Chapt 2 language/problem solving

What is language?

System of symbols and rules

What is psycholinguistics?

Scientific study of the psychological aspects of language

What is grammar?

Set of rules for how symbols can be combined into communication

What is semantics?

Meaning of words and sentences and interpretation

What is generativity?

Combine symbols to generate an infinite messages

What is the term displacement in linguistics?

Being able to discus things not physically there

What is surface structure?

Ways symbols are combined, syntax:grammar

What is deep structure

Underlying meaning of combined symbols

What are the 5 levels of the language hierarchy

Phoneme-Morpheme-word-phrase-sentence

What is a morpheme?

Smallest unit of meaning

What is a phenome?

Smallest units of sound recognized as separate

What is pragmatics?

Knowledge of the practical aspects of using language, clarity, tone, context

What is a LAD? Who proposed this theory?

Language acquisition device, all born with a universal grammar, Chompkin’s theory

What is the expectation for an infant (1-3 months) and 6-12

1-3=Vocalize phenomes

6-12=discriminate specific sounds to native language

What are two aspects of social learning?

Parents, operant conditioning

Expected sounds from 0-4 months, 5-12 months, 9-18 months, 18-30 months

0-4 cooing

5-12 babbling

9-18 single words

18-30 telegraphic speach (noun + verb)

What is the linguistic relativity hypothesis?

Language determines our thinking- how we think, how efficiently we categorize, how much detail we attend to

What are three aspects of the Waggle dance?

• Direction of food- path relative to sun

• Distance to food- length of dance

• Quality of food- Vigor of dance

What three forms of communication do ants use?

• Chemical- pyrazine+pheromones

• Body Language- Touching, trophalaxis

• Auditory communication

What is Hockett’s design feature

What qualifies a language: Vocal auditory channel, displacement, learnability

Can language be taught to apes?

Debated topic but can use 100’s of words, use displacement and productivity (symbols they know in new combinations

What is an analogical representation?

Mental representation with physical characteristics

What is a symbolic representation?

Abstract mental representation- doesnt correspond to physical entity

What is aphantasia?

Can’t imagine things

What are the three forms of thought?

• Propositional- express a statment eg I’m hungry

• Imaginational- see hear or feel in our head

• Motoric- mental representation of motor movement

What is categorization?

Grouping things together

What is a concept?

Symbolic representation of related things that consist of mental presentation

Prototypes vs exemplar

Prototype uses only the best example and similarities, exemplar uses all examples and compares new to old

What is a schema? What can it lead to

Mental blueprint, organize knowledge into mental concept, lead to stereotypes

What is a scrip?

Schema that directs behavior over time

What are the 4 steps of problem solving?

1. Frame(understand)

2. Generate a hypothesis for the solution

3. Test solutions (mental sets)

4. Evaluate results and revise if needed

What is functional fixedness

Fixed ideas about how an object functions in problem solving

What is an algorithm?

Automatically generate correct solutions

What is a heuristic?

General problem solving strategies

What is means end analysis?

Identify differences between present and desired

What is availability heuristic?

Decisions are made based on information in memory