University:
Eastern Kentucky University
Course:
PHY 317 | Cognitive Psychology
Academic year:

2021
Views:

27

Pages:

2
Author:

esfredint7qo

Cognitive Psychology Notes Module 10: Language 2 Word Segmentation Problem  Listening to Native vs. Foreign Language o We perceive a sequence of words without clear acoustic gaps. o Foreign languages seem more continuous and harder to parse.  Strategies for Word Segmentation in Adults o Phonotactic Constraints: Some sounds can't be combined in English (e.g., /pf/ as in "hip flask") o Possible Word Constraint: Words must have at least one vowel. o Stress Patterns: Strong syllables often mark word onsets. o Coarticulation: Smoother transitions within words compared to between words. o Recognizing Familiar Words: Using known vocabulary to identify word boundaries.  Infant Word Segmentation o Challenges: Infants don't rely on language-specific knowledge. o Not Isolated Words: Caregivers rarely speak to infants in individual words. o Prosodic Cues: Pauses, stress, and intonation help infants segment speech. o Distributional Cues: Transitional probability is key.  Transitional Probability o High Probability: Syllables within the same word. o Low Probability: Syllables at the boundary of different words. o Infants can use a drop in transitional probability to detect word boundaries.  Artificial Language Studies o Saffran, Newport, & Aslin (1996): Infants exposed to artificial language could segment words based on transitional probabilities. Testing Limits: Infants can handle variations (e.g., word length) seen in natural languages. Summary: Word segmentation relies on statistical learning, but there's more to how infants learn to recognize words. o  Is Language Innate?  Language as an Instinct o Prewired Ability: Humans can learn any language regardless of phoneme variety or grammar structure. o Chomsky's View: Proposed the Language Acquisition Device, suggesting that language learning is innate. o Against Reinforcement Theory (Skinner): Children create novel sentences they've never heard (e.g., "I goed to daycare").  Learning from Input: Alternative view that language learning depends entirely on exposure. Does Language Influence Thought?  Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis o Strong Version: Language determines thought. o Weak Version: Language influences perception. o Weakest Version: Language affects memory. Case Study: Differences in how languages express spatial o relationships ("frames of reference"). Is Language Specific to Humans?  Human Uniqueness: Exploration of whether language ability is exclusive to humans, with examples like Nicaraguan Sign Language showing the development of language from gestures.