Cognitive Psychology Notes PDF

**Module 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology** **Introduction to Cognitive Psychology** - Definition: The scientific study of the mind, focusing on understanding, processing, and acting on information. - Key Concepts: - Top-down processing: Perceptions are influenced by expecta...

**Module 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology** **Introduction to Cognitive Psychology** - Definition: The scientific study of the mind, focusing on understanding, processing, and acting on information. - Key Concepts: - Top-down processing: Perceptions are influenced by expectations and previous knowledge. **History of Cognitive Psychology** - 19th Century: - Wilhelm Wundt: Established the first psychology lab; used reaction time experiments to study mental processes. - Edward Titchener: Developed structuralism; used introspection (describing thoughts/experiences). Difficult to test objectively. - William James: Introduced functionalism, focusing on how mental processes help adaptation. Distinguished between short-term and long-term memory. - Early 20th Century: - John Watson: Founded behaviorism, focusing on observable behavior (ignored mental processes). Famous for the Little Albert experiment. - BF Skinner: Pioneered operant conditioning, showing how behavior changes due to rewards. - Cognitive Revolution: - Shifted focus back to studying the mind. - Influenced by critiques of behaviorism (e.g., Noam Chomsky on language learning). - Key contributions from memory research (George Miller) and attention studies (Broadbent's model). **Research Methods** - Scientific Methods: - Aim to identify cause-and-effect by manipulating variables under controlled conditions. - Ecological Validity: - Ensuring lab results are applicable to real-world scenarios. - Experimental Cognitive Psychology: - Lab studies focus on accuracy or reaction time to understand cognitive processes. - Challenges: Complexity, indirect measures, and ecological validity concerns. **Cognitive Neuroscience** - Goal: Understand where and when specific brain processes happen. - Techniques: - ERPs, TMS, fMRI: Measure brain activity, showing associations but not direct evidence. - Issues: Complexity and limited applicability to certain brain functions. **Cognitive Neuropsychology** - Focus: Studying brain-damaged patients to learn about how different parts of the brain contribute to cognitive functions. - Challenges: Individual differences, interconnected brain processes, and compensatory strategies. **Computational Cognitive Neuroscience** - Objective: Using computer models to simulate cognitive processes (e.g., reading, language learning). - Issues: Complexity, difficult to test, influenced by programming choices. **Combining Approaches** - Using multiple methods provides stronger evidence. - Conflicting results suggest the need for more research. **Replication Crisis** - Problems: - Questionable Research Practices (QRPs): Poor methods can affect reliability. - Publication Bias: Preference for positive results, often ignoring failed studies. - Solutions: - Open Science: Sharing data, methods, and analysis plans. - Pre-registration: Setting hypotheses and methods before data collection. **Module 2: Memory 1** **Memory and Forgetting** - Memory helps us recall events, people, and our sense of self. - It involves a series of actions and processes. - 4 Main Factors influencing memory: - Events - Participants - Encoding (how information is stored) - Retrieval (how information is recalled) **Stages of Memory** 1. Encoding: Transforming info into a format that can be stored in the brain. 2. Consolidation: Making biological connections to past knowledge. 3. Storage: Keeping information over time. 4. Retrieval: Accessing stored information. Failure to retrieve leads to forgetting. **Multi-Store Model of Memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)** - Sensory Stores: - Processes initial information. - Iconic memory (visual): lasts \~1 second. - Echoic memory (auditory): lasts \~2 seconds. - Short-Term Memory: - Holds about 7±2 items (Miller, 1956) or 4 "chunks" (Cowan, 2000). - Information can be lost if new items replace old ones. - Long-Term Memory: - Requires consolidation and rehearsal. - Has unlimited capacity but can decay over time. - Strengths: - Evidence shows different stores for short-term and long-term memory. - Real-life evidence from brain-damaged patients. - Weaknesses: - Not all information is stored through rehearsal. - Over-simplifies memory (e.g., working memory is more complex). **Working memory** - Short-term memory used in many complex tasks that aren't explicitly memory tasks - Short-term memory replaced by working memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974) - Working memory = short-term storage + processing - Working memory "refers to a system, or a set of processes, holding mental representations temporarily available for us in thought and action"   **Working Memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974)** - Working Memory combines short-term storage and processing. - Components: - Phonological Loop: Stores and processes auditory information. - Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad: Handles visual and spatial information. - Central Executive: Manages and processes information from other components. - Episodic Buffer: Integrates visual, auditory, and long-term memory **Central executive - Working Memory Model Baddeley & Hitch (1974)** - Allows you to do things with info you have stored from phonological loop, episodic buffer or visuo-spatial sketchpad - The brain's workbench - Predicts many other abilities (e.g., fluid intelligence, school grades, ability to learn new languages, attention control) - Made up of many different abilities that are all related to a core "executive functioning" ability: - Memory updating - shifting - inhibition **Craik and Tulving (1975)** - As processing became deeper, memory increased - Limitation: Circular logic (Deep processing = Better memory and Better memory = Deep processing) **Levels of Processing Theory Craik & Lockhart (1972)** - Helped identify elaboration and distinctiveness of processing as factors influencing long-term memory - Elaboration: amount of processing of a given type influences LTM (Craik & Tulving, 1975) - Distinctiveness: - Memory traces different from other memory traces - Enhances memory performance by facilitating retrieval (Chee & Goh, 2018) **Testing Effect** - **Practicing retrieval** (e.g., self-testing) leads to better long-term memory. - Feedback and repetition can improve learning outcomes.  **Aboriginal Memorisation Technique (Reser et al., 2021)** - Memory Palace: Attach items to locations in your mind. - Aboriginal Technique: Adds storytelling for deeper engagement and better memory.  **Forgetting Curve (Ebbinghaus, 1885/1913)** - Most information is lost quickly if not well-consolidated. - Some info, once forgotten, can be re-learned faster the second time ** theory** - Failure of retrieval -- something interfering with what you want to remember - Memory impaired by two forms of interference. **Repression (Sigmund and Anna Freud)** - The idea that traumatic memories are hidden but can resurface. - Experts now believe many \"recovered memories\" might be false  **Decay vs. Failure to retrieve** - Decay: Memories fade over time if not revisited. - Failure to Retrieve: Memories can be hard to access due to interference or lack of rehearsal.  **Module 3: Memory 2** **Types of Amnesia** - **Retrograde Amnesia**: - Can\'t remember events from before the incident. - Affects storage or retrieval of memories. - **Anterograde Amnesia**: - Can\'t form new memories after the incident. - Affects consolidation, storage, or retrieval stages. **Infantile Amnesia:** - Inability to remember events from early childhood (ages 1-3/4). - Due to brain development, lack of language, and understanding. **Chronic Alcoholism - Korsakoff's Disease:** - Caused by long-term alcohol use leading to thiamine deficiency. - Results in permanent anterograde amnesia (can\'t form new declarative memories). - Can still learn new skills (non-declarative memory, like riding a bike). **Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)**: - Caused by head injuries, leading to memory problems. - Can lead to both retrograde and anterograde amnesia. - Often affects the retrieval phase. - non-declarative memory (influences behaviour but does not involve conscious recollection)  **Types of Memory** 1. Declarative Memory: - Involves conscious recollection. - Episodic Memory: Personal events (e.g., your birthday). - Semantic Memory: General knowledge and facts (e.g., dogs have 4 legs). 2. Non-Declarative Memory: - Does not involve conscious thought. - Procedural Memory: Skills and habits (e.g., riding a bike). - Priming: Faster processing of information when exposed to it repeatedly. **Episodic Memory - Recognition vs. Recall** - **Recognition** (e.g., multiple-choice questions) is easier than **recall** (e.g., short-answer questions). - **Single Process Model of Familiarity**: Suggests recognition requires a lower level of familiarity. - System 1 - heuristics, intuition - Fast, Automatic, Emotions, Stereotypes - System 2 - systematic reasoning - Slow, Conscious, Controlled  **Non-Declarative Memory - Priming** - Procedural Memory: Learning skills without conscious thought. - Priming: - Perceptual Priming: Enhanced recognition of repeated visual stimuli. - Conceptual Priming: Improved understanding of repeated concepts or words. - Amnesic Patients: Often have intact priming ability. **Priming Effects** 1. **Spreading Activation Theory (Collins & Loftus, 1975)**: - When you think of a word, related concepts are also activated. 2. **Truth Effect (Bacon, 1979)**: - The more you hear something, the more likely you are to believe it. 3. **False-Fame Effect (Jacoby, Wolloshyn, & Kelley, 1989)**: - Repeated exposure can make false information seem true. 4. **Fluency Effects (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009)**: - The easier something is to process, the more familiar and believable it feels. **Module 4: Memory 3** **Autobiographical Memory** - Memory of events from your own life. **Flashbulb Memories** - **Definition**: Memories for dramatic or important events, remembered vividly. - **Key details remembered**: - Informant (who told you) - Ongoing activity (what you were doing) - Emotional state - Personal consequences - **Reality**: - Not as special as they seem; can be forgotten or distorted. - People are often overconfident in their accuracy. **Reminiscence Bump** - Older adults remember events from their teens/early adulthood (ages 15-30) better than other periods. - Two types: - Word-cued: Memories triggered by keywords. - Important events: Recalling key life moments (e.g., love, marriage). - Cultural differences: - Chinese culture: Collectivist; more focus on social memories. - U.S. culture: Individualist; more focus on personal memories. - Life scripts: - Cultural expectations of important life events. - Often exclude negative events. **Depression and Autobiographical Memory** - Self-Memory System Model: Memories reflect personality and self-worth. - Depression impacts: - More negative memories. - Fewer positive memories. - Overgeneral memories. - Altered relationship with emotions. - Intervention: - Memory Specific Training (MEST) helps reduce biases, lowering depression levels. **Eyewitness Identification** - Mistaken identification: A leading cause of wrongful convictions (Innocence Project). - Types of lineups: - Simultaneous lineups: Viewing all suspects together. - Leads to relative judgement (comparing suspects). - Higher chance of misidentification. - Sequential lineups: Viewing suspects one at a time. - Leads to absolute judgement (yes or no for each suspect). - Reduces errors. **Weapon Focus Effect (WFE)** - Definition: Attention on a weapon can distract witnesses, reducing memory for other details. - Worse when: Weapon presence is unexpected. - Impact: Harder to identify the culprit accurately. **Face Recognition in Eyewitnesses** - Accuracy: About 40% in real-world cases. - Confidence: More confidence generally means more accuracy. - Common effects: - Unconscious transference: Mistaking a familiar face for the culprit. - Own-age bias: Recognizing faces of the same age better. - Other-race effect: Better at recognizing faces of one's own race. **Misinformation Effect** - Definition: Memory can be distorted by misleading information after an event. - How it works: - Loftus (1992): Original memory remains, but new information gets accepted. - Source monitoring: Difficulty in identifying whether a memory is from the event or from an external source. **Module 5: Attention 1** **Introduction to Attention** - Definition: Focusing on specific information while ignoring others. - Types of Attention: - Focused Attention: Concentrating on one task. - Divided Attention: \"Multitasking\" or spreading focus across tasks. - Vigilance: Staying ready to respond quickly. - Top-Down Attention (Endogenous): Deciding where to focus based on goals (conscious control). - Bottom-Up Attention (Exogenous): Automatically drawn to something (e.g., a loud noise). - Covert Attention: Focusing without moving your eyes or head. - Overt Attention: Focusing where your eyes and senses are directed. - Modality-Specific Attention: Focusing on a specific sense (e.g., vision, hearing). **Top-Down Attