Psycholinguistics and Cognitive Processes in Language and Reasoning

What is psycholinguistics?

The study of psychological processes by which we acquire and process language, including comprehension, representation, speech production, and acquisition.

What are the characteristics of language?

Communicative, arbitrary, hierarchical structure with rules, generative/creative, and dynamic.

What is the difference between languages and dialects?

Languages are not mutually intelligible, while dialects are mutually intelligible but differ in grammar and vocabulary.

What is lexical ambiguity?

The phenomenon where words can have more than one meaning.

What is the word frequency effect?

We take a shorter amount of time to identify words that appear more frequently.

What is the role of context in word perception?

Context helps us identify ambiguous words and influences our understanding of spoken language.

What is the significance of the critical period in language development?

When children miss the critical period for language development, they have a very difficult time acquiring language later on.

What is semantic satiation?

The phenomenon where repetition of a word or phrase results in a temporary loss of meaning.

What is parsing in language processing?

The process of constructing sentences out of grouped-together phrases.

What are garden path sentences?

Sentences where the initial meaning implied turns out to be incorrect based on later information.

What is the constraint-based approach to parsing?

An approach proposing that semantics, syntax, and other factors operate simultaneously to determine parsing.

What is the visual world paradigm?

A method that determines how information in a scene influences sentence processing.

What is the difference between subject-relative and object-relative constructions?

Subject-relative constructions have the subject of the main clause as the subject in the embedded clause, while object-relative constructions have the subject of the main clause as the object in the embedded clause.

What is the meaning of 'phoneme'?

The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another.

What does the term 'coarticulation' refer to?

The phenomenon where the articulation of a phoneme is influenced by the surrounding phonemes.

What is the lexicon in psycholinguistics?

The total collection of all words we know; our mental dictionary.

What is the difference between biased dominance and balanced dominance?

Biased dominance occurs when one meaning of a word is more likely than others, while balanced dominance occurs when both meanings are equally likely.

What is the hierarchical nature of language?

The concept that language consists of a series of small components that can be combined to form larger units.

What is the generative nature of language?

The ability to use basic units to create a limitless number of utterances.

What is the dynamic nature of language?

The idea that language is always evolving.

What is the role of prediction in language processing?

We use predictions based on regularities and knowledge to anticipate what comes next in coherent sentences.

What is the significance of the word superiority effect?

It demonstrates that letters are more easily recognized when they are part of a word than when they are presented in isolation.

What is the relationship between semantics and lexicon?

Semantics refers to the meaning of language, while the lexicon is the collection of words; together they form lexical semantics.

What is the role of speech production in psycholinguistics?

It includes the physical and mental processes that occur as a person creates speech.

What is the process of speech segmentation?

The process of perceiving individual words in a speech stream where there are no spaces between words.

What is meant by 'meaning dominance'?

The relative frequency of the meanings of ambiguous words.

What is the significance of the study of language acquisition?

It includes how children learn language and how people learn additional languages, whether as children or later in life.

What is an inference in reading?

Determining what the text means by using knowledge to go beyond the information provided.

What is an anaphoric inference?

It connects an object or person in one sentence to the following sentences.

What does an instrument inference imply?

It relates to tools or methods used while reading text or listening to a speech.

What is a causal inference?

It concludes that events described in one clause were caused by events in a previous clause.

Define a situation model.

A mental representation of what the text is about, containing perceptual and motor properties.

What does the given-new contract state?

A speaker should construct sentences that include given information the listener knows and new information the listener is hearing for the first time.

What is common ground in conversation?

Mental knowledge and beliefs shared among conversational parties.

What is syntactic coordination?

When two partners' grammatical structures become similar as they continue conversing.

What is syntactic priming?

Hearing a statement with a particular syntactic construction increases the chances that a sentence will be produced with the same construction.

What is the theory of mind?

The ability to understand what others think, feel, or believe.

What are cognitive advantages of bilingualism?

Building cognitive reserve, metalinguistic awareness, cognitive flexibility, and improved attentional control.

What are cognitive disadvantages of bilingualism?

Tip-of-the-tongue states, slower lexicon access speed, language attrition, and challenges in maintaining language separation.

What is cognitive load?

The difficulty of understanding sentences due to complicated construction.

What is the difference between competence and performance in language?

Competence is knowledge of grammar, while performance is the way we actually talk.

What is pragmatics in language?

Differences in language depending on the context in which it is used.

What is the role of prosody in spoken language?

It creates emotion in spoken language.

What is Wernicke's aphasia?

A condition characterized by lexical errors, difficulty comprehending speech, and semantic deficits.

What is Broca's aphasia?

A condition marked by labored speech, word-finding pauses, and syntactic deficits.

What is the Gestalt approach to problem-solving?

It suggests that a solution depends on how parts are represented in the mind, and restructuring can lead to insight.

What is the relationship between music and language?

