PSYC102 Lecture 4: Language and Thought – Vocabulary

Learning Objectives

• Define & Explain Language
  • What language is, how it is learned, neural substrates, individual differences & disorders.
• Describe Thought–Language Relations
  • Interaction between linguistic structures and cognition, incl. linguistic-relativity hypothesis.
• Summarize Core Thinking Processes
  • Problem-solving, decision-making, metacognition.

Core Concept: Language

• Definition – A conventional set of symbols used for communication that allows humans to convey thoughts, desires, & plans; its generativity (ability to create infinite novel utterances) is uniquely human.

Components of Language

• Language Production – Structured, conventional expression of thoughts through words.
• Speech – Vocal expression of language (sounds).
• Language Comprehension – Understanding spoken, written, or signed input.
• Illustrative Question – “Can Koko speak?” (great ape signing) → demonstrates debate over what qualifies as genuine language (grammar, generativity, displacement).

Levels of Language Structure

• Phonemes – Smallest speech sounds; e.g., “pig” = p, i, g.
• Phonology – Rules governing how phonemes combine.
• Morphemes – Smallest meaning‐bearing units; “pigs” = “pig” + plural “s”.
• Semantics – Construction of word / sentence meaning; lexical meaning = dictionary definition.
• Syntax – Rules for word order & grammatical agreement.
• Pragmatics – Practical usage (pace, gesture, body language → non-verbal communication).

Developmental Sequence of Language

• Prevocal Learning (≈ 2–4 mo): infants discriminate all future phonemes; begin cooing (vowel-like vocalizations).
• Babbling (≈ 6 mo): experimental consonant-vowel strings with no referential meaning.
• First Words (≈ 12 mo): single-word speech (holophrases); comprehension exceeds production.
• Telegraphic Speech (≈ 24 mo): two-word utterances—content words only (e.g., “Want cookie”).
• Vocabulary Explosion – Comprehended lexicon outpaces produced; empirical curve shows comprehension ~180 words by 16 mo.
• Pragmatics Mastery (≈ 3 yr): pausing, turn-taking.
• Grammar Rules Grasped (≈ 4 yr) without formal teaching.

Theories of Language Acquisition

• Nativist (Chomsky) – Inborn Language Acquisition Device (LAD); universal grammar.
• Behaviourist (Skinner) – Operant conditioning; reinforcement shapes verbal behaviour.
• Interactive / Hybrid – Biological preparedness + environmental input jointly guide learning.

Critical vs. Sensitive Periods

• Critical Period – Narrow developmental window when certain experiences must occur (e.g., phoneme tuning, syntax foundations) for normal brain wiring.
• Sensitive Period – Broader phase when learning is easier but still possible later with effort.
• Empirical consensus: before 13 yr language acquisition is markedly easier; late learners show weaker proficiency.

Environmental Influences

• Child-Directed Speech (CDS) – High-pitched, exaggerated prosody, slower pace; facilitates segmentation & word mapping.
• Overregularization – Children apply rules too broadly (e.g., “thinked”) → evidence they actively infer grammar.
• Reading Development
  • Begins ≈ 5–6 yr in Western cultures.
  • Early strategy: narrate pictures → transition to fluent decoding by ≈ 8 yr.

Neural Bases of Language

• Broca’s Area (left inferior frontal gyrus)
  • Critical for speech production & complex grammar.
  • Broca’s Aphasia – Non-fluent, effortful, agrammatic speech; comprehension relatively spared.
  • Deaf signers with lesions show analogous grammatical deficits → modality-independent syntax center.
  • Agrammatism – Adjacent anterior damage causing inability to sequence grammar though words known.
• Wernicke’s Area (left posterior superior temporal gyrus)
  • Critical for comprehension & semantic processing.
  • Wernicke’s Aphasia – Fluent but meaningless speech; severe comprehension loss.

Individual Differences in Acquisition

• Faster average acquisition in girls than boys.
• Young children (<7) readily become bilingual/multilingual; proficiency drops with age.
• General age-related decline in neuroplasticity for language.

Language & Thought

• Mental Imagery – Sensory-like brain activation during visualization (sight, taste, emotion).
• Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis – Lexical categories influence habitual thought; e.g., Indonesian vs. English “living things” vocabulary affects concept mastery age.

Foundations of Thinking

• Automatic Processing – Fast, effortless, little attentional load; e.g., reading, over-learned texting.
• Controlled Processing – Effortful, limited capacity; requires cognitive control (maintain goal, resist distraction).
• Executive Function – Overall management system in prefrontal cortex; dysexecutive syndrome (after frontal lesions) → disorganized, goal-neglecting behaviour.

Problem Solving Framework

1. Define Problem – Identify present state, goal state, gap.
2. Select Strategy
   • Algorithm – Exhaustive, step-by-step, guarantees solution (e.g., long division).
   • Heuristic – Rule-of-thumb shortcut; quicker but fallible.
   • Insight – Sudden restructuring (“A-ha!” moment).

Common Heuristics

• Working Backward – Start at goal state and trace steps in reverse (good for well-specified problems).
• Forming Sub-Goals – Decompose large goal into manageable segments.
• Analogical Transfer – Map prior solution structure onto current analogous problem.

Mental Obstacles

• Mental Set – Persisting with familiar strategies (demonstrated by Water Jar problem dataset: jars A,B,C routes become habitual).
• Functional Fixedness – Seeing objects only in customary use (String & Nine-Dot tasks illustrate overcoming it).
• Confirmation Bias – Seeking evidence consistent with expectations, ignoring disconfirming data.

Classic Cognitive-Reflection Item

• Bat & Ball cost \$1.10 total; bat \$1 more than ball → intuitive answer \$0.10 (wrong); analytic answer \$0.05 ball, \$1.05 bat. Demonstrates conflict between fast heuristic vs. slow analytic reasoning.

Decision Making

• Representativeness Heuristic – Judge category membership by similarity → tall person = basketball player stereotype.
• Availability Heuristic – Events easily recalled seem more probable (e.g., anecdotal healthy smoker).
• Rational Decision Model
  • List criteria → assign utilities → weight by outcome probabilities (expected value E[V] = \sum pi ui).
  • Bounded Rationality – Satisficing under limited info & time.
• Emotional Decision-Making & Framing
  • Presentation as gain vs. loss shifts choice (prospect theory curves).
  • “Hunches” sometimes outperform analytic deliberation in chance contexts.

Metacognition

• Definition – Thinking about one’s own thinking; monitoring, controlling, and reflecting on cognition.
• Components
  • Memory appraisal (“Do I remember?”), self-reflection, theory of mind (ToM).
• Development
  • Preschoolers: egocentric ToM errors (hide eyes & assume invisibility).
  • By 3–5 yr: strategic lying emerges; metacognitive skill grows through adolescence & adulthood.

When Thought Dysregulates

• Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Intrusive anxiety-provoking obsessions → compulsions to neutralize; prevalence ≈ 2\%.
• Schizophrenia
  • Disorganized, delusional thought, impaired reality monitoring, auditory hallucinations; prevalence ≈ 1.1\% Canada.

Integrated Connections & Implications

• Language Neuroplasticity – Early LAD + CDS + critical periods suggest educational interventions before 13 are vital.
• Metacognitive Training – Strengthening executive control can mitigate heuristic errors (bat-and-ball) and increase rationality.
• Clinical Relevance – Aphasias demonstrate modality-independent grammatical processors; therapy must address production vs. comprehension distinctly.
• Cultural–Linguistic Diversity – Differences in categorization (Indonesian “living things”) reinforce need for culturally responsive pedagogy.
• Problem-Solving Pedagogy – Encourage sub-goal formulation & analogy use to bypass mental set.