Podcast
Questions and Answers
Which hypothesis suggests that the left side of the brain is hardwired for language abilities?
Which hypothesis suggests that the left side of the brain is hardwired for language abilities?
Equipotentiality suggests that language abilities can only develop on the left side of the brain.
Equipotentiality suggests that language abilities can only develop on the left side of the brain.
False
What is the term for the time window in biological development when a certain ability must be acquired?
What is the term for the time window in biological development when a certain ability must be acquired?
critical period
Infants typically experience the __________ explosion around the age of two, which is the rapid learning of words.
Infants typically experience the __________ explosion around the age of two, which is the rapid learning of words.
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Match the babbling stages to their descriptions:
Match the babbling stages to their descriptions:
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What characterizes the final stage of babbling in infants?
What characterizes the final stage of babbling in infants?
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Genie's inability to acquire proper syntax was solely due to missing the critical period for language acquisition.
Genie's inability to acquire proper syntax was solely due to missing the critical period for language acquisition.
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Name a type of gesture that directly maps meaning to a signal in infants.
Name a type of gesture that directly maps meaning to a signal in infants.
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Which procedure involves an infant looking at a stimulus for a longer time to indicate preference?
Which procedure involves an infant looking at a stimulus for a longer time to indicate preference?
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Anterograde amnesia prevents the recall of past events.
Anterograde amnesia prevents the recall of past events.
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What is one effect of infant-directed speech on language acquisition?
What is one effect of infant-directed speech on language acquisition?
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The _____ procedure is used to see if an infant detects a change in stimulus based on looking times.
The _____ procedure is used to see if an infant detects a change in stimulus based on looking times.
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Match the type of amnesia with its description:
Match the type of amnesia with its description:
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What kind of reward might be given to infants who successfully identify a change in auditory stimulus during the head turn procedure?
What kind of reward might be given to infants who successfully identify a change in auditory stimulus during the head turn procedure?
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Infant-directed communication refers to adults speaking to infants in a regular tone and speed.
Infant-directed communication refers to adults speaking to infants in a regular tone and speed.
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What happens to an infant's looking times when they hear a familiar sound?
What happens to an infant's looking times when they hear a familiar sound?
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What is the first stage of babbling in infants characterized by whiny vocalizations?
What is the first stage of babbling in infants characterized by whiny vocalizations?
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The noun explosion usually occurs at around age 3.
The noun explosion usually occurs at around age 3.
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What is a critical period in language acquisition?
What is a critical period in language acquisition?
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Genie's language development suffered because she missed the __________ for language acquisition.
Genie's language development suffered because she missed the __________ for language acquisition.
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Which hypothesis suggests that language abilities have an equal chance of developing in either hemisphere of the brain?
Which hypothesis suggests that language abilities have an equal chance of developing in either hemisphere of the brain?
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Match the babbling stages with their corresponding characteristics:
Match the babbling stages with their corresponding characteristics:
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Tonic gestures are symbolic signs that do not have a direct connection to their meaning.
Tonic gestures are symbolic signs that do not have a direct connection to their meaning.
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What is one example of evidence supporting the invariance hypothesis?
What is one example of evidence supporting the invariance hypothesis?
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Which procedure involves rewarding infants for detecting a change in auditory stimulus?
Which procedure involves rewarding infants for detecting a change in auditory stimulus?
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Infant-directed speech involves changing the pitch and speed of speaking to infants.
Infant-directed speech involves changing the pitch and speed of speaking to infants.
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What is retrograde amnesia?
What is retrograde amnesia?
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The _____ procedure measures how an infant's looking times change when they encounter a new stimulus.
The _____ procedure measures how an infant's looking times change when they encounter a new stimulus.
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What is one effect of exaggerating different sounds in infant-directed speech?
What is one effect of exaggerating different sounds in infant-directed speech?
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An infant's looking time increases when they hear familiar sounds.
An infant's looking time increases when they hear familiar sounds.
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How does infant-directed communication affect caregivers’ interaction with infants?
How does infant-directed communication affect caregivers’ interaction with infants?
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Study Notes
Infant Speech and Language Development
- Equipotentiality and Invariance Hypothesis: Equipotentiality suggests equal brain-side language development potential, while the invariance hypothesis posits left-brain hardwiring for language abilities. Evidence includes left-brain activation during speech sounds, left-side brain damage in aphasia cases, and infants' right-side mouth opening (controlled by the left brain).
Critical Time Periods for Language Acquisition
- Critical Period: A time window for acquiring a skill. Imprinting in birds and language acquisition in humans are examples. Genie, isolated for 13 years, highlights missed language development windows. Normal syntax (grammar) development might be hindered, possibly due to other life factors beyond the isolated environment.
Stages of Babbling in Infants
- Quasiresonant Babbling: Early babbling (first few weeks) with whiny vocalizations.
- Fully Resonant Vowel Stage: (3-4 months) Characterized by vowel sounds.
- Marginal Syllable Stage: (4-8 months) Gradually transitioning between consonant and vowel sounds.
- Canonical Syllable Stage: (9 months) Typical syllable sequences (e.g., "dadada," "tatata").
Gesture and Noun Explosion in Infants
- Tonic Gestures: Direct mapping of meaning to a signal or gesture (e.g., "give", "all gone").
- Noun Explosion: Rapid word learning, typically around age 2.
Measuring Infant Speech Perception
- Looking Time Preference Procedure: Infants prefer a stimulus they look at longer.
- Head Turn Procedure: Infants turn their heads when they detect a change in auditory stimulus.
- Habituation Procedure: Infants spend less time looking at repeated stimuli, more time on new stimuli.
Infant-Directed Communication (IDS)
- IDS: Adjusting speech for infants (e.g., higher pitch, slower speech).
- Impact on Language Acquisition: May exaggerate sounds or clarify important sounds, impacting infant language learning. Adjusting speech might influence how an infant distinguishes and understands speech sounds.
Amnesia
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Two Kinds:
- Retrograde amnesia: Difficulty recalling past events, usually due to brain damage.
- Anterograde amnesia: Difficulty forming new long-term memories, often due to hippocampus damage (e.g., patient HM).
Mental Imagery
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Approaches:
- Visual mental imagery approach: Assessing vividness of imagined images.
- Mental imagery task (e.g., paper-folding): Assessing spatial imagery ability.
Kinds of Aphantasia
- Aphantasia: Inability to create visual mental images.
Mental Imagery Debate: Depictive vs. Propositional
- Depictive side: Mental images are pictures, similar to visual scanning tasks.
- Propositional side: Mental images are abstract language, different from visual scanning tasks.
Mental Scanning, Rotation, and Scaling
- Mental Scanning: Measuring time to "scan" mental images—depictive side predicts similar times to visual scanning tasks; propositional view differs.
- Mental Rotation: Time to mentally rotate a mental image; depictive side predicts that longer rotation times take more time to mentally process images; propositional views differ.
- Mental Scaling: Mental image size affecting processing times; depictive side predicts that the perceived distance affects processing time; propositional view offers different viewpoints.
Perception and Imagery Interaction (Depictive vs. Propositional)
- Depictive view: Perception and imagery share similar underlying mechanisms.
- Propositional view: Perception and imagery mechanisms are distinct.
Challenge to Depictive Evidence
- Linguistic Challenge: Evidence suggests that mental imagery relies on propositional representations, rather than depictive ones, for tasks requiring the use of linguistic code.
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Description
Explore the fascinating stages and theories of infant speech and language development. This quiz covers critical hypotheses, the importance of critical periods, and the stages of babbling in infants. Enhance your understanding of how language is acquired during early childhood.
