NOTES – Concepts:

Key Topics and Learning Outcomes

1.    What is categorization?

o   How humans’ group and label experiences.

2.    What are concepts?

o   Mental representations that provide criteria for membership in categories.

3.    Relation between categorization, concepts, and language.

4.    Psychological theories:

o   How concepts are stored and used.

5.    Understanding abstract concepts.

6.    Embodiment:

o   Influence of physical experience on concept storage and use.

Key Ideas and Theories

1.    Importance of Categorization (William James, 1890):

o   Without categorization, sensory experiences would remain undifferentiated chaos.

o   Categories allow humans to act consistently and achieve goals.

2.    What Makes a Concept?

o   Necessary and sufficient conditions:

§  Example: A bird must be a living thing and have feathers.

o   Psychological parallels:

§  Feature Theories (Smith, Shoben, Rips, 1974): Concepts as lists of features.

§  Network Theories (Collins, Quillian, 1972): Concepts stored in networks (e.g., BIRD → IS AN ANIMAL, HAS FEATHERS).

3.    Prototype Theory (Eleanor Rosch):

o   Concepts represented by prototypes rather than feature lists.

o   Typical members (e.g., robin as a bird) processed more efficiently than atypical ones (e.g., ostrich).

o   Challenges:

§  Conceptual combination (e.g., "tin can" vs. "tin mine").

§  Ad hoc concepts (Barsalou, 1983).

§  Prototypicality effects in mathematically defined concepts (e.g., odd numbers).

4.    Theory Theory (Murphy & Medin, 1985):

o   Concepts defined by their roles in everyday or scientific theories.

o   Accounts for conceptual combination challenges.

5.    Basic Level Categories (Rosch et al., 1976):

o   Mid-level categories (e.g., "apple") easiest to process due to strong correlational features.

Types of Concepts

1.    Natural Kinds: People, animals, plants, natural objects.

2.    Artifacts: Man-made objects (e.g., tools, buildings).

3.    Abstract Concepts:

o   Scientific (e.g., gravity).

o   Social (e.g., family, law).

o   Associated with verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

4.    Linking Concepts: (e.g., "and", "because").

Embodied Cognition

1.    Concept Storage and Use:

o   Linked to physical experience (e.g., understanding "chair" requires knowledge of sitting).

2.    Research Evidence:

o   Pulvermüller et al. (2005):

§  Faster reaction times for limb-related words when motor cortex stimulated.

o   Action Compatibility Effect (Glenberg & Kaschak, 2002):

§  Quicker responses when sentence meaning aligns with physical actions.

3.    Embodied Simulations:

o   Pecher et al. (2010):

§  Spatial congruence effects in language tasks (e.g., "helicopter" → top of screen).

o   Zwaan et al. (2002):

§  Perceptual properties included in mental representations.

4.    Language and Colour:

o   Connell & Lynott (2009):

§  Typical colours evoked automatically, but atypical contexts can adjust expectations.

Summary

• Concepts are essential for understanding and interacting with the world.

• Classical theories and prototype theories provide foundational insights but face limitations.

• "Theory" theory offers solutions for conceptual combination issues.

• Abstract concepts require unique approaches.

• Embodied cognition integrates concepts with sensory-motor experiences, shaping their understanding and usage.

NOTES – Language:

Key Views on Language and Thought

1. The Traditional View

• Premise: Thought precedes language.

• Supporters:

  • Aristotle: Ancient view of thought guiding language.

  • Jean Piaget: Developmental psychologist.

  • Noam Chomsky: Language is innate and expresses pre-existing thought.

  • Roger Schank: Language formalizes mental processes in AI.

• Language of Thought (Mentalese):

  • Jerry Fodor (1980): Thought resembles natural language but operates internally.

  • Natural languages provide external expression for these thoughts.

2. Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)

• Premise: Language shapes thought to varying degrees:

  • Strong version: Language determines thought.

  • Weak version: Language influences cognitive preferences.

  • Very weak version: Language affects memory encoding ease.

• Historical Background:

  • Proposed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf.

  • Inspired by early German linguists like von Humboldt and Herder.

• Examples:

  • Hopi language lacks a linear time concept.

  • Inuit languages have extensive vocabulary for snow.

  • Language shapes cultural-specific ideas like "schadenfreude" (German: joy in others' misfortune).

• Criticisms:

  • Simplistic reliance on direct translation.

  • Ignores conceptual understanding beyond individual words.

  • Overlooks cultural context in shaping cognition.

3. Vygotsky’s Developmental View (Middle Way)

• Language and thought develop separately but later converge.

• Stages:

1.    Independent Thought and Speech: Pre-linguistic.

2.    Egocentric Speech: Overt self-directed speech guiding behavior.

3.    Internalized Speech: By age 7, speech becomes the main form of thinking.

• Speech and thought remain distinct but interconnected.

Empirical Research on Linguistic Relativity

Color Perception Studies

1.    Eleanor Rosch (Dani People, Papua New Guinea):

o   Dani language has two color terms ("light/warm" and "dark/cool").

o   Findings: Color perception is largely independent of linguistic categories.

2.    Roberson et al. (2000):

o   Berinmo tribe: Five basic color terms.

o   Results align color perception with language categories, challenging Rosch.

3.    Winawer et al. (2007):

o   Russian distinguishes light blue ("goluboy") from dark blue ("siniy").

o   Russian speakers excel at discriminating these shades unless distracted by verbal tasks.

Describing Actions: "Who Dunnit?"

1.    Fausey & Boroditsky (2010):

o   English: Agentive descriptions ("She broke the vase").

o   Spanish: Non-agentive ("The vase broke itself").

o   Findings: English speakers remembered agents better for accidental events, linking memory to linguistic framing.

Time Metaphors:

• English vs. Mandarin (Boroditsky, 2001):

  • English uses horizontal metaphors for time ("past is behind").

  • Mandarin incorporates vertical metaphors ("future is above").

  • Language influences spatial priming of temporal judgments.

Revisiting Whorf

• Initially dismissed due to methodological flaws (1960s).

• Revived around 2000 with nuanced research (e.g., Boroditsky).

• Conclusion: Language subtly shapes thought, but does not rigidly determine it.

Other Areas of Investigation

1.    Language in deaf vs. hearing populations.

2.    Aphasia and cognitive-linguistic interactions.

3.    Language differences in monolinguals vs. bilinguals.

4.    Dialects and sociolinguistic factors (e.g., Bernstein's work in the UK; Labov in the US).

Final Thoughts

• The traditional view dominates: Thought shapes language.

• The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis persists: Language influences thought, especially in perception and memory.

• Vygotsky bridges the gap: Developmentally, language and thought co-evolve.

Wittgenstein’s reflection: “If a lion could speak, we could not understand him” emphasizes the cultural and contextual boundaries of language.

Language Processing

Context

• Language systems are inherently complex.

• Psycholinguistics explores how language is acquired and used, focusing on mental representations, mechanisms, and processes.

Key Concepts

1.    Chomsky’s Competence vs. Performance:

o   Competence: Knowledge of language structures (e.g., grammar).

o   Performance: Actual use of language, which may involve errors or hesitations.

2.    Comprehension vs. Production:

o   Comprehension involves listening and reading.

o   Production involves speaking and writing.

o   These are intertwined but have dedicated processes for usage.

3.    Stages of Processing:

o   Comprehension: Words → Sentence Structure → Meaning.

o   Production: Starts with a meaning → Structures → Words.

4.    Word Processing:

o   The segmentation problem in spoken language.

o   Written words are more easily parsed due to spaces and punctuation.

5.    Structure Processing:

o   Parsing uses stored rules to determine sentence structure.

o   Ambiguities often arise, e.g., "The cop saw the man with the telescope."

o   Models include:

§  Garden Path Theory: Simplest interpretation first, revised if incorrect.

§  Constraint-Based Theory: Parallel processing of multiple interpretations.

6.    Meaning:

o   Psycholinguistics studies word meanings, inferences, and connections within texts.

o   Context shapes interpretation, e.g., causal and consequential links.

Experimental Insights

• Eye-tracking studies reveal how people process ambiguities and use context for disambiguation.

• Garnham et al. (2020) demonstrated that context determines focus on implicit causes or consequences.

Dialogue Processing

• Dialogue involves alignment in pronunciation, speed, and terminology.

• Audience design helps tailor language but is often egocentric in rapid interactions.

Talking About Language

Context

• Spoken language is acquired naturally, while written language requires effort.

• Language use is pervasive, often unconscious, but linguistics makes the underlying complexity explicit.

Key Linguistic Principles

1.    Duality of Patterning:

o   Patterns of form (e.g., sounds, written symbols).

o   Patterns of meaning.

2.    Arbitrariness:

o   Most connections between form and meaning are arbitrary, except in cases like sound symbolism.

3.    Linguistic Structures:

o   Hierarchical arrangements:

§  Sounds → Words → Phrases → Sentences.

o   Beyond sentences, patterns in discourse are less clearly defined.

4.    Levels of Linguistic Analysis:

o   Phonology: Sound patterns.

o   Morphology: Word structure (e.g., free vs. bound morphemes).

o   Syntax: Sentence structure.

o   Semantics: Literal meaning.

o   Pragmatics: Indirect meanings and implications.

Interrelations Between Sound and Meaning

• Sound symbolism (e.g., "sl-" and "gl-" clusters in English) shows some non-arbitrary sound-meaning connections.

Written and Sign Languages

• Written language corresponds to spoken language at varying levels of regularity (e.g., alphabets, syllabaries).

• Sign languages are independent systems with unique structures and meanings.

Pragmatic Meaning

• Types include:

  • Presupposition: Assumptions made by the speaker.

  • Implicature: Unstated but inferred meanings.

  • Speech Acts: Actions performed by speaking (e.g., promises).

Universal Grammar

• Chomsky's theory posits shared principles across all languages, despite surface-level differences.