Cognition, 8e
Chapter 9
Language I: Introduction to
Language and Language
Comprehension
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
syntax
grammar
semantics
pragmatics
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
A Brief History of Psycholinguistics
Chomsky's Approach
• Language abilities can be explained in
terms of a complex system of rules and
principles represented in the minds of
language users.
• Humans have an innate understanding of
the abstract principles of language.
• Language learning involves the more
superficial characteristics of a particular
language.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
A Brief History of Psycholinguistics
Chomsky's Approach (continued)
• Language is modular (language is special,
not processed the same as other cognitive
tasks).
• surface structure vs. deep structure of
sentences
• transformational rules
• ambiguous sentences
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Negatives
Clark & Chase (1972)
• Negative statements require more
processing time than affirmative
statements.
• Affirmative statements produce fewer
errors.
• Multiple negatives decrease performance.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
The Passive Voice
Ferreira and her coauthors (2002)
• sentence plausibility
• The active form of a sentence is easier to
understand than the passive form.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Complex Syntax
difficult to understand
can result in memory overload
nested structure
working memory
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Ambiguity
Ambiguous Words
People pause longer when they are
processing an ambiguous word.
When people encounter a potential
ambiguity, the activation builds up for all the
well-known meanings of the ambiguous
item.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Ambiguity
Ambiguous Words
People are likely to choose one particular
meaning:
1. if that meaning is more common than
the alternate meaning
2. if the rest of the sentence is consistent
with that meaning
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
The "Good-Enough" Approach to
Language Comprehension
People typically manage to read quite rapidly.
The good-enough approach—Ferreira and
colleagues
• People frequently process only part of a
sentence.
• People usually do not work hard to create the
most accurate, detailed interpretation of every
sentence they read or hear.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
The "Good-Enough" Approach to
Language Comprehension
The good-enough approach—Ferreira and
colleagues
• People read quickly, and they try to grasp the
general meaning of a sentence.
• Knowledge of language typically leads to an
accurate interpretation.
• This strategy can sometimes lead to errors in
language comprehension.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Individuals with Aphasia
aphasia
Figure 9.1: Broca's Area & Wernicke's Area
• Broca's area/Broca's aphasia: expressivelanguage deficit
• Wernicke's area/Wernicke's aphasia:
receptive-language deficit
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Individuals with Aphasia
People with Broca's aphasia may also have
some trouble with language comprehension.
Many people with Wernicke's aphasia have
problems with language production as well as
language comprehension.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Hemispheric Specialization
lateralization
variations related to handedness
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Hemispheric Specialization
Role in language
left hemisphere
• speech perception/sound interpretation
• meaning
• imagery
right hemisphere
• emotional tone
• humor
• more abstract language tasks
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Neuroimaging Research in Adults
Without Aphasia
1. Using the fMRI method to study language
in the left hemisphere.
Kanwisher and colleagues
• attempts to identify specific areas responsible
for language comprehension tasks
• individual differences
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Neuroimaging Research in Adults
Without Aphasia
1. Using the fMRI method to study language
in the left hemisphere.
language-localizer task
• compensates for individual differences
• creates linguistic map for each person using
complex language tasks
• later, test each person on language and nonlanguage tasks
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Neuroimaging Research in Adults
Without Aphasia
1. Using the fMRI method to study language
in the left hemisphere.
language-localizer task (continued)
• Specific regions of left frontal lobe responded
only to language tasks, but not to other kinds of
cognitive tasks.
• Other research has located portions of the left
hemisphere that process specific linguistic
information (e.g., sentences vs. non-words).
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
Neuroimaging Research in Adults
Without Aphasia
2. Using the fMRI method to study language
in the right hemisphere.
Gernsbacher and Robertson (2005): "A"/"The"
study
• virtually identical patterns of activation in left
hemisphere
• right hemisphere responded differently to
connected language ("The" sentences) than to
disconnected language ("A" sentences)
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
How the Mirror System Can Facilitate
Communication
mirror system—a network of neurons in the
brain’s motor cortex that are activated when
you watch someone perform an action
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
How the Mirror System Can Facilitate
Communication
Rizzolatti and colleagues
• measure responses of single neurons
• monkeys watching a researcher break
open a peanut
• Monkeys' responses while watching were
similar to when the monkeys themselves
broke open a peanut.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
How the Mirror System Can Facilitate
Communication
Calvo-Merino and colleagues (2005)
• fMRI data for experts in classical ballet or
martial arts
• videos of classical ballet vs. videos of
martial arts
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
How the Mirror System Can Facilitate
Communication
Calvo-Merino and colleagues (2005)
• fMRIs for experts in classical ballet showed
significantly greater activation in the motorcortex areas relevant to ballet movements,
and relatively little activation in the areas
relevant to martial arts.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
The Nature of
Language
In Depth: Neurolinguistics
How the Mirror System Can Facilitate
Communication
Calvo-Merino and colleagues (2005)
• Individuals who were experts in martial arts
showed the reverse activation pattern.
• In other words, experts can grasp meaning
by watching another person, when they
have fully developed the appropriate motor
‘‘vocabulary.’’
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
How do we look at a pattern of letters and actually
recognize that word?
dual-route approach to reading—skilled readers
employ both a direct-access route (recognize word
directly through vision) and an indirect-access
route (recognize word by first sounding out the
word)
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
The Direct-Access Route
Bradshaw and Nettleton (1974)
• pairs of words with similar spelling, but
different sounds
• first word read silently, second word
pronounced out loud
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
The Direct-Access Route
Bradshaw and Nettleton (1974) (continued)
• no interference indicated by no hesitation in
pronouncing second word
• Results suggest that people do not silently
pronounce each word during normal reading.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
The Indirect-Access Route
People often translate visual stimuli into sound
during reading.
Sound coding may enhance working memory.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
The Indirect-Access Route
Luo and coauthors (1998)
• pairs of words judged as related or unrelated
in meaning
• Students made errors on pairs where the
second word sounds like a word that is
semantically related to the first word (e.g.,
LION-BARE).
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
The Indirect-Access Route
Luo and coauthors (1998) (continued)
• suggests they were silently pronouncing the
word pairs when they made the judgments
• few errors on pairs where the second word
looked like a related word (e.g., LION-BEAN)
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
The Indirect-Access Route
Word sounds may be especially important when
children begin to read. Children with high
phonological awareness have superior reading
skills.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Reading Words: Theoretical
Approaches
Dual-Route Approach
• flexible
• argues that the characteristics of the reading
material determine whether access is indirect
or direct
• argues that characteristics of the reader also
determine whether access is indirect or direct
(e.g., beginning vs. advanced readers; poor
vs. good readers)
• consistent with brain-imaging research
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Implications for Teaching Reading to
Children
Whole-word approach (direct access)
• argues readers can directly connect the
written word—as an entire unit—with the
meaning that this word represents
• argues that children should not learn to
emphasize the way a word sounds
• emphasizes context within a sentences
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Implications for Teaching Reading to
Children
Whole-word approach (direct access)
• problem—Even skilled adult readers achieve
only about 25% accuracy when they look at an
incomplete sentence and guess which word is
missing.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Implications for Teaching Reading to
Children
Phonics approach (indirect access)
• Readers recognize words by trying to
pronounce the individual letters in the word.
• "sound it out"
• argues that speech sound is a necessary
intermediate step in reading
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9
Basic Reading
Processes
Implications for Teaching Reading to
Children
Most educators and researchers support
some sort of compromise.
Whole-language approach
• Reading instruction should emphasize
meaning.
• Reading instruction should be enjoyable, to
increase children's enthusiasm about
learning to read.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 9