"put a big star by this"

components of language

• language has specific components:

  • lexicon - the words of a given language, a language’s vocabulary

  • grammar - the set of rules that are used to convey meaning through the use of lexicon </aside>

• phoneme - sounds, basic unit of a given language, different languages have different sets

  • words are formed bo combining various phonemes that make up the language </aside>

• morphemes - smallest units of language that convey some type of meaning

  • “I” is both a phoneme and a morpheme </aside>

• semantics and syntax are part of a language’s grammar, use them to construct language

  • semantics - the process by which we derive meaning from morphemes and words

  • syntax - the way words are organized into sentences </aside>

• the 5 universal stages:

  • cooing

  • babbling

  • one-word utterances

  • two-word utterances

  • basic adult structure

• cooing - universal, reproduce single letter sounds (phonemes)

  • lose ability to distinguish sounds not relevant to parent langauge around 8 months

  • “a-a-a”, “o-o-o”, “k-k-k”

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• babbling - combining phonemes into meaningful units

  • babble in phonemes of parent language

  • repitition of similar / identical syllables first

    • “ba-ba-ba”, “ma-ma-ma”

  • end of stage: varied babbling using non-repeated phonemes </aside>

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• one-word utterances - combining morphemes into words

  • “blankie”, “shoe”, “book”

  • single words conveying thought

  • “holophrases”

  • concerned with semantics </aside>

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• two-word utterances - combination of one-word utterances

  • emerges around 18-24 months

  • 2,3, or more words

    • “want juice”, “mommy sit”

  • “telegraphic speech”

  • utterances determined by semantic, non syntactic, concerns </aside>

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• basic adult structure - combining one and two-word utterances into complete sentences

  • syntactically and semantically corrent

  • emerges around 4-5 years

    • “i want more juice”, “i don’t want to go to school” </aside>

• multiple intelligences theory - each person possessed at least 8 intelligences

  • made by Howard Gardner, (most recent intelligence theory) studied under Erik Erikson

  • heavily critizized for lacking empirical evidence

  • continue to study this theory

  • 8 intelligences:

    • linguistic intelligence

    • logical-mathematical intelligence

    • musical intelligence

    • bodily kinesthetic intelligence

    • spatial intelligence

    • interpersonal intelligence

    • intrapersonal intelligence

    • naturalistic intelligence

• Cattel-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities - most comprehensive theory of intelligence to date

  • abilities are related and arranged in a hierarchy, general abilities at the top, broad in the middle, and narrow / specific at the bottom

    • narrow abilities - only ones that be directly measured, integrated within other abilites

    • general level - intelligence

    • broad level - general abilities like fluid reasoning, STM, and processing speed

  • heirarchy continues, the narrow level includes specific forms of cognitive abilities

    • ex: STM would further break down into memory span and working memory capacity

• theory of cognitive development - our cognitive abilities develop through specific stages, which exemplifies the discontinuity approach to development

  • as we progress to a new stage, there is a distinct shift in how we think and reason

• identified parent-child attachments:

  • secure attachment

    • a toddler prefers his parent over the stranger

    • most common

  • avoidant attachment

    • child is unresponsive to parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, does not care when the parent leaves

    • reacts to the parent in the same way as a stranger

    • most likely to have a caregiver who was insensitive and inattentive to their needs

  • resistant attachment

    • children tend to show clingy behavior, reject attachment figure’s attempts to interact with them

    • do not explore the toys, too fearful

    • became disturbed and angry with the parent

      • when parent returns, the children are difficult to comfort

    • result of caregivers inconsistent level of response to their child

  • disorganized attachment

    • the freeze, run around, or try to run away when the caregiver returns

    • most often in kids who have been abused

• four parenting styles:

  • authoritative

    • parent gives reasonable demands and consistent limits

    • expresses warmth and affection

    • listens to child’s point of view

    • set rules and explain their reasoning

    • flexible, willing to make exceptions in certain cases

    • most encouraged in modern american society

    • tend to have high self-esteem and social skills

    • not preferred/appropriate in all cultures

  • authoritarian

    • parent places high value on conformity and obedience

    • strict, tightly monitor thier children, express little warmth

    • can create anxious, withdrawn, and unhappy kids

  • permissive

    • kids run the show, anything goes

    • parents make few demands, rarely use punishment

    • very nurturing and loving

    • play the friend role and not the parent

    • children tend to lack self-discipline, negatively associated with grades

  • uninvolved

    • parents are indifferent, referred to as neglectful

    • do not responds to child’s needs, make relatively few demands

    • may provide for child’s basic needs, but little else

    • children are usualyl emotionally withdrawn, fearful, anxious, perform poorly in school, increased risk of substance abuse

