Language, Intelligence, Problem Solving, and Instrumental Conditioning

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering Language, Problem Solving and Intelligence, and Instrumental Conditioning modules across all six provided lecture notes and slide decks.

What three core criteria outline a true natural language?

A true natural language must be regular (governed by rules and grammar), arbitrary (the sounds assigned to concepts lack inherent resemblance to their meanings), and productive (words can be combined in limitless ways to describe objects, actions, and situations).

What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?

The hypothesis proposing that language influences our thoughts and the way we perceive and experience the world.

What evidence from Peter Gordon's study of the Piraha tribe supports the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?

The Piraha language contains only three counting words corresponding to "one", "two", and "many". In matching tasks, tribe members performed well with groups of one or two objects, but performance worsened on sets greater than three objects, suggesting numerical cognition is constrained by language.

What cross-cultural evidence regarding kinship labels counters the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?

French speakers use a single term ("belle-mère") for both mother-in-law and stepmother, and English speakers use "uncle" for both maternal and paternal uncles (unlike Korean, which distinguishes "sam-chun" and "Kuhn-a-bo-jee"), yet speakers of French and English still fully understand the distinct biological relationships without having separate words for them.

How is a morpheme defined in oral and sign languages?

A morpheme is the smallest unit of sound (or unit of signs in manual languages) that contains information. It can be a standalone word or combined as prefixes, suffixes, or grammatical markers.

What are phonemes, and how do they function in a language?

Phonemes are the smallest constituent units of sound in a language (such as $/d/$, $/o/$, and $/g/$ in "dog"). Each language contains a specific library of usable phonemes and rules regarding valid combinations.

How do syntax and semantics differ in the structure of language?

Syntax (grammar) refers to the rules governing how words are grouped together to form sentences, whereas semantics refers to the actual meaning of words. A sentence can be syntactically correct yet completely devoid of semantic meaning (e.g., "The colourless green ideas sleep furiously beside the kwijibo").

What language milestones typically occur at 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 6 months, and 8 months of age?

At 8 weeks, infants make cooing vowel sounds; at 16 weeks, they turn their heads towards voices; at 6 months, they begin babbling with added consonant sounds; and at 8 months, they produce complex, non-random babbling with rhythm and inflection.

What occurs during the "language explosion" period, and at what ages does it take place?

Between approximately $1.5$ to $6$ years of age, children experience a rapid increase in vocabulary and master major syntactic structures and language complexities.

What is the speech segmentation problem, and what does an infant's segmentation ability predict?

The segmentation problem refers to the difficulty of parsing a continuous foreign or unfamiliar acoustic speech stream into discrete words. Studies show that early speech segmentation proficiency in infants ($7.5$ to $12$ months) strongly correlates positively with expressive vocabulary size at $2$ years of age.

What is universal phoneme sensitivity, and when does it largely disappear?

The innate ability of infants to discriminate between any test phonemes, including non-native contrasts (such as Hindi $|t|$ contrasts or English $|ra|$ vs. $|la|$). This sensitivity sharply declines across the first year of life, falling from approximately $95\%$ at $6$ to $8$ months to about $20\%$ by $10$ to $12$ months.

How does the head-turn procedure test phonemic discriminability in pre-verbal infants?

Infants are trained to turn their head toward a speaker when a sound changes, receiving visual reinforcement (e.g., an animated toy). They are then habituated to a repeated phoneme; if they turn their head when a novel test phoneme is presented, it demonstrates they perceive the acoustic distinction.

How does Social Learning Theory explain language development, and what evidence supports it?

It proposes that language is learned through imitation and instrumental conditioning (reinforcement from parents). Support comes from cases of severe social isolation, such as Genie, who was isolated until age $13$ and suffered permanent, severe deficits in language acquisition.

What language phenomena provide evidence against Social Learning Theory alone?

Children's language development is too rapid to rely solely on reinforcement, and children spontaneously produce novel errors never modeled by adults, such as overextensions (applying a category word too broadly) and overregularizations (overapplying grammatical rules, such as saying "I runned").

What does Noam Chomsky's Innate Mechanism Theory propose regarding language acquisition?

It proposes that humans possess an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD) containing universal grammar rules that allow children to develop language rapidly and spontaneously when exposed to linguistic input.

What evidence from congenitally deaf children supports Chomsky's Innate Mechanism Theory?

Congenitally deaf children not exposed to sign language spontaneously develop their own systematic, structured sign systems with consistent grammatical rules that do not match the spoken syntax of their parents' language.

How does the honeybee waggle dance communicate the location of a food source?

During the waggle phase of the figure-8 dance, the angle of the waggle relative to vertical indicates the direction of food relative to the sun, while the duration or distance of the waggle run communicates the distance to the food source.

What were the linguistic capabilities and limitations demonstrated by the chimpanzees Washoe, Sarah, and Kanzi?

Washoe learned American Sign Language signs for requests but lacked systematic grammar; Sarah learned plastic symbols and answered questions but could not generate novel sentences; Kanzi learned lexigrams via immersion and understood novel spoken requests, but possessed very limited syntactic comprehension.

According to the cognitive neuroscience of swearing, which subcortical structures and brain areas are activated by taboo words?

Taboo words activate areas associated with negative emotion, predominantly in the right hemisphere, including the Basal Ganglia and parts of the Limbic System (particularly the Amygdala and Hypothalamus).

What is the difference between a euphemism and a dysphemism?

A euphemism is used to discuss a topic while minimizing or avoiding thoughts of how unpleasant it is (e.g., "feces"), whereas a dysphemism is explicitly used to force the listener to confront how awful or emotionally charged the concept is (e.g., "sh*t").

What is the Rage-circuit theory of cathartic swearing?

A theory proposing that just as mammals emit sudden angry vocalizations when injured or confined to startle attackers, sudden injury or threat in humans triggers the language system to discharge aggressive, emotionally charged taboo words.

What is Robert Sternberg's operational definition of intelligence?

The cognitive ability of an individual to learn from experience, reason well, remember important information, and cope with the demands of daily living.

What is a hypothetical construct?

An explanatory variable that is not directly observable and is difficult to measure directly (such as intelligence).

How do deductive and inductive reasoning operate within the "Arch of Knowledge"?

Deductive reasoning moves down the arch from general theories and ideas to formulate specific testable hypotheses. Inductive reasoning moves up the arch from collected empirical facts and observations to generate or refine general theories.

What is functional fixedness, as illustrated by Duncker's candle problem?

A cognitive bias that limits an individual to viewing an object only in terms of its traditional, customary function (e.g., failing to see that the box containing the tacks can serve as a candle shelf attached to the bulletin board).

What are the six steps of rational decision making identified by Bazerman and Moore (2013)?

1. Define the problem, 2. Identify criteria necessary to judge, 3. Weigh the criteria, 4. Generate alternatives, 5. Rate each alternative, 6. Compute the optimal decision.

What is the difference between reliability and validity in testing?

Reliability is the extent to which a test produces consistent, repeatable results upon repeated administrations to the same individual. Validity is the extent to which a test actually measures what it claims to measure.

What historical intelligence metric did Francis Galton propose, and why was it flawed?

Galton attempted to assess intelligence by measuring participants' simple reaction times; this measure proved to lack validity as a true indicator of cognitive ability.

How are modern Wechsler intelligence scales (WAIS and WISC) standardized?

Raw scores from large population samples are transformed onto a normal distribution centered at a standardized mean IQ of $100$, with a standard deviation of $15$.

What are the eight distinct types of intelligence proposed by Howard Gardner?

Verbal (linguistic), mathematical (logical), musical (rhythmic), spatial (visual), kinesthetic (bodily), interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

What correlation values do twin studies report for IQ, and what do they indicate about genetics and environment?

