Psychology Recitation 1 Language Language a system of communication Uses sounds and symbols to express meaning Is hierarchical meaning it has different levels Is governed by rules such as grammar and syntax Has a critical period for 0 7 years When young it is easier to learn language If not exposed than will never learn Learning additional languages becomes more difficult Babies can discriminate all sounds of all languages Four Components of Language 1 Phoneme the smallest unit of speech sound English has 44 phonemes a Examples habits 6 three 3 quickly 6 psychology 8 2 Morpheme smallest unit of sound that conveys meaning Can be a prefix root word or suffix a Redevelopment 3 swimming 2 language 1 antidisestablishmentarianism 7 3 Grammar rules for a specific language 4 Syntax the structure used to convey meaning a Correct syntax incorrect grammar powerful you have become the dark side I sense in you b Correct grammar incorrect syntax colorless green ideas sleep furiously Language in the Brain Aphasia the collective deficits in language comprehension and the production that accompany neurological damage 40 of stroke victims have some type of aphasia Damage to Broca s area or Wernicke s area on the left side of the brain impacts verbal language These same areas on the right side of the brain are associated with nonverbal language o Broca s aphasia an inability to produce language either speaking or writing Can understand language o Wernicke s aphasia an inability to understand language of yourself or others What affects how we perceive language Written language as you read text you see each word separated by a blank space and each sentence ended by a period These physical cues help you discriminate between words and sentences Spoken language word boundaries are murkier Visual cues affect verbal cues o McGurk Effect Problem an obstacle between a present state and a goal Problem solving producing an effort to overcome the obstacle Problem representation determining what information is relevant or irrelevant to solving a problem May be an important determinant to whether or not the person will be able to solve the problem Problem Space Theory Initial state where are you now Goal state where do you want to be How to get from initial to goal state o Consider all in between states o Operators actions taken to move from state to state Problem solving strategies o Algorithms systematic and methodical o Heuristics short cuts based on experience Problem solving Well structured problem clear path to the solution Ill structured problem dimensions of the problem are not specified or easy to infer Attraction Reproduction Reproductive biology may be the reason for gender differences in the selection of reproductive and sexual partners Men and women behave differently Women are more selective than men o Sperm is cheap and eggs are valuable Attraction is based on situational physical and psychological factors o Situational factors mere exposure effect the tendency for liking to increase with the frequency of exposure o Physical factors appearance may be the most important attribute Beauty is defined as Faces and bodies being bilaterally symmetrical Men like immature features in women Men like an hourglass Women like mature features in men Women like an inverted shape triangle body shape o Psychological factors similarity is deemed attractive Similarity assume similar people will like us and validates ourselves Dissimilar people seem unattractive to us Reciprocal liking we like people who we think like us Self fulfilling prophecy and role of self esteem
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