• Freudian slip - slips of the tongue are actually sexual/aggressive urges, accidentally slipping out of consciousness

  • very common

  • normally happens when we are tired, not at optimal level of cognitive functioning

• defense mechanisms: believed that feelings of anxiety resilt from the ego’s inability to mediate the conflict of the id and superego

  • believed the ego seeks to restore balance through various protective measures known as defense mechanisms

  • the individual’s unconscious mind uses ego defense mechanisms - unconscious protective behaviors that aim to reduce anxiety

    • the ego, usually conscious, resorts to unconscious strivings to protect the ego from being overwhelmed

    • unaware when we are using them

    • operate in ways that distort reality

Horney’s Coping styles:

• suggests 3 styles of coping:

  • moving toward people

    • relies on affiliation and dependence

    • children become dependent on their parents and other caregivers in an effort to recieve attention and affection

      • provides relief from anxiety

    • when they grow up they tend to use same coping strategy in relationships, expressing an intense need for love and acceptance

  • moving against people

    • relies on aggression and assertiveness

      • children find that fighting is the best way to deal with a unhappy home situation

    • deal with their feelings of insecurity by bullying other children

    • as adults they tend to lask out with hurtful comments and exploit others

  • moving away from people

    • centers on detachment and isolation

    • children handle their anxiety by withdrawing from the world

    • need privacy, tend to be self-sufficient

      • when they grow up the continue to avoid love and friendships

      • adults tend to gravitate towards careers that require little interation with others

• self-regulation - the process of identifying a goal or set of goals using internal and external feedback to maximize goal attainment

  • will power or delaying gratification

• self-regulation marshmallow test

  • placed a preschool child in a room with one mashmallow on the table

  • children were told they could eat the marshmallow now or wait until the researcher came back to the room, then they could have two marshmallows

    • found that young children differ in their degree of self-control

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      • followed this group of preschoolers to high school, children who had more self-control in preschool (waited for two marshmallows) were more successful in high school

        • higher self control

          • higher SAT scores

          • had positive peer relationships

          • less likely to have substance and abuse issues

          • as adults they had more stable marraiges

        • poor self control

          • not as successful in high school

          • found to have academic and behavioral problems </aside>

TRAIT THEORISTS

• identified 16 factors / dimensions of personality

  • warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, dominance, liveliness, rule-consciousness, social boldness, sensitivity, vigilance, abstractedness, privateness, apprehension, openness to change, self-reliance, perfectionism, and tension

• developed an assessment on these factors called the 16PF

  • each dimension is scored on a continuum from high to low

5 FACTOR MODEL

• the 5 factor model - hits a middle ground, referred to as teh Big Five personality factors

  • most popular theory in psych today, most accurate approximation of basic personality dimensions

  • the five factors:

    • openness to experience

      • imagination, feelings, actions, and ideas

      • high on this = curious with a wide range of interests

    • conscientiousness

      • competence, self discipline, thoughtfulness, and achievement-striving (goal-directed behavior)

      • high on this = hardworking and dependable

      • positive correlation between conscientiousness and academic success

    • extroversion

      • sociability, assertiveness, excitement-seeking, and emotional expression

      • high on this = usually outgoing and warm

      • ig high on extroversion and openness = more likely to take adventures and do risky sports

    • agreeableness

      • pleasent, cooperative, trustworthy, good-natured

      • low on this = described as rude, uncooperative

        • study showed men low on this earn more money than more agreeable men

    • neuroticism

      • tendency to experience negative emotions

      • high on this = emotional instability, characterized as angry, impulsive, and hostile

        • found people high on this report feeling anxious and unhappy

        • people found low on this tend to be calm and even-tempered

  • mnemonic = OCEAN

  • each person has each factor but along a spectrum

    • most tend to lie midway of each factor rather than at the polar ends

    • these factors are relatively stable across the lifespan, some tendency to change slightly

  • factors shown to exist across ethnicities, cultures, and ages

    • may have substantial biological and genetic components