Warm Up- pg 15
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1. What is cognition?
2. What is the most sure way to solve a
problem?
3. What is the difference between an algorithm
and a heuristic?
4. What is wrong with using heuristics to solve
problems?
5. What is fixation?
6. What day is your test?
7. What day is your midterm packet due?
Language
Development of Language
 Language:
refers to our
spoken, written,
or gestured
words and how
they are
combined to
communicate.
Language: Building Blocks
1. Phonemes: the smallest distinctive
sound unit.
 How many phonemes is in the word:
Cheat?
2. Morphemes: the smallest unit that
carries meaning; may be a word or a part
of a word (such as a prefix)
 How many Morphemes is in the word
“previewed?”
 How many Morphemes is in the word
“rabbits?”
Language: The Rules

Grammar: a system of rules that enables us
to communicate with and understand others.
Includes semantics and syntax.
– Semantics: the study of meaning; rules for
how we get meaning from morphemes,
words, and sentences in a given language.
– Syntax: the rules for combining words into
grammatically sensible sentences in a given
language.
Examples of Language Rules
 Semantic
Examples: adding –ed to end
of word does what?
 Adding –s to a noun does what?
 Syntax
Examples: In English adjectives
come before nouns but the opposite is
true in Spanish.
 Pretty girl
 Chica bonita
Stages of Language

1. Babbling Stage:
– beginning at 3 to 4 months
– the stage of speech development in which
the infant spontaneously utters various
sounds at first unrelated to the household
language
 10
months start to only learn the
language of the household
 Start to lose the ability to make sounds
other than the sounds of the spoken
language at home
Stages of Language
 2.
One word stage:
–from about age 1 to
2
–the stage in speech
development during
which a child speaks
mostly in single
words
Stages of Language
 3.
Two-Word Stage
–beginning about age 2
–the stage in speech development during
which a child speaks mostly two-word
statements
 4. Telegraphic Speech
–early speech stage in which the child
speaks like a telegram – “go car” –
using mostly nouns and verbs and
omitting “auxiliary” words
Language Summary
Summary of Language Development
Month
(approximate)
Stage
4
Babbles many speech sounds.
10
Babbling reveals households
language.
12
One-word stage.
24
Two-world, telegraphic speech.
24+
Language develops rapidly into
Complete sentences.
Theories of Language Development:
B. F. Skinner vs. Noam Chomsky

VS.
Theory 1: Skinner Believes We Learn
Language Through Learning Techniques
(Class. Cond., Op. Cond, and Observation)
 Tools for learning language according to
Skinner:
1. Association: associate the sight of things
with certain sound of words
2. Imitation: watch models speaking words
and syntax and then we imitate them.
3. Reinforcement: given positive feedback
and words of encouragement when we speak
correctly.
Theory 2: Chomsky Believes
Our Brains Are Hardwired With
Inborn Universal Grammar.
Language is Enabled by a:
 Language Acquisition Device: humans are
born with innate abilities to acquire language.
 Argued although children do learn the
language of their environment, the rate they
acquire words and grammar without being
taught is too astonishing to be explained
purely from external learning principles.
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Experience Modifies Brain to
Learn Native Language
Percentage able 100
to discriminate
90
Hindi t’s
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Hindispeaking
adults
6-8
months
8-10
months
10-12
months
Infants from English-speaking homes
Englishspeaking
adults
Importance of Early Language
Learning
Percentage
correct on
grammar
100
test
90
80
70
60
50
Native 3-7
8-10 11-15 17-39
Cognitive Neuroscientists:
Statistical Learning
Mix between inborn ability and
environment
 Genes do play a role in language
development
 Learning during the first 7 years is
critical
 Learn a new language easiest
when younger
 When a young brain does not learn
any language, its language
capacity never fully develops
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Languages Influence on
Thinking
 Linguistic
Determinism :
Benjamin Whorf’s idea that language
determines the way we think.
 English has many self-focused
emotions vs. Japanese which has
many words for interpersonal
emotions.
Language Relativity and
Doublespeak
 Double-Speak
describes when language
is used to disguise the actual meaning
and possibly mislead people.
 Examples:
 “Downsizing”=multiple firings of
employees.
 “Physical Persuasion”=torture
 “Collateral Damage”=death of civilians
 “Concentration Camp”=labor/death camp
Thinking Without Language
 There
are some ideas in which we do not
depend on language.
 Ex: Remembering different colors.
 What direction do you turn in your
driveway when you come home from
school?
 What direction do you turn a knob to turn
water on?
LANGUAGE AFFECTS THINKING AND
THINKING AFFECTS LANGUAGE.
Animal Thinking and Language
Animal Thinking
 Yes animals think
 Count, exhibit
insight, use tools, and
transmit cultural
innovations
 Animals also use
deception
Animal Thinking and Language
Yes animals use
language
 Chimps have learned
181 different signs
 Can form sentences
 Human language
similar to a 2 year
old
 Animal language
much more
sophisticated
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