Understanding Concepts and Language in Psychology 101

School

University of British Columbia**We aren't endorsed by this school

Course

PSYC 101

Subject

Psychology

Date

Dec 9, 2024

Pages

Uploaded by BrigadierSteelPorcupine28

Psyc 101Introduction to Biological & Cognitive PsychologyJill Dosso, PhDNov 2024Speaking to you from the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People.Language & ThoughtPart 1: Concepts & LanguageChapter 9

Topics1.Concepts & categories2.Language3.Executive functions & problem-solving4.Reasoning, judgment, & decision-making5.Leilani Forby guest lecture: attention & autism2

3Concepts & Categories

Learning Objectives: Concepts & Categories1.Define a concept and provide an example2.Do concepts depend on language? Explain evidence from neuropsychology and developmental psych3.Describe three theories of categorization4.Recognize brain regions involved in categorization4

Concept: a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related stimuli (objects, events, images, etc…)5BirdsFoodSpecific individualWe usually have words for concepts, but language is not necessary

Concepts without languageExample 1•JB, a patient with semantic dementia (decline in receptive and expressive language, atrophy of temporal lobes) •Could not name colours or match objects with their colours (strawberry = red)•However, he could still sort coloursHaslam et al., 20076

Concepts without languageExample 27Preverbal infants’ concepts can be tested with a habituation procedure:HABITUATION PHASE: Show a stimulus that attracts baby to look. Repeat this type of stimulus until baby habituates (looking is reduced)Soto-Faraco et al., 2012

Concepts without languageExample 2TEST PHASE: Show a new type of stimulus.IF baby dishabituates (looking returns) THEN we know they can discriminate these two types of stimuliSoto-Faraco et al., 20128

Concepts without languageExample 2Pre-verbal infants can tell apart:•two from three (6m, Wynn, 1995);•happy from fearful expressions (7m, Cong et al., 2017);•animals from vehicles (3m, Arterberry & Bornstein, 2001)9

Categorization theories1.Rules-based definitions“Small, four-footed animal with fur that wags its tail and barks”?Necessary condition: something that must be true of the object for it to belong to the category•All Psyc 101 students must be UBC studentsSufficient condition: something that, if true of the object, proves that it belongs to the category•Knowing that someone is registered in Psyc101 on Workday proves that they are a Psyc101 student11

Categorization theories2.Prototype theoryMembers of a category are similar to the “best” or “most typical” member of a categoryWe categorize new instances by comparing to the category’s prototypeSome members are “better” members of a category than others13

Categorization theories3.Exemplar theoryWe categorize by comparing new instances with stored memoriesfor other instances of the category14

Categories & the brainNeuroimaging studies•Forming prototypes involves the visual cortex (image processing)•Learning exemplars involves the prefrontal cortex (analysis & decision-making) and basal ganglia (pattern learning)16

17Language

Learning Objectives: Language1. Define language2.Identify four properties of language; use key linguistics terms3.Comment on whether or not non-human animals have language4.Provide age ranges for common language milestones5.Describe a study on the role of experience in distinguishing speech sounds6.Explain Chomsky’s critique of behaviourism7.Link language areas of the brain to behaviour18

Do other species have language?19Vote:Is this language?Yes, def --- Kinda --- NoRhesus monkeys:Alarm calls for “snake”“eagle”“leopard”

Do other species have language?20Rhesus monkeys:Alarm calls for “snake”“eagle”“leopard”KanziAlex, the African Grey Parrot•large vocab•counting to 6•questionsChimps•no vocal chords (use lexigram)•Large vocab (160); only concrete words•Simple sentences Alex

21https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1FY5kL_zXU

Language: a system of symbols, signals, and rules that is used to communicate meaningProperties:1.Discreteness: made up of component parts (words, morphemes)2.Grammar & syntax: rules about how to combine parts3.Displacement: involving time4.Productivity: capacity for new combinationsAnimal communication can have some of these features, but human language is uniquely rich in all 422

Units of language24There are approximately 4,000 human languages (all have basic structure of sounds and rules)Images: Schacter et al (2023) Psychology (6thCanadian ed) Macmillan

Linguistics: Key terms25•Grammar: the rules of the language, including morphology (word rules) andsyntax(sentence rules)•Morphology: how morphemes can be combined into words•Syntax: rules of how words can be combined into sentences•Semantics: meaning

Rules of syntax26Images: Schacter et al (2023) Psychology (6thCanadian ed) MacmillanHow words can be combined into sentences –differs across languages

Complex structure of human language•Surface structure: specific symbols and words•“Sam ate the cake” vs “the cake was eaten by Sam”•Deep structure:meaning (semantics)•“Colourless green ideas sleep furiously” (surface OK but deep is absent)27

31Source: From Schacter et al (2014) Psychology (3rd ed) Worth

Distinguishing speech soundsThe role of experience32•Train children to expect a pleasing, novel display and turn head when the sound changes (Kuhl et al., 2006)•In Japanese, no distinction between land rphonemes•At 6-8 months, Japanese and American (English-hearing) infants perform similarly distinguishing land r•By 10-12 months, American infants’ performance improves and Japanese infants declines•Evidence of specialization to the heard languageImages: Schacter et al (2023) Psychology (6thCanadian ed) Macmillan

Chomsky’s Critique of BehaviourismAlthough parents do reinforce early babbling, the richness of language cannot be explained by reinforcement learning1) Parents spend little time training or reinforcing grammar2) Children generate unique sentences3) Errors are over-regularizationsof rules they have learned but often cannot express e.g. “I runned”33

Chomsky’s Language Acquisition Device (LAD)•Language as an innate biological capacity•Evidence: genetic dysphasia: a condition of frequent grammar errors disproportionate to IQ – later linked to a specific gene•e.g., “Carol is cry in the church”34Gopnik, 1990

The Language Areas35Nb. Left hemisphereDysphasia: developmental language impairmentAphasia: Lesion-induced language impairment

Broca’s Aphasia36M. Leborgne: Intact comprehension (e.g., pointing) but impaired speech productionA more typical patient:“Ah… Monday… ah Dad and Paul [patient’s name] … and Dad… hospital. Two … ah doctors… and ah … thirty minutes … and yes … ah … hospital” (Goodglass 1976)Role of Broca’s area:•Motor programs for articulation•Syntactic rules

Wernicke’s Aphasia37Speech is normal (rate, syntax, grammar) but often lacks meaning & difficulties in comprehensionHighly localized Wernicke’s damage can lead to a very specific deficit: pure word deafness•“I can hear you talking, I just can’t understand what it means”•their own speech is excellent•can recognize non-speech sounds (barking dogs, door bells)Examiner: what kind of work did you do before you came into the hospital?Patient: Never, now mista oyge I wanna tell you this happened when happened when he rent. His – his kell come down here and is –he got ren something. It happened. In thesse ropiers were with him for hi – is friend – like was. And it just happened so I don’t know” (Kertesz 1981)

Questions?39