Language consists of symbols that convey meanging, plus rules for combining those symbols, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messeges
Phonemes are the smallest speech units in a language that can be distinguished perceptually
Morphemes are the smallest units of MEANING in a language
Semantics is the area of language concerned wth UNDERSTANDING the meaning of words and word cominations
Syntax is a system of rules that specify HOW wards can be ARRANGED into sentences
FAST MAPPING is the proccess by which children map a word onto an underlying concept after only one exposure
OVEREXTENSION occurs when a child incorrectly uses a word to DESCRIBE a wider set of OBJECTS or ACTIONS than it is meant to.
UNDEREXTENSIONS occur when a child incorrectly uses a words to DESCRIBE a NARROW set of objects or actions than it is meant to.
TELEGRAPHIC SPEECH consists mainly of content words; articles, prepositions, and other less critical words are omitted.
OVERREULATION occurs when grammatical rules are incorrectly generalized to irregular cases where they do not apply
METALINGUISTIC AWARENESS is the ability to reflect on the use of language
BILINGUALISM is the aquisition of two languages that use different speech sounds, vocaublary, and grammatical rules
Nativist Theory proposes that humans are equipped with a language acquisiton device (LAD)- and inanimate mechanism or process that facilitates the learning of a language
Interactionist Theorist assert that biooogy and experience both make important contributions to the development of language:
Cognitive Theorists assert that language development
is simply an important aspect of more general cognitive
development-which depends on maturation &
experience
Social Communications Theorists
emphasize the functional value of
interpersonal communication and the
social context in which languages
evolves
Emergenitist Theorists argue that the
neural circuts supporting language are
not prewired but emerge gradually in
response to language learning
experiences
LLINGUISTIC RELATIVETY, the hypothesis that ones language determines the nature of ones thought
PROBLEM SOLVING: IN SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS &
DECISION MAKING: CHOICES AND CHANCES
PROBLEM SOLVING refers to active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal that is not readily attainable
1. Problems of inducing structure require people to discover the relationshipsamong numbers, words, symbols, or ideas.
2. Problems of arrangement require people to arrange the parts of a problem in a way that satisfies some criterion.
INSIGHT is the sudden discover of the correct solution following incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error
3. Problems of transformation require people carry out a sequence of transformations in order to reach a specific goal.
Irrelevant information can lead people astray
FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS is the tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use
MENTAL SET exists when people persist in using problem solving srategies that have worked in the past
Effective problem solving requires specifying all the constraints governing a problem without assuming any constraints that dont exist.
PROBLEM SPACE refers to the set of possible pathways to a solution considered by the problem solver
TRIAL & ERROR involves trying possible solutions and discarding those that are in error until one works
ALGORITHM is a methodical, step-by-step procedure for trying all possible alternatives in searching for a solution to a problem.
HEURISTIC is a guiding principle or rule of thumb used in solving problems or making decisions
formulating SUBGOALS as intermediate steps towards a solution is a strategy as well.
Problems with specific end-goals often require working from end to beginning.
Searching for ANALOGIES is another of the major heuristics for solving problems
INCUBATION EFFECT occurs when new solutions surface for a previously unsolved problem after a period of not consciously thinking about the problem
FIELD DEPENDENCE-INDEPENDENCE refers to individuals tendency to rely primarily on external versus internal frames of reference when orienting themselves in space
DECISION MAKING involves evaluating and making choices among them
Many decisions involve choices about preferences, which can be made using a variety of strategies.
EMOTIONS influence decision making
IF they can avoid it, people prefer to not have to grapple with uncertainty
Judgments about the quality of various alternatives, such as consumer products, can be swayed by extraneous factors such as brand familiarity and price
RISKY DECISION MAKING involves making choices under conditions of uncertainty
AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC involves basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind
REPRESENTATIVE HEURISTIC involves basing the estimated probability of an event on how similar it is to the typical prototype of that event
CONJUNCTION FALLACY occurs when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either happening alone
BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS is a field of study that examines the effects of humans' actual (not idealized) decision-making process on economic decisions
THEORY OF BOUNDED RATIONALITY asserts that people tend to use simple strategies in in decision making that focus only on a few facets of available options and often result in "irriational" decisions that are less than optimal.
COGNITION refers to the mental processes involved in aquiring knowledge