PSYX 100 1st Edition Lecture 23 Outline of Current Lecture I Risk Factors in Language Development II Bilingualism III Theories of Language Acquisition IV Language and Culture V Problem Solving VI Cultural Cognitive Styles Current Lecture I II III Risk Factors in Language Development a Socioeconomic status SES i Correlation not causation ii Lower SES associated with poorer language skills iii Parental education iv Limited time v Income limits resources b Parent interaction i How engaging parents are with child ii Provide feedback and opportunities to communicated iii Demonstrates advanced speech 1 Limited when solely with other toddlers c Quality of environment i Stimulation from people and objects ii Opportunities for practicing language Bilingualism a Bilingualism the acquisition of two languages i Norm in half of the world b What influences our ability to acquire a second language i Age ii Acculturation degree to which a person is socially and psychologically integrated into new culture Theories of Language Acquisition a Behavioral theories we learn language the same way we learn everything else i Reinforcement and observation ii Incorrect language is not reinforced and eventually declines b Nativist Theories These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute i Noam Chomsky ii Children learn the rules of a language not specific responses iii Language Acquisition Device LAD in born mechanism that facilitates the learning of language iv Evidence 1 Overgeneralization IV V 2 Children acquire language quickly and easily 3 Equal worldwide language development c Interactionist Theories both biology and experience are important i We are biologically equipped to learn language AND we acquire language through learning 1 Emergent theories neural circuits that support language emerge through learning Language and Culture a Linguistic relativity i One s language determines the nature of thought ii Different world views Problem Solving a Problem Solving active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal not readily attainable b Classes of problems i Problems of inducing structure relationships between things 1 Ex analogies ii Problems of arrangement arranging problems to satisfy solution 1 Ex anagrams iii Problems of transformation complete sequence of transformations to achieve goal c Steps to Problem Solving i Problem representation what is the problem ii Planning a solution how will I solve it iii Reformulating the problem reevaluate the problem and possible solution iv Executing the plan v Checking the results d Barriers to problem solving i Irrelevant information we can be misled by irrelevant unnecessary information because we typically think that all information presented is needed ii Functional fixedness tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use 1 Ex Lifehacks VI iii Mental set when people persist in using problem solving strategies that have worked in the past iv Unnecessary constraints applying constraints that are not laid out in the problem but we assume are there e Approaches to problem solving i Trial and error ii Algorithms trying all solutions iii Heuristics rules of thumb 1 Typically helpful in finding solutions quicker f Types of Heuristics i Forming sub goals intermediate steps toward a solution 1 Ex graduating ii Working backwards if a problem has a specified end point it may be easiest to work from there 1 Ex mazes iii Searching for analogies using similarities between problems iv Changing the representation of a problem using different orientations to solve a problem 1 Ex algebraic math vs graphs figures g Culture and Problem Solving i Field dependence relying on external frames of reference 1 Focus on the big picture first 2 More dominant in collectivist societies ii Field independence relying on internal frames of reference 1 Focus on specific features 2 More dominant in individualistic societies Cultural Cognitive Styles a Holistic cognitive styles i Eastern Asian cultures ii Focus on context and relationships among objects b Analytic cognitive styles i Western cultures ii Focus on objects and their properties