Language Key Terms

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Algorithm

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A methodical, step-by-step procedure for trying all possible alternatives in searching for a solution to a problem.

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Availability Heuristic

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Basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind.

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Bilingualism

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The acquisition of two languages that use different speech sounds, vocabularies, and grammatical rules.

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Cognition

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The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.

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Confirmation Bias

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The tendency to seek information that supports one's decisions and beliefs while ignoring disconfirming information.

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Conjunction fallacy

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An error that occurs when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone.

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Decision making

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The process of evaluating alternatives and making choices among them.

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Fast mapping

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The process by which children map a word onto an underlying concept after only one exposure to the word.

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Framing

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How issues are posed or how choices are structured

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Functional fixedness

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The tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use.

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Heuristic

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A strategy, guiding principle, or rule of thumb used in solving problems or making decisions.

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Hill-climbing heuristic

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a heuristic problem-solving strategy in which each step moves you progressively closer to the final goal

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Insight

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In problem solving, the sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempts based primarily on trial and error.

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Language

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A set of symbols that convey meaning, and rules for combining those symbols that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages.

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Language acquisition device

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An innate mechanism or process that facilitates the learning of language.

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Linguistic relativity

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The theory that one's language determines the nature of one's thought.

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Trial and Error

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Trying possible solutions sequentially and discarding those that are in error until one works.

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Mean length of utterance

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The average of youngsters' spoken statements (measured in morphemes)

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Mental set

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Persisting in using problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past.

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Metalinguistic

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The ability to reflect on the use of language

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Morphemes

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The smallest units of meaning in a language.

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Overextensions

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Using a word incorrectly to describe a wider set of objects or actions than it is meant to

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Overregularization

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In children, incorrect generalization of grammatical rules to irregular cases where they do not apply.

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Phonemes

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The smallest units of sound in a spoken language.

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Problem solving

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Active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal that is not readily available.

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Problem space

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the set of possible pathways to a solution considered by the problem solver.

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Representatives

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Basing the estimated probability of an event on how similar it is to the typical prototype of that event

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Risky decision making

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Making choices under conditions of uncertainty.

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Semantics

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The area of language concerned with understanding the meaning of words and word combination.

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Syntax

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A system of rules that specify how words can be combined into phrases and sentences.

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Telegraphic speech

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Speech that consists mainly of content words; articles, prepositions, and other less critical words are omitted.

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Theory of bounded

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Simon's assertion that people tend to use simple strategies in decision making that focus on only a few facets of available options and often result in "irrational" decisions that are less than optimal.

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Underextensions

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Errors that occur when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a narrower set of objects or actions than it is meant to.

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Noam Chomsky

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Psychologist that specialized in language development; disagreed with Skinner about language acquisition, stated there is an infinite # of sentences in a language, humans have an inborn native ability to develop language

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Gerd Gigerenzer

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argued that humans reasoning largely depends on "fast and frugal heuristics" that are quite a bit simpler than the complicated inferential processes studied in traditional cognitive research

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Steven Pinker

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argues that humans' special talent for language is a species-specific trait that is the product of natural section. Language is a valuable means of communication that has enormous adaptive value

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Herbert Simon

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model of decision-making; 3 phases of decision making (Nobel prize winner)

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Leda Cosmides & John Tooby

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The human mind consits of a large number of specialized cognitive mechanisms that have emerged over the cource of evolution to solve problems

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Daniel Kahneman

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an Israeli psychologist and Nobel laureate, who is notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonistic psychology.

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Sue Savage- Rumbaugh

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1990s Kanzi the chimp. Hand gestures and symbols presented by lexigrams. Was able to initiate conversation, spontaneously, with structured grammatical sentences. Acquired language acquisition before any formal training

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Amos Tversky

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was a pioneer of cognitive science and a key figure in the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias and handling of risk; he originated prospect theory to explain irrational human economic choices.