Exam 9: Language and Thought

Use the following to answer questions : Scenario I The scenario is based on and presents results consistent with the following studies: Snedeker,J. ,Geren,J. ,& Shafto,C.L.(2007).Starting over: International adoption as a natural experiment in language development.Psychological Science,18(1),79-87.doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01852.x Snedeker,J. ,Geren,J. ,& Shafto,C.L.(2012).Disentangling the effects of cognitive development and linguistic expertise: A longitudinal study of the acquisition of English in internationally-adopted children.Cognitive Psychology,65(1),39-76.doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2012.01.004 Language development occurs in orderly stages,beginning with one-word utterances and progressing to two-word utterances,simple sentences containing function morphemes,and the emergence of grammatical rules.Psycholinguists have attempted to determine if language development is a consequence of cognitive development or if it reflects linguistic processes that occur independently of general cognitive development.Studies on the acquisition of a second language in internationally adopted children have provided insight into this research question.In a series of studies,Snedeker and colleagues (2007,2012)studied the acquisition of the English language in adopted preschoolers from China.These children had no exposure to the English language before being adopted by families in the United States. Figure 9.1 -(Scenario I)Snedeker and colleagues (2007)refer to their research program as a "natural experiment." However,for which reason is it NOT an example of a true experimental design?

Two-year-old Lupe says to her mother "More drink" and "Where dog?" This kind of language use is referred to as:

If you have never seen a Chihuahua but have observed somewhat similar types of dog breeds such as rat terriers and miniature pinschers,which theory would BEST predict your ability to correctly identify a Chihuahua as a "dog"?

Deaf infants whose parents use American Sign Language (ASL)begin to babble with their hands:

Research has shown a(n)_____ between grey matter density in the left parietal lobe and proficiency in a second language.

Living in Las Vegas,Elaine has been exposed to the gaming industry her entire life but has only been a recreational player.After suffering a stroke that damaged her prefrontal cortex,however,Elaine has recently developed a gambling problem.This is MOST likely because Elaine has:

Which example illustrates telegraphic speech?

People who frequently engage in risky behaviours are extremely insensitive to the _____ consequences of their behaviour.

Which expression is an example of telegraphic speech?

Grammar is a set of rules that indicate how phonemes can be combined.

Another name for theoretical reasoning is _____ reasoning.

Between the ages of 1 and 5,children learn,on average,15-20 words every day.

Once _____ is reached,acquiring language becomes almost impossible.

People with damage to Wernicke's area can:

Accents occur when morphological rules are violated.

_____ trained a chimpanzee named Washoe to talk using _____.

English speakers tend to conceptualize time in _____ spatial dimensions,whereas Mandarin speakers tend to conceptualize time in _____ spatial dimensions.

People who are blind from birth show category-specific deficits for objects that are categorized in the visual cortex.

Studies of the acquisition of a new language in internationally adopted preschoolers are useful because they allow researchers to:

Use the following to answer questions : Scenario II The scenario is based on and presents results consistent with the following study: Bechara,A. ,Damasio,H. ,Tranel,D. ,& Damasio,A.R.(1997).Deciding advantageously before knowing the advantageous strategy.Science,275(5304),1293-1295.doi:10.1126/science.275.5304.1293 Bechara and colleagues (1997)studied risky decision making on a gambling task in patients with brain damage in an area critically involved in executive functions such as planning and decision making.They compared this performance with the performance of control participants without brain damage.All participants were given a starting bankroll of $2,000 in facsimile dollars.In the baseline condition,participants chose cards from among four decks.Selecting cards from decks A and B sometimes resulted in a win of $100.Selecting cards from decks C and D sometimes resulted in a win of $50.No losses were incurred in this condition.In the subsequent experimental condition,however,some cards in all decks produced losses.The losses in decks A and B were large and occurred frequently enough to possibly result in bankruptcy.The losses in decks C and D were considerably smaller.Bechara and colleagues measured deck selection and the galvanic skin response (GSR)both prior to (anticipatory)and after (post-outcome)turning over each card. In the baseline condition,all participants in both groups showed a clear preference for decks A and B.Both groups showed small but reliable anticipatory and post-outcome GSRs.In the experimental condition,with continued play,the controls exhibited a clear preference for decks C and D,while the patients continued to play more from decks A and B.Relative to the baseline condition,controls exhibited a much larger anticipatory GSR prior to each decision,whereas the patients' anticipatory GSR was small and similar to that obtained under the baseline condition.The post-outcome GSRs were similar in the two groups and occurred to both wins and losses. Interestingly,the investigator systematically interrupted play during the experimental condition and asked all participants if they had developed a game strategy.With continued play,most of the control participants labelled decks A and B as "the bad decks." Among the patients with brain damage,only half eventually labelled decks A and B as "the bad decks." Remarkably,in both groups,this realization did not affect game play.The minority of the control group who did not express a negative opinion about decks A and B nevertheless tended to avoid those decks.Similarly,the patients who acknowledged that decks C and D were risky nevertheless preferred those decks. -(Scenario II)The results of this experiment suggest that individuals with this particular brain damage exhibit the GREATEST deficits in the ability to: