GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Lecture 8
LANGUAGE & INTELLIGENCE
Visiting Assistant PROFESSOR YEE-SAN TEOH
Department of Psychology
National Taiwan University
Unless noted, the course materials are licensed
under Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Taiwan (CC
BY-NC-SA 3.0)
THEORIES
ANTECEDENTS OF LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION
VOCABULARY
GRAMMAR
THE COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Phonemes – basic sound units
Semantics – meaning of words and sentences
Grammar – structure of language (syntax, morphemes)
Pragmatics – conversational rules
HOW DO WE ACQUIRE
LANGUAGE?
THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
THE LEARNING VIEW
Reinforcement
(Skinner)
Imitation
(Bandura)
But how do
children develop
language in a
particular
sequence?
How do they
acquire certain
components of
language even
without
reinforcement or
imitation?
THE NATIVIST VIEW
Chomsky’s LADLanguage
Acquisition Device
Evidence:
Certain universal
features in all
languages,
Critical period in
language
acquisition
But…
Social
context/culture is
important – more
differences than
similarities across
languages
THE INTERACTIONIST VIEW
Innate ability +
supportive context
(Tomasello)
Biologically
programmed ability
Children play an
to speak must be
active role in
complimented with
acquiring
extensive
language
experience with
language
DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Lack of stimulation
Deafness
Blindness
Language Impairments
LACK OF STIMULATION –
MALTREATED CHILDREN
The Story of Genie
• Abused and never spoken to since birth.
• Discovered at age 13, given rehabilitation.
• Was able to use speech much like that of a young child
(“Another house have dog”).
• Never able to reach the proficiency typical for her age.
DEAFNESS
• Language does not depend on the auditory-vocal channel.
• The American Sign Language (ASL) involves a system of
gestures.
• ASL has hand shapes & positions for each word
composition.
• Babies born to deaf ASL users (whether or not they are
deaf) can learn from caregivers through informal
interaction.
BLINDNESS
• Blind children learn language just as rapidly and as well as
sighted children.
• Vision-related words like “look” and “see” are understood
in a different way – use of hands rather than eyes.
• Color words are learnt even without personally
experiencing them – they can talk about the colors of
things they are familiar with.
LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS
Aphasia
- Disorder of language produced by lesions in certain areas
of the cortex in the left hemisphere.
- A lesion in Broca’s area = nonfluent aphasia (speech
difficulty).
- A lesion in Wernicke’s area = fluent aphasia
(comprehension difficulty)
LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS
Specific Language Impairment (SLI)
- Syndrome in which individuals are very slow to learn
language.
- Not caused by developmental disorders or brain damage.
- Throughout life, difficulty in understanding and producing
many sentences, even though intelligence seems normal.
SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
• Knowledge of the first or native language is so much
better than knowledge of a second or third language.
• Evidence shows that the brain loci of late-learned
languages usually are different from those of the first
learned language.
• The older a person who is learning a second language, the
more difficult it is to become fluent in that language.
WHAT DO DIFFERENCES IN
LANGUAGE LEARNING
TELL US?
THE CRITICAL/SENSITIVE PERIOD HYPOTHESIS
• There is a sensitive developmental period for language
learning.
• Language is most easily acquired in early childhood.
• Evidence for sensitive periods for language acquisition
comes from studies of severely maltreated children and
second language learning.
BABIES’ COMMUNICATIVE
EFFORTS
INFANT-DIRECTED SPEECH (ALSO MOTHERESE)
Parents and infants engage in dialogue of
sounds, gestures, facial expressions.
Infant grows as a communicative partner
(Schaffer, 1996).
Gesturing sets the stage for language development….
(Goldin-Meadows, 2007)
USING GESTURES
6 months - most babies
learn to use pointing
gesture.
End of 1st yr, gestures to
communicate, share
their intentions with
another (Tomasello et al.
2007).
Protodeclarative
Gesture intended to
make a statement
about an object.
Protoimperative
Gesture intended to get
another person to do
something for the
child.
Beyond Gesturing…..
Receptive Language
Expressive/Productive Language
RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE –
EARLY SPEECH PERCEPTION
• As early as 1 month of age, infants can perform
categorical speech perception.