Identical twins raised together correlate at $+0.8$, fraternal twins raised together correlate at $+0.6$, and identical twins raised apart correlate at approximately $+0.73$. These findings demonstrate that both genetics and environment play substantial roles in determining intelligence.

What is the Flynn Effect?

The observation that raw performance scores on standardized intelligence tests have steadily increased across the population since $1932$, rising at an approximate rate of $9$ to $15$ points every $30$ years.

What historical voter suppression test from 1964, shown here, claimed to assess whether citizens could "cope with demands of daily living"?

The State of Louisiana Literacy Test (1964), an intentionally ambiguous and confusing 30-question test given in 10 minutes where a single perceived mistake caused immediate failure, utilized to disenfranchise Black voters.

In Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, what is the difference between assimilation and accommodation?

Assimilation involves incorporating new environmental information into existing mental schemas. Accommodation involves modifying or creating schemas when new information is incompatible with existing frameworks.

What major milestone marks the transition from Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage ($0$ to $2$ years) to the Preoperational Stage?

The mastery of object permanence—the realization that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible or sensory-accessible.

What four cognitive limitations characterize children in Piaget's Preoperational Stage ($2$ to $7$ years)?

Egocentrism (difficulty taking another's visual or mental perspective, tested by the Three Mountains task), lack of seriation (inability to logically order objects along a continuum), difficulty with reversible relationships, and failure on conservation tasks (believing liquid volume changes when poured into a container of a different shape).

What cognitive shift occurs when a child moves from the Concrete Operational Stage ($7$ to $12$ years) to the Formal Operational Stage ($12+$ years)?

Children progress from reasoning only about concrete, directly experienced objects and events to mastering abstract thought, hypothetical-deductive reasoning, and theoretical concepts.

What is the confirmation bias, and what cards must be turned over in the Wason 4-card selection task to properly test "If vowel, then even number" on cards A, 4, J, 7?

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out only hypothesis-confirming evidence while neglecting disconfirming evidence. To properly test the rule, one must flip 'A' (to confirm an even number) and '7' (to verify that an odd number does not have a vowel, which would falsify the rule).

What is the availability heuristic?

A mental shortcut where people judge the frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easily and quickly specific examples come to mind.

What is the representativeness heuristic, and what statistical error does it frequently cause?

A mental shortcut where people judge the probability that an item or person belongs to a category based on its resemblance to a prototype, often leading to the neglect of objective base-rate probabilities.

What are anchoring and framing biases?

Anchoring is the tendency to be disproportionately influenced by an initial reference point (even if arbitrary) when making numerical estimates. Framing is the bias to make different decisions depending on whether identical outcomes are presented as gains (positive frame) or losses (negative frame).

In Edward Thorndike's early learning experiments, what apparatus was used to study animal behavior?

Thorndike's Puzzle Box, a chamber where hungry cats engaged in trial-and-error behaviors until accidentally triggering a mechanical release (such as pulling a string or lever) to escape and access food outside.

What is Thorndike's Law of Effect?

Behaviors followed by satisfying or pleasant consequences are "stamped in" and performed more frequently, whereas behaviors followed by annoying or unpleasant consequences are "stamped out" and performed less frequently.

How is instrumental (operant) conditioning distinguished from classical conditioning?

Classical conditioning pairs two stimuli to form an involuntary, reflexive conditioned response, whereas instrumental conditioning involves an organism operating on the environment through voluntary behaviors that are followed by reinforcing consequences.

How are the four types of instrumental conditioning defined by the valence of the reinforcer and whether it is introduced or removed?

Reward training introduces a positive reinforcer to increase behavior; Escape training removes a negative reinforcer to increase behavior; Punishment introduces a negative reinforcer to decrease behavior; Omission training removes a positive reinforcer to decrease behavior.

What are primary reinforcers and secondary reinforcers?

Primary reinforcers satisfy biological needs directly (e.g., food, water). Secondary reinforcers acquire their reinforcing value through classical conditioning associations with primary reinforcers (e.g., money, tokens, grades).

What apparatus, designed by B.F. Skinner, is shown here for studying operant conditioning in animals?

The operant chamber (or Skinner box), equipped with response keys, stimulus lights, and a food hopper mechanism to record operant behavior across various reinforcement schedules.

How does a cumulative recorder graphically display operant response rates?

A roll of paper feeds continuously horizontally while a pen steps vertically upward with each response. A flat horizontal line indicates periods of no responding, while an upward slope reflects the rate of responding (steeper slopes signify higher response rates).

What is the difference between autoshaping, shaping by successive approximation, and chaining?

Autoshaping occurs when an organism learns a contingency spontaneously without trainer intervention. Shaping by successive approximation reinforces progressive improvements toward a complex target behavior. Chaining reinforces a predetermined sequence of distinct behaviors in a set order, where completing each link provides the opportunity to perform the next.

How do a discriminative stimulus ($S^D$ or $S^+$) and an $S^{\delta}$ ($S^-$) differ in instrumental conditioning?

An $S^D$ signals that the contingency between a response and reinforcer is currently valid ("on"), setting the occasion for voluntary responding. An $S^{\delta}$ signals that the contingency is invalid ("off"), indicating that responding will not yield reinforcement.

How does introducing training with an $S^{\delta}$ alter the generalization gradient around an $S^D$?

When an $S^D$ and an $S^{\delta}$ share the same sensory modality (e.g., green light vs. red light), the generalization gradient steepens and shifts away from the $S^{\delta}$, suppressing responding to intermediate stimuli (such as yellow light) and sharpening discrimination.

How does the role of a discriminative stimulus ($S^D$) differ fundamentally from a conditioned stimulus ($CS$)?

A $CS$ automatically and reflexively elicits an involuntary response due to an established association with a $US$. An $S^D$ does not reflexively elicit a response; instead, it sets the occasion for an organism to choose to execute a voluntary response.

Why do partial reinforcement schedules produce greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcement schedules?

Under continuous reinforcement (FR-1), the abrupt cessation of reward is immediately noticeable, extinguishing behavior quickly. Under partial reinforcement, omitted rewards are expected, making it take much longer for the organism to detect that reinforcement has stopped entirely.

What characteristic pattern of responding does a Fixed Ratio (FR) schedule produce, and what is ratio strain?

An FR schedule produces a "pause-and-run" pattern, where a post-reinforcement pause is followed by a high burst of responding until reward delivery. If the ratio of required responses is raised too high, the subject experiences ratio strain and ceases responding altogether.

What response pattern characterizes a Variable Ratio (VR) schedule?

A VR schedule reinforces behavior after a varying number of responses around a set average, yielding a very high, steady response rate without pauses, as seen in slot machine gambling. Shorter averages (e.g., VR-10 vs. VR-40) produce steeper cumulative response slopes.

What response pattern characterizes a Fixed Interval (FI) schedule?

An FI schedule produces a scalloped pattern on a cumulative record: responding drops to near zero immediately after reinforcement and gradually accelerates to a peak just before the fixed interval elapsed window.

What response pattern characterizes a Variable Interval (VI) schedule?

A VI schedule reinforces the first response after unpredictable elapsed time intervals around a specified average, generating a steady, moderate, and uniform rate of responding without post-reinforcement pauses (e.g., studying for unpredictable pop quizzes).

In decision architecture and behavioral modification, how does etching an image of a fly into a urinal serve as a discriminative stimulus ($S^D$)?

The etched fly serves as an environmental cue ($S^D$) that sets the occasion for target aiming behavior, functioning as a subtle "nudge" that significantly reduces spillage without explicit enforcement or restriction of choice.