LANGUAGE & THOUGHT

cognitive miser

We seek to conserve our cognitive resources; we don’t like to think too hard.

inductive reasoning

Drawing general conclusions from specific evidence.

deductive reasoning

Going from general statements to understand specific conclusions.

syntax

The rules for how we put words together to create meaningful thought.

grammar

General rules pertaining to a specific language; focus on the structure.

Genie

A case study of a girl who suffered abuse and had not learned how to speak by age 8, later able to learn language.

home sign

Sign language developed by deaf children in hearing households to communicate with those around them.

semantics

How we understand meanings of words in a language.

denotation

The dictionary definition of a word.

connotation

Personal interpretation of a word.

sociocultural theory

Focuses on observational learning; language is picked up through interactions.

behaviorist theory

Language acquisition stemming from observational or operant conditioning.

nativist theory

Humans have an innate skill for language, as proposed by Noam Chomsky.

language acquisition device

A biological mechanism that facilitates speech according to the nativist theory.

phonemes

The smallest units of speech.

morphemes

The smallest units of meaning.

receptive vocabulary

Words you understand.

productive vocabulary

Words that you use.

telegraphic speech

Language used by children when they first begin speaking, typically involving simple subject-verb structures.

overextension

Using a word more broadly than is appropriate.

underextension

Using a word too conservatively, applying too many rules on usage.

overregularization

Applying regular grammar rules to irregular examples.

field dependence

Focusing on the context of a problem or situation.

field independence

Ignoring the context of a problem and focusing on singular properties.

irrelevant information

Tendency to focus on information that is not pertinent to finding solutions.

mental sets

Continued use of a strategy that was previously successful, even when it is no longer relevant.

functional fixedness

Inability to see uses for an object outside of its typical use.

unnecessary constraints

Assuming rules that do not actually exist.

anticipated regret

Actions taken to avoid feeling regret about decisions.

theory of bounded rationality

People can only be rational to a certain extent.

conjunction fallacy

Belief that two items are more likely to occur together than either is individually.

hindsight bias

Belief that we knew the outcome after it has occurred.

affect heuristic

Making decisions based on emotional or gut feelings.

alternative outcomes effect

Assuming past outcomes influence future random events.

anchoring heuristic

Tendency to base a numerical response on how previous responses were framed.

availability heuristic

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

confirmation bias

Tendency to remember or process information that supports our views, ignoring contradictory information.

overconfidence

Humans often have more confidence in their abilities than is warranted.

ostrich bias

Tendency to ignore negative information and focus on positive information.