• Ability to discriminate speech sounds, e.g. consonants.
• Exposure to specific or native languages determines
ability to distinguish and categorize specific
sounds/phonemes.
DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN LANGUAGES
• 4-day-old babies in France & America can discriminate
between English and French speech.
• By 2 months, babies listen longer when their own native
language is spoken.
TUNING IN TO ONE’S OWN LANGUAGE….
• Infants lose the ability to make phoneme distinctions that
are NOT used in their language community.
• Japanese infants stop distinguishing between “la” and
“ra”.
• Babies begin to listen specifically for the particulars of
their own language.
PRODUCTIVE LANGUAGE –
EARLY SPEECH PRODUCTION
• Production of sounds in 1st yr follows orderly 4-stage
sequence.
• Crying  Cooing  Babbling  Patterned Speech.
• Cultural differences in prespeech sounds emerge around the
babbling stage.
• Babies start to tune in to the specific sounds of their native
language.
HOW CHILDREN ACQUIRE WORDS
 Different views on how children associate a word with an
object.
1. Associations combined with attention to perceptual
similarity.
2. Use of social cues from adults to learn what a word labels.
3. Use of multiple cues that changes with age – perceptual at
early stage, social later.
HOW CHILDREN ACQUIRE GRAMMAR
• By 2yrs of age, children begin to use 2-word utterances
(Telegraphic Speech/TS).
E.g. ‘there book’, ‘more milk’
• TS includes crucial words needed to convey the
speaker’s intent.
• From 2 yrs onwards, children learn the rules of grammar
– understanding and acquiring morphemes (-s, -ing)
Grammatical Flowering (deVilliers & deVilliers, 1992).
In 3rd year of life…..
• Sentence construction improves.
• Increasing types of verbs, and tenses.
• Ability to pose questions, using wh- words (what, which,
where, why).
• Expressions of negation (e.g. “That not daddy”, “No go
school”).
THE SOCIAL USE OF LANGUAGE
BILINGUALISM
THE COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Phonemes – basic sound units
Semantics – meaning of words and sentences
Grammar – structure of language (syntax, morphemes)
Pragmatics – conversational rules
USING LANGUAGE SOCIALLY
Children use language as a social tool through….
1. Speech Acts = Expressions clearly referring to
situations rather than to one object/action.
2. Discourse = Socially based conversation where
children listen and respond to another’s speech.
THE RULES OF PRAGMATICS –
Using Language Appropriate To A Given Situation
1. Engage attention of listener.
2. Be sensitive to listener’s feedback and respond clearly.
3. Adjust speech to the characteristics of the listener (e.g.
age, culture, social background).
4. Adjust speech to suit situation (e.g. church)
5. Learn to listen.
6. Evaluate own and conversational partner’s messages.
HOW EARLY DO CHILDREN
LEARN THE PRAGMATICS
OF LANGUAGE?
MAKING CONVERSATION AT 2YRS
2-year-olds…
• Addressed listeners during interaction
• Directed communication to others when they could
see each other.
• Made close contact to topic/object of conversation.
• Responsive to feedback.
(Wellman & Lempers, 1977)
ADJUSTING SPEECH
2-3-yr-olds used more repetitions and more attentioneliciting words (hello, look) when talking to baby
siblings than to mothers.
(Judy Dunn & colleagues)
CHILDREN’S LIMITATIONS…
Less effective speakers when they must compete with
other adults or children.
Less competent when speaking about
(i) Absent objects
(ii) Feelings
(iii) Thoughts
(iv) Relationships
LEARNING TO LISTEN
• Even 3-yr-olds can recognize ambiguous messages and
respond appropriately.
Revelle et al (1985)
- When 3- and 4-year-olds heard ambiguous requests (e.g.
Bring me the refrigerator)….
- Many understood that request was problematic and
requested more information (e.g. How? It is too heavy)
BILINGUALISM /
MULTILINGUALISM
A FEW CONSEQUENCES OF BILINGUALISM…
• Learning of each language may be slower, vocabularies
of each language smaller.
• Can use distinct sounds from each language to deal
with cognitive load from learning two languages.
• Skillfulness in 2 languages – better concept formation,
flexible thinking.
CRIB BILINGUALISM…
• Bilingual exposure in early infancy enhances the ability
to monitor and switch between competing tasks.
