Cognitive Psych Final Exam

What is syntax in the context of language?

Rules underlying the structure of language, specifically how words are combined to form sentences.

What does sentence comprehension refer to?

How people understand sentences.

What is sentence parsing?

The process of determining each word's syntactic role in a sentence.

Do people wait until the end of a sentence to parse it?

No, people parse sentences continuously as they hear or read them.

What are surface structures in language?

The words, word order, sounds, and letters used in a sentence.

What are deep structures in language?

The underlying meaning of a sentence.

Can multiple surface structures give rise to the same deep structure?

Yes, for example, 'This movie is boring' and 'This is a boring movie' have the same deep structure.

What does hierarchical structure in syntax refer to?

Each phrase has its own word order and meaning. 'man'

Susan / saw / a man / eating shark. vs Susan / saw/ a / man eating shark

Novel use of words

regular and irregular verbs

- regular = follows rules: wash - washed

- irregular: violates rules: sink - sank

• The ship sinked/sank.

What is prosody in language?

The rhythm of speech, including pauses after meaningful units.

What is extralinguistic context?

The physical and social setting in which we encounter sentences.

What are garden-path sentences?

Sentences where a person's initial interpretation turns out to be wrong.

Give an example of a garden-path sentence.

The old man the ships.

What is the significance of phrase structure in sentence comprehension?

Identifying phrase structure is crucial for parsing a sentence correctly.

What did Graf & Torrey (1966) find about sentence comprehension?

Participants showed better comprehension of sentences presented in a structured format.

What is the 'wrap-up effect' in reading?

Longer reading times at the end of phrases and clauses indicating additional processing.

What does the hypothesis regarding 'garden pathed' sentences suggest?

If people can use their knowledge rapidly, they will or will not be garden pathed based on sentence structure.

What was the focus of Trueswell, Tanenhaus, & Garnsey (1994) in their eyetracking study?

They compared reading times for sentences with and without disambiguating phrases.

What is common ground in conversations?

Shared experiences, beliefs, and knowledge that help participants fill in gaps during communication.

How does common ground affect conversation?

It allows for predictions about what the other person might say and increases understanding.

What role does immediate environment play in understanding language?

It helps individuals integrate their knowledge of language with their surroundings.

What is an example of a sentence with ambiguous meaning?

Susan saw a man eating shark, which can imply different meanings based on phrase structure.

What is the difference between regular and irregular verbs?

Regular verbs follow standard rules for conjugation, while irregular verbs do not.

What is the impact of word order on sentence meaning?

Word order influences meaning, but it is not sufficient alone to extract meaning.

What is the importance of integrating knowledge in language understanding?

It allows for a more accurate comprehension of sentences based on context and prior knowledge.

What is an example of a sentence that illustrates the concept of surface and deep structure?

Visiting relatives can be irritating, which can have multiple interpretations based on structure.

What does the term 'sentence comprehension' encompass?

It includes understanding the meaning and structure of sentences as they are processed.

What is the significance of ambiguity in language?

Ambiguity serves as a major vehicle for jokes.

Which language has the highest number of native speakers?

Mandarin with 940 million native speakers.

What is a key characteristic that differentiates human language from animal communication?

Human language allows for displacement in time and space.

Define 'discreteness' in the context of human language.

Human language contains discrete units that can be combined into various structures.

What is the smallest unit of meaning in language?

Morpheme.

What is a phoneme?

The smallest unit of speech sound.

What does 'coarticulation' refer to in speech production?

The context-dependent pronunciation of phonemes.

What is 'speech segmentation'?

The process of slicing a continuous speech stream into appropriate segments.

What is the role of 'Voice Onset Time' in speech perception?

It differentiates phonemes based on the timing of vocal cord vibration after a stop consonant.

What are content morphemes?

Morphemes that carry meaning, such as 'car' or 'run'.

What are function morphemes?

Morphemes that serve grammatical purposes, such as 's' or 'er'.

What is the difference between syntax and semantics?

Syntax refers to word order and structure, while semantics refers to the meaning of words and sentences.

How do babies learn phonemes?

Babies can initially discriminate most phonemes but become specialized in the phonemes of the languages they hear by 12 months.

What is the significance of the phrase 'One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas'?

It illustrates ambiguity and humor in language.

What is the primary function of bee dances?

To communicate the location of nectar sources.

What is the relationship between phonemes and morphemes?

Phonemes combine to form morphemes, which are the smallest units of sound with meaning.

What does 'productivity' mean in the context of human language?

The ability to combine elements of language into an almost infinite number of phrases.

What is the role of grammar in language?

Grammar defines the acceptable utterances of a language, including syntax, semantics, and phonology.

What is the difference between the communication of vervet monkeys and human language?

Vervet monkeys' communication is limited to immediate dangers, while humans can communicate about events in the future or past.

What are the three main components of grammar?

Syntax, semantics, and phonology.

What is the significance of the phrase 'Lack of brains hinders research'?

It exemplifies how headlines can use humor and ambiguity.

What does it mean for a language to be 'arbitrary'?

The relationship between the signal and its meaning does not have a natural connection.

What is the smallest unit of meaning that can stand alone?

A word.

What is the importance of the 'darkness' in a spectrogram?

It indicates the amount of acoustic energy at each frequency.

What does 'categorical speech perception' allow us to do?

It enables us to learn and hear individual speech sounds and words despite variations.

What is imagery?

Internally constructing a memory representation that preserves visual and spatial information.

What is the difference between implicit and explicit encoding in imagery?

Implicit encoding is the unintentional storage of detail, often never accessed, while explicit encoding involves conscious effort to remember details.

What does perceptual equivalence refer to in visual imagery?

The extent to which perceptual details are part of a visual image.

What is spatial equivalence in the context of imagery?

The extent to which spatial relations are part of an image.

What evidence supports that imagery is similar to perception?

Interference, manipulation, pictorial properties, and imaging studies (fMRI).

What was the purpose of Segal & Fusella's (1970) study?

To demonstrate that perception and imagery overlap in function and can interfere with one another.

What is mental rotation?

The process of continuously transforming the orientation of a mental image.

Who conducted early studies on mental rotation?

Roger Shepard.

What is the relationship between angular disparity and response time in mental rotation tasks?

The more an object needs to be rotated, the longer it takes to respond.

What are the picture-like properties of mental images?

Mental images can be scanned, zoomed in on, and verified for features.

What did Stephen Kosslyn's studies on scanning and zooming reveal?

Participants could scan and zoom in on mental images, and response times varied based on the task.

How does feature verification differ between imagining and thinking about an object?

Responding to highly associated features is faster when imagining than when simply thinking about the object.

What is aphantasia?

A condition where individuals report a lack of conscious imagery.

What percentage of the population is estimated to have aphantasia?

Approximately 4%.

What did Zemen et al. (2020) find about dreaming in aphantasics?

21% report dreaming without images, and 8% report not dreaming at all.

What is the VVIQ?

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, used to assess the vividness of mental images.

What is the significance of neural overlap in imagery and perception?

Similar brain areas are activated during both visual perception and imagery, indicating a connection between the two processes.

What role does language play in imagery?

Language can influence how images are encoded and interpreted.

What did the eyetracking studies reveal about imagery processing?

There is a strong correspondence between eye movements during perception and imagery.

What is the fusiform face area (FFA)?

A brain area that is more active when viewing faces than places.

What is the parahippocampal place area (PPA)?

A brain area that is more active when viewing places than faces.

How do aphantasics perform in feature verification tasks compared to non-aphantasics?

Aphantasics show similar differences in response times between easy and hard trials, indicating implicit simulation.

What is the main conclusion about imagery from the lecture?

Images preserve visual and spatial properties of actual objects and scenes and can be manipulated like real pictures.

What is the primary hemisphere for language localization in most people?

The left hemisphere

What is Broca's area responsible for?

Speech production

What type of aphasia is associated with damage to Broca's area?

Expressive aphasia

What is Wernicke's area involved in?

The comprehension of written and spoken language

What type of aphasia results from damage to Wernicke's area?

Receptive aphasia

What does the angular gyrus do?

Transfers visual information to Wernicke's area for meaning interpretation

What is the role of the supramarginal gyrus?

Involved in language perception and processing

What is aphasia?

Disruptions of language processing

What is agnosia?

Disruption of naming

Who first identified Broca's area?

Paul Broca in 1861

What is a characteristic of Broca's aphasia?

Effortful and restricted speech with grammatical problems

Who first identified Wernicke's area?

Karl Wernicke in 1874

What is a characteristic of Wernicke's aphasia?

Fluent speech that lacks meaningful content

What is the relationship between language and thought according to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Language determines thought and perception

What is linguistic determinism?

The idea that the structure of one's language influences how one thinks

What did Frank Boaz illustrate with his example about snow in Eskimo languages?

Different words for snow can influence perception and categorization

What evidence challenges the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Rosch's studies showing that both Dani and English speakers remember focal colors similarly

What are focal colors?

Prototypical instances of a particular color name

What did Barbara Malt's study reveal about naming objects across languages?

Naming and categorization differ among languages but not in similarity classification

What are universal metaphors?

Metaphors that convey similar meanings across cultures, such as 'happy = up' and 'sad = down'

What is the significance of metaphors in language?

They extend physical meanings to psychological meanings

What is the role of inference in language comprehension?

Comprehenders must infer meaning beyond the literal words spoken or written

What is the impact of language use on memory and decision-making?

Language influences how and what you think about, including memory and predictions

What is the effect of lesions to the supramarginal gyrus?

May cause receptive aphasia, affecting understanding of spoken language

What does the term 'telegraphic speech' refer to?

Speech that is direct and often omits small grammatical words