Both have syntax, combine elements to create structured sequences, and involve predictions.

What is entrainment in conversation?

The synchronization between conversational partners in speaking rate, body language, and grammatical structure.

What are insight problems?

Problems that involve a lengthy period of confusion followed by a quick realization.

What is the Gestalt view of problem-solving?

It emphasizes the importance of how a problem is represented in a person's mind and the role of restructuring in finding solutions.

What is restructuring in problem-solving?

Changing a problem's representation, often resulting from insight.

What is fixation in problem-solving?

The tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that hinders finding a solution.

Define functional fixedness.

An overemphasis on the function of an object that limits creative problem-solving.

What is a mental set?

A preconceived notion of how to solve a problem based on past experiences.

What are the components of Newell & Simon's problem-solving approach?

Initial state, goal state, intermediate state, and operators.

What is means-end analysis?

A strategy that aims to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states in problem-solving.

What is analogical problem-solving?

Using a solution from a similar problem to guide the solution for the current problem.

What are the steps in using analogy for problem-solving?

1) Notice the connection between problems, 2) Map their correspondence, 3) Apply the mapping to create solutions.

What is analogical encoding?

Comparing two problems to determine their similarities.

How does expert knowledge influence problem-solving?

Experts can recognize patterns and chunk information based on past experiences, aiding in problem-solving.

What is divergent thinking?

Open-ended thinking that involves generating a large number of potential solutions; a basis for creativity.

What is the role of mind wandering in creativity?

It facilitates creative incubation, leading to idea generation when not actively focused on a problem.

What brain activity is associated with insight-based problems?

Frontal lobe activity.

What is incubation in problem-solving?

The process of getting an idea or solution after taking a break, often facilitated by mind-wandering.

What are the two networks involved in creativity?

The executive control network and the default mode network.

What is reasoning in cognitive processes?

The cognitive process through which conclusions are drawn that go beyond given information.

What is the difference between well-defined and ill-defined problems?

Well-defined problems have clear initial and goal states, while ill-defined problems have poorly understood states or methods.

What is the goal state in problem-solving?

The solution of the problem.

What is the initial state in problem-solving?

The conditions at the beginning of the problem.

What are operators in the context of problem-solving?

Actions that take the problem from one state to another.

What is the problem space?

All possible states for a particular problem.

What is the target problem?

The problem currently being solved.

What is the source problem?

A related problem that has already been solved.

What is inductive reasoning?

A type of reasoning where a conclusion follows from evidence, indicating what is probably true.

What factors determine the strength of evidence in inductive reasoning?

Number of observations (sample size), quality of evidence, and representativeness of observations.

Define heuristics.

Simple cognitive rules that are easy to apply and usually lead to acceptable answers, but can also cause errors.

What is the availability heuristic?

Judging the probability of events based on how easily examples come to mind.

What are illusory correlations?

When a correlation appears to exist but is either nonexistent or much weaker than assumed.

What does the representativeness heuristic involve?

Making judgments based on how well an instance resembles properties typically associated with a category.

What is the base rate fallacy?

The tendency to ignore general statistical information in favor of specific, vivid information.

Explain the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.

Making a quick estimate based on memory or provided information and then adjusting that estimate.

What is confirmation bias?

The tendency to focus on arguments and information that supports one's position.

What is belief perseverance?

The phenomenon where a belief persists even after evidence is presented to disprove it.

Define attitude polarization.

When individuals with differing beliefs become increasingly polarized.

What is the irrational primacy effect?

The tendency to place greater weight on the first information encountered.

What is the bias blind spot?

The tendency to recognize biases in others more readily than in oneself.

What is the law of large numbers?

The principle that larger samples are more representative of the population.

What is deductive reasoning?

Reasoning that starts with a general assertion and determines what specifically follows from it.

What is a categorical syllogism?

A syllogism where premises and conclusion begin with all, no, or some.

What is validity in the context of syllogisms?

The quality of a syllogism whose conclusion logically follows from its premises.

What is belief bias?

The tendency to think a syllogism is valid if its conclusion is believable.

Describe the mental model approach in deductive reasoning.

Creating a mental model of a situation, generating tentative conclusions, and looking for exceptions.

What is a conditional syllogism?

A syllogism where one premise has the form 'if...then...'.

What is expected utility theory?

The idea that people will make decisions that result in the most beneficial outcome when given all information.

What is utility in decision-making?

The outcomes that help achieve a person's goals.

What is risk aversion?

The tendency to avoid decisions that involve significant risk.

What are incidental emotions?

Emotions that arise from a person's general disposition and can affect decision-making.

What is the status quo bias?

The tendency to do nothing when faced with making a decision.

Explain the framing effect.

Decisions are influenced by how choices are presented; framed in gains leads to risk aversion, framed in losses leads to risk-seeking.

What is neuroeconomics?

The study of how brain activity influences decision-making regarding gains and losses.