• Having to inhibit knowledge about one language while
learning another language promotes executive control.
• Better cognitive flexibility and executive control – better
ability to monitor, repair, and reinterpret sentences.
TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE
FLUID
• Ability to deal with new
and unusual problems,
likely to be a fast
learner.
• Decreases with age.
• More susceptible to
bodily changes.
C RY STA L L I Z E D
• Individual’s acquired
knowledge; useful for
dealing with problems
that are similar to those
already encountered.
• Increases with age.
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
 3 major components –
(a) Information-processing skills: Encode, store, and
retrieve info.
(b) Experience with given task: Exposure & practice with
particular intelligence task.
(c) Ability to adapt to demands of context: Adapt to
requirements, select situation to meet abilities &
needs.
Sternberg’s Theory of Successful Intelligence
 Ability to meet own goals and those of his/her society.
 3 abilities:
1. Analytical: reasoning about best answer to a
question.
2. Creative: devising new ways of addressing issues
and concerns.
3. Practical: skills used in work, family life,
social/professional interactions.
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence
 8 kinds of intelligence:
1. Linguistic (e.g. poet, teacher)
2. Logical-Mathematical (e.g. scientist)
3. Spatial (e.g. engineer, artist)
4. Musical (e.g. musician, composer)
5. Bodily-Kinesthetic (e.g. dancer, athlete)
6. Intrapersonal (e.g. novelist, actor)
7. Interpersonal (e.g. psychotherapist)
8. Naturalistic (e.g. biologist)
APPLICATION TO FORMAL EDUCATION?
 Gardner & Sternberg’s Project Zero Practical
Intelligence for School Program (PIFS)
• Positive effects on motivation, achievement,
behavior.
PIFS
• Students work through lessons that develop their
understanding of their own strengths and interests;
• The purposes of various school tasks (why is there
homework and how is it similar to what adults do?);
• The demands of different subject areas (how is studying
for a math test different from studying for social studies?);
• The many steps involved in school tasks (such as making
plans and using resources); and
• The importance of self-monitoring through reflection (in
journals and discussions).
INTELLIGENCE TESTING
IQ
(Intelligence Quotient) Index
of a way a person
performs on a
standardized intelligence
test relative to the way
others of the same age
perform.
W H Y D O W E N E E D TO
MEASURE
INTELLIGENCE?
FLANAGAN & HARRISON, 2005
1. Predict academic performance
2. Predict performance on the job
3. Assess general adjustment & health
Problem with IQ Test Questions…
-
Are they accurate?
-
Are they culturally sensitive?
EXISTING INTELLIGENCE TESTS
Infants
1. Bayley Scales of Infant Development
2. Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence
-
Primarily used to identify abnormal development,
determine child’s need for early intervention
services.
Older children
1. Stanford-Binet Test
2. Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children
-
Skills tested in WISC include factual knowledge,
long-term memory, short-term memory, reasoning,
mathematical skills.
Adults
1. Stanford-Binet Test
2. Weschler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS)
-
Skills tested in the WAIS include verbal
comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working
memory, processing speed.
WHAT INFLUENCES
INTELLIGENCE?
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN INTELLIGENCE
Heritability Ratios
• Proportion of variance in intelligence in a given
population that is attributable to genetic factors.
• Estimates of 40%-70%.
• Differences in heritability – some cultures or socioeconomic backgrounds facilitate/impede the
expression of ‘intelligence’ genes.
CULTURE & INTELLIGENCE
• Cultures may differ on conceptions of what intelligence
is.
• Different cultures use different methods of problem
solving.
• Cultures differ in the skills they need and value.
POVERTY & IQ DEVELOPMENT
• Children who live in poverty in their preschool years
seem more at risk than children who were not exposed
to such levels of poverty until middle or late childhood.
• Genetic factors are more significant in high-SES than
low-SES families.
• Impoverished environment cuts off genetic potential –
so genetic blueprint matters less.
THE FLYNN EFFECT
 IQ scores seem to be rising at the rate of approx 3
points per decade.
Why?
 Improvement in nutrition and health care.
 Interaction among cultures – sharing ‘intelligence’
 Genetics less significant – evolution takes much longer.