Cognitive Exam 3 (Final)

Semantic Memory

"A mental thesaurus, organized knowledge a person possesses about words and other verbal symbols, their meanings and referents, about relations among them, and about rules, formulas, and algorithms for the manipulation of the symbols, concepts, and relations."

Which of the following phrases is most likely to be used by a 24 month old in the telegraphic stage of language acquisition?

"daddy go!"

Language Acquisition: 12-24 mo

1 & 2 Word Phrases -Holophrases (Blanket! Shoe!) -Telegraphic (18-24 mo) 2 Word Stage → (More cookie!) -Utterances are determined by semantic concerns, but include syntactic basics

Hierarchical Model: Sentence Verification Task

2 Sentence Types: Property Sentences (a canary can fly) & Superset relation Sentences (a canary is a bird) *3 Levels: 0: same level, 1: move up one level, 2: move up two levels Moving through the hierarchy takes time; property retrieval takes time at level of unit Retrieval times are additive; more units to travel should take more time

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

A theory of the relation between language, perception, and cognition Simple version: -Language is fundamental to the way we think and understand the world -Therefore, the particular language of an individual will influence his or her thought -Different languages will create different patterns of thought Linguistic Determinism Linguistic Relativity There is no thought without language Cultural differences in thinking are the direct result of differences in languages -Speakers of different languages see the world in different, incompatible ways, because their languages impose different conceptual structures on their experiences

Rules of Spreading Activation

Activation spreads automatically from one node to another The spread of activation takes time Activation is limited → decays over time, distance, and proportional to the number of connected pathways Some pathways are stronger than others Pathways are not necessarily symmetrical Activation spreads to related concepts (car, vehicle, bus, ambulance, fire engine) such that they are active above baseline, but less than "street"

Problems with Prototype Theory

Atypical features do not exclude category members (e..g., penguin as bird) Including all the typical features does not guarantee category membership

Phoneme

/i/ /e/ /a/ As in miss, mess, mass/ bugS, batS Category of speech sounds that are clearly different and can change meaning of spoken signal Different languages use different numbers and combinations of phonemes About 200 phonemes have been identified Tone (pitch) >sound with meaning

Learning via Spreading Activation

Activation spreads from locations for two concepts Eventually, activation meets * If two concepts are frequently activated together, a new pathway is formed

*Semantic Network Models

Have to get more complicated before it gets more simple Concepts are represented as nodes in memory Relations represented links among sets of nodes

Phone

Physically discernible unit of speech sound -21 accents in 2 minutes -accents are invented > sound *

Wernicke's Aphasia

Problem in comprehension aka receptive aphasia Can speak but speech makes no sense; word salad Severe loss of comprehension Fluent language production "Press of speech" → excessive abundance of words "Empty speech" → speech fails to convey much meaning (word salad)

Behaviorist Theory of Language Acquisition

Skinner → Language is learned Acquired by conditioning and reinforcement Listening and responding to verbal stimuli is sufficient

Testing Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Testing the strong view -see if cognitive system can make distinctions that are not linguistically represented Testing the weaker view -see if language influences thought in predictable and reliable ways

Children's over regularization errors are caused by

an over reliance on a linguistic rule that is more accessible than the correct word which violates that rule

This level of analysis goes beyond the level of the sentence and can include things like conversations, pararaphs, or even an entire written work.

discourse

A problem's "initial state" refers to the

knowledge and resources one possesses at the outset of the problem.

In ordinary speech production, the boundaries between syllables or between words are usually

not marked, so they must be determined by the perceiver.

Aphasia: Processing Deficit

Aphasia is not an all-or-none deficit: -variability among patients -variability within patients Performance depends on the task *Production (bad) vs judgement (ok) of full sentences

Broca's Aphasia: Comprehension Problems

Aphasics have difficulties comprehending reversible passives -The boy kicks the ball → ok -The horse kicks the cow → ok -The ball was kicked by the boy → ok -The horse was kicked by the cow → chance Reversible passive bc both horse and cow and kick and be kicked

Language Acquisition: 6-12 mo

Babbling -babble in phonemes of surrounding language -early in stage → repetition of similar/identical syllables first -end of stage → variation, non-repeated phonemes

Morphemes: McGurk Effect

Bar vs Far with different visual feedback Interaction of bottom-up and top-down processes is a at work -stress patterns and rhythm of speech help distinguish words -regularities in own language to parse words

Comprehension vs Production

Comprehension/Competence -internalized knowledge of language and rules that fluent speakers have Production/Performance -actual language behavior a speaker generates

Levels of Analysis: Discourse

Encompasses language use at the level beyond the sentence, such as in conversation, paragraphs, stories The interactions between the context and language

Megan cannot sleep at night because she is terribly worried about being robbed, which is highly unlikely. As her friend, you want to help her by describing judgment errors and why she should not lose any more sleep. Which of these concepts is most likely contributing to her irrational fear?

Her ability to easily generate vivid examples of robberies in her area.

Prototype Theory: The more characteristic features an object has, the more likely we are to believe it is part of the category

Judged more quickly Generated more easily More likely to be retrieved Errors more like prototype

Weak Sapir-Whorf

Language influences thought "Languages differ not so much as to what can be said in them, but rather as to what it is relatively easy to say"

Levels of Analysis: Phonology

Phone Phoneme

The conditional proposition is "If it is a chair then it is a piece of furniture." Existing condition is that it is a piece of furniture. The inference made is that it is a chair. This particular type of fallacy is called

affirming the consequent

According to the work of Tversky and Kahneman (1987), people are _____ when dealing with potential losses, but are _____ when dealing with potential gains.

risk seeking; risk averse *see p. 458-461

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Linguistic Determinism

the language we use to some extent determines the way in which we view and think about the world around us

Neuropsychology of Language

Broca's aphasia: problem in production aka Expressive aphasia "Tan" couldn't speak, but understood speech Not about specific form of language (spoken, written, sign language), but language production in any form

Structure of Language

Levels of Analysis -phonology -morphology -syntax -semantics -discourse

Prototype Theory: Solso & McCarthy

Participants were shown a series of faces Later, a recognition test was given with some old faces, a prototype face, and some new faces that differed in degree from prototype The more similar to prototype it is, the more likely people confidently recognize it (old, new, and prototype face)

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Linguistic Relativity

People who speak different languages perceive and think about the world quite differently from one another

Propositional Networks: Anderson's ACT-R Model

Preserves explanation of learning and differential strength among nodes from spreading activation models Added Value: can account for more types of representation Semantic & Episodic Memories Verbal & Visual Information ***a propositional network model of cognition that includes semantic and episodic information and can explain learning and retrieval of information.

Language: Structured

Regularity: governed by systems of rules or grammar Discreteness: can be divided into recognizable parts (paragraphs/sentences, words, syllables, etc.)

Hierarchical Model

Semantic memory is organized as a hierarchical network of: -Units (nouns) -Properties (verbs or adjectives) -Pointers (relation between units)→ "is a, can, has" Has economy in space If concepts are close to each other, will be fast → if not, slow

Hierarchical Model: Problems

Set-size Effects: people are quicker to verify "dog is animal" than "dog is a mammal" Typicality Effects: people are quicker to verify "robin is a bird" than "turkey is a bird" & people are quicker to reject "a bat is a plant" than "a bat is a bird"

Levels of Analysis: Semantics

The study of meaning in language How words express meaning

Language: Generative

Using rules of language, an unlimited number of new utterances can be created

Which of the following is the best example of the arbitrarily symbolic nature of language? a. Tiny b. Whale c. Moo d. Ouch

b. Whale

Feature Comparison Model: Defining Features

essential to meaning of concept e.g., to be bird, object must have feathers and hollow bones

Prototype Theory

Categories are organized around a prototype; best exemplar → doesn't need to exist Items are related by family resemblance

Common Concepts

Categories that occur in the real world of our experience Have a complex internal structure Well established in memory -Abstract knowledge, not episodic

Language: Dynamic

Changes over time Allows for new developments with the creation of new words and ideas

Problems of Behaviorist Theory of Language Acquisition

Children learn rules of language & apply rules to made-up words No negative evidence → parents rarely correct children's speech; exposure to correct and incorrect stimuli necessary to learn through trial-and-error

Semantic Network Models

Circularity Problem: concepts that are more closely related should have shorter RTs; concepts with short RTs are closely related Types of Associations Matter: possessive, synonyms, opposite, analogies, components, etc.

Hierarchical Model: Benefits

Cognitive economy Properties are represented at the highest level possible Distinguishing features are represented at specific levels Prevents redundancy Promotes efficiency

Revised Semantic Network Model

Collins and Loftus (1975) Associations are not necessarily hierarchical Related concepts connected by paths in network *see diagram

Properties of Language

Communicative Arbitrarily symbolic Generative (productive) Dynamic Regularly structured (at multiple levels)

Propositional Networks

Concepts are not isolated items Concepts are propositions → smallest unit of information that can be true or false

Prototype Theory: Basic Level Descriptions

Description that does the best job of identifying similar items while excluding dissimilar items

Reciprocal Relationship b/t Language and Experience

Experience → Leads to the development of → Language → Influences our perceptions of → Experience

Language Acquisition: 24-36 mo

Grammar -overextension errors (call everything round an apple) -underextension errors (only their pet dog is called dog) -conditional rules (he/him, my/I)

Problems with Feature Comparison Model

Lack of cognitive economy How can it explain learning? How can it explain identification of weird variety of chairs? → Has to be designed to be sat in, but chairs have no defining feature

Nativist Theory of Language Acquisition

Language development is a natural consequence of human maturation There is some "innate" device in the human infant to acquire language (Language Acquisition Device) Culture only activates the innate device → special nature of phoneme processing; ability to detect syntax The nativist view is supported by 3 facts about language development: 1. Develops rapidly 2. Effortlessly 3. Without direct instruction or imitation

*Language: Arbitrarily Symbolic

No connection between symbol and concept Signs represent, but are not necessarily like what they refer to Words do not have to look or sound like hat they describe Principle of conventionality -meaning of words are determined by conventions -not random ("teddy bear") Principle of Contrast -different words have different meanings ("stuffed animal")

In one experiment, participants were asked to list either 6 or 12 instances in their lives when they were assertive. Which of the following statements in NOT true about the participants who were asked to list only 6 instances?

Overall, they rated themselves as less aggressive.

Participant M speaks a language with a variety of color words, while Participant Q speaks a language that only differentiates between light and dark. Who is more likely to have more specific color discrimination?

Participant M

Which of the following is evidence in support of linguistic relativity? a. It is easier to remember the concept of a "tree" than a picture of a tree. b. People who speak languages with richer color vocabularies may perceive colors differently (and more accurately). c. All languages seem to have both phrase structure and movement rules. d. English speakers and Chinese speakers can easily eliminate the differences in their spatial thinking.

People who speak languages with richer color vocabularies may perceive colors differently (and more accurately)

Feature Comparison Model

Sets of semantic features reflecting each concept Each feature is a simple, one element characteristic Defining vs Characteristic Features Compare features in two "lists" Stage 1 comparison is quick → Global comparison, how much do features overlap Stage 2 comparison is slow → Only occurs when lists have intermediate amount of overlap

Traditional Research on Concept Formation

Show subjects a series of arbitrary patterns and have them determine which patterns belong or don't belong to a given category/concept Know which factors influence performance but do not know how these effects relate to real world concepts

Levels of Analysis: Morphology → Morphemes

Smallest unit that denotes meaning within a particular language (adding an -s to make something plural) Content morphemes: convey bulk of the meaning (e.g., charge in recharge; lift in lifted) Functional morphemes: add detail/nuance to content morphemes or help fit into grammatical context (e.g., re in recharge; ed in lifted) Acoustic signal is continuous and, where discrete, provides limited information on word boundaries McGurk effect Mondegreens- misheard word boundaries (e.g., song lyrics); bottom-up information fails us, top-dow processing leads to resolution of ambiguous lyrics

*See table on Broca's vs Wernicke's aphasia

Speech Quality, Nature of Speech, & Comprehension

Broca's Aphasia

Telegraphic Speech: often halting speech & omit function words ("my, is, a") Often have dysarthria: can't control articulatory muscles Or speech apraxia: deficit to program articulation → approximating intended sounds ("lawyer" → "yawyer") *see Comprehension Problems

Which of the following is TRUE about language acquisition? a. There is a large impact on language learning that depends on whether parents correct their child's grammar. b. Specific language impairment is a result of the "poverty of stimulus" of a child's language-learning environment. c. The fact that children start saying "goed" although they already know the word "went" is easily understood in terms of rule learning. d. The fact that children add an "s" to make plurals of new words they learn implies that language acquisition is imitative.

The fact that children start saying "goed" although they already know the word "went" is easily understood in terms of rule learning.

Levels of Analysis: Syntax

The way in which users of a particular language put words together to form sentences A sentence comprises at least two parts: Noun phase (at least one noun) & Verb phase (at least one verb and whatever the verb acts on)

In the word "cats" the "s" is

a morpheme and a phoneme.

Theories of Language Acquisition: Nativist

ability to learn language is innate (Noam Chomsky, Steve Pinker, Michael Tomasello)

The feature comparison model of semantic memory argues that we store concepts

as a list of attributes associated with each concept.

Participants were MOST likely to correctly guess the rule behind a series of numbers if they

asked questions that could disconfirm their theories

Which of the following benefits does a hierarchical network provide? a. Information can be searched for equally quickly across all levels of the network. b. It is efficient because information is stored only once. c. Information is stored repeatedly to ensure accuracy. d. Information is organized according to use, so that more common representations can be accessed more quickly.

b. It is efficient because information is stored only once.

An inductive judgement is one in which a person

begins with specific facts or observations and seeks to draw a general conclusion from them

An inductive judgment is one in which a person

begins with specific facts or observations and seeks to draw a general conclusion from them.

Basic-level categories have all of the following traits EXCEPT a. if asked simply to describe an object, participants are likely to use the basic-level term. b. basic-level categories are usually represented in the language by a single word. c. basic-level descriptions are more difficult to remember than more general descriptions. d. basic-level terms are acquired by children at a younger age than either more specific or more general terms.

c. basic-level descriptions are more difficult to remember than more general descriptions.

Here is a reasoning problem: If Mary is a psychology major at Lafayette, then she must take statistics. Mary graduates from Lafayette without taking statistics. Therefore, Mary is not a psychology major. What kind of problem is this?

conditional reasoning problem

If Tabitha believes that detective shows are more dramatic than hospital shows, then confirmation bias would lead her to do all of the following EXCEPT be more likely to a. notice a detective show that is dramatic. b. overlook a hospital show that is dramatic. c. have memory schema that include more examples of dramatic detective shows than dramatic hospital shows. d. have memory schema that include more examples of dramatic hospital shows than dramatic detective shows.

d. have memory schema that include more examples of dramatic hospital shows than dramatic detective shows.

You are reading a political blog and come across the following sentiment: "Politicians are liars. John Doe is a politician. Therefore, John Doe is a liar." You are most likely to judge this syllogism as valid if you

dislike politicians

In Trial 18 of a sentence-verification task, participants see the sentence, "A robin is a bird." In Trial 42 they see, "A penguin is a bird." According to prototype theory, we should expect

faster responses to "robin" because participants more readily see the resemblance between "robin" and the bird prototype.

Research on framing suggests that we treat losses more seriously than

gains of an equivalent amount.

In the 1950s, the anthropologist Benjamin Whorf argued that our language determines the possible range of our thoughts. In subsequent decades, Whorf's theories

have found little specific support, with the implication that language may guide our thoughts and memories, but does not influence what it is possible for us to think

In several studies, participants have been asked to estimate the frequency of occurrence for various causes of death. The evidence suggests that participants' frequency estimates are strongly influenced by

how often the cause of death is discussed in the news media.

Participants are asked which birds they think are "particularly birdy" and which birds are "not very birdy." We should expect that the birds judged as "birdiest" are birds

identified quickly in a picture-identification task.

When you walk away from a difficult problem and do something else for a while then come back and solve the problem successfully, you have experienced the

incubation effect

Language: Communicative

individuals can reliably send and receive information

Theories of Language Acquisition: Behaviorist

language is learned (Skinner)

Herbert solved the "tumor" problem by using an analogy with the "general and fortress" problem. In doing this, he realized that "tumor" corresponds to "fortress," "radiation" corresponds to "attacking army," and so on. The process of determining these correspondences is called

mapping

Earning a degree in psychology can be described as an exercise in problem solving. To finish your degrees you need to complete a number of upper-level courses. In order to enroll in those courses, you must have successfully completed a course in Research Methods. But before you can take Research Methods, you need to have passed Statistics. Your progress through this series of subgoals can be accomplished through

means-ends analysis

Feature Comparison Model: Characteristic Features

not essential, but usually present e.g., most likely able to fly, but not necessary

Smith and Blankenship gave participants problems to solve and provided clues. One group was forced to take a break after only 60 seconds of working on the problem. After a 30-second break, they were given another 30 seconds to try to solve the problem. Compared to the group that did not get the break, the incubation group

remembered fewer clues

Anita is blonde, extremely attractively and lives in an expensive condo. If we judge the probability of Anita's being a model as quite high because she resembles our stereotype of a model, we are using the heuristic of

representativeness

According to prototype theory, the mental representation for each concept

represents an average or ideal for the category's members.

Cathy has three exams and two papers coming up and she needs to decide how much time to spend on each project to maximize her chances of doing well on all of them. The problem-solving step primarily associated with this task is:

resource allocation

Participants are told, "Hospital A has an average of 45 births per day; Hospital B has an average of only 15 births per day." The participants are then asked, "Which hospital is more likely to have a day in which at least 60% of the babies born are female?" In answering the question, participants

seem insensitive to the fact that departures from the average case are more likely with a small sample.

In using the representativeness heuristic, participants

seem to assume that all instances of the category resemble the prototype for that category

Heuristics are strategies that

sometimes risk error in order to gain efficiency

The process of "slicing" the stream of speech into successive syllables or words is called

speech segmentation

The claim that language is generative is the claim that

the units of language can be combined and recombined to create vast numbers of new linguistic entities.

For fluent speakers of a language, rules of the language such as how to create new words are often

unconscious yet are reliably followed by speakers of the language.