed and only weakly predictive

Cancian's expressive vs. instrumental love

Expressive (more women) = talking about feelings and saying "I love you"; Instrumental (more men) = doing activities together, including sex; neither is better

Masters and Johnson's sexual response cycle

1) Excitement, 2) Plateau, 3) Orgasm, 4) Resolution; men have a refractory period, women's is much shorter

Sex hormones and motivation

Testosterone (main male) and estrogens like estradiol (main female) direct prenatal development, trigger puberty, and facilitate adult sexual behavior; women become receptive at ovulation when estrogens peak

Prenatal influences on sexual orientation

Prenatal hormones (more testosterone during a critical period may lead to same-sex desires); maternal immune hypothesis explains the older-brother effect, where antibodies may divert male-typical brain development

Genetic influences on sexual orientation

About one-third of variation; polygenic (many genes with small effects); same-sex orientation runs in families, and gay men have more gay relatives on the mother's side

Self-determination theory

Fulfilling competence, autonomy, and relatedness reduces stress and boosts health and self-esteem

Ostracism

Social exclusion (ghosting, silent treatment) that threatens the need to belong and activates the anterior cingulate cortex, the same area that responds to physical pain

Social media and mental health

Small positive correlation with depression and anxiety (stronger for teen girls); 20/34 longitudinal and 11/15 experimental studies suggest harm; moderate use supports relationships

Achievement motivation

Desire for significant accomplishment; self-discipline predicts school success better than IQ; excessive rewards can destroy intrinsic motivation, but extrinsic rewards work for tasks that don't inspire creativity