Thinking and Language

1
Thinking and Language

• Chapter 10

2
Thinking

• Concepts
• What is a chair?
• Prototype
• Solving Problems
• Algorithm
• Heuristic
• Problems with Problem Solving
• Confirmatory bias
• Fixation
• Mental Set
• Functional fixedness

3
Decision Making and Judgments

• Misuse of Heuristics
• Representativeness Heuristic
• Draw/describe the typical science professor
• Availability Heuristic
• Overconfidence
• Framing
• 2 milk vs. 98 fat free meat
• Republican Party
• Estate tax vs. death tax
• Sexual orientation vs. sexual preference
• Belief Bias
• Belief Perseverance
• Anchoring Effect

4
Language

• The Basics
• Morphemes
• Phonemes
• Grammar
• Syntax
• Semantics

5
Language Acquisition

• In fantis (without speaking)
• Babbling Stage (4 months)
• Discriminate proper face/pronunciation
• 12 months cant discriminate foreign phonemes
• One-Word Stage
• Usu. Full blown by 18-months
• Two-Word Stage
• Usu. by age two
• Telegraphic speech

6
Explaining Language Acquisition

• Skinner and Operant Principles
• Chomsky and Language Acquisition Device
• In-born ability
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Statistical learning
• Children still do better!
• Deaf vs. Hearing Children

7
The Chicken and the Egg

• The Whorfian Theory (1956)
• Linguistic Relativity
• Does Language determine or merely influence
  reality?
• Thinking without Language
• Temple Grandin

8
Animal Thinking and Language

• Do animals Think?
• YES
• Do Animals Use Language?
• Yes, No, Maybe So
• The Honeybee Dance
• Washoe
• Nim Chimsky