Language and Thought Psych 101 Lecture Notes
Language and Thought Psych 101 Lecture Notes
Prototype: the BEST example of a concept. Possesses many, if not all of the characteristics of a
category
- The closer an example of something is to the prototype, the better of an example of the
concept it would be considered
o Fruit if apple is the prototype, the closer a fruit is to an apple, the better and
example of a fruit it would seem
- People make category judgements (whether it belongs in the category or not) based off
of the category’s prototype
Conjunction Bias: more likely someone is one thing rather than a combination of things
- Can be agreed upon (governed by societal rules), or individual (what you look for in a
class)
- Can also be natural or artificial
Natural Artificial
- Experienced in the world (fruit, snow, - The area of a square / Pythagorean’s
birds) theorem / dictionary definitions
- Can construct an understanding of it - Understood through a set of
through DIRECT observation properties / characteristics
- Build upon one another
Schemas: represents CLUSTERS of related concepts. These further help us with the organization
of information. (like meta concepts)
- Multiple types
- We’re focusing on role schemas and event schemas
Role Schema: expectations based on someone’s role (ex. Teacher, student, parent, etc)
- How a person should behave based on their categorization
- Ex. Professor – smart, inquisitive, intelligent
Event Schema:
- cognitive scripts – what do you do in certain events?
- When we are uncertain about event schemas (certain situations), we look to others.
- Some event schemas are more powerful than others
o Taking an exam: everyone performs the same behaviour
o Going out to a bar: people engage in similar behaviour, but in a way more
consistent with their usual behaviour
LANGUAGE
Does language change / dictate the way we think, or does the way we think influence our
language?
Language: a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according
to rules (grammar) and that convey meaning
- Not necessarily words – bees dance, individuals use sign language, some animals use
chirps and beeps, pheromones, etc.
Phonemes:
- Smallest unit of language
- 44 different phonemes in English
- How many letters in the alphabet?
- ch / ph / sh / ai / igh / ee / oo
Some phonemes are also morphemes (the word and phoneme “a”)
Morphological Rules
- how we combine morphemes to remix words
Behaviourist Approach
- We learn language through reinforcement
o Ex. A baby says “Mama” and parents give them affection, love, attention in
response
Nativist Approach
- We have an innate, biological capacity for language
o Languages are more difficult to learn after puberty – supports the nativist
approach
o Initial language leaves lasting traces in the brain
- Similar language development occurs, regardless of culture (and the different forms of
reinforcement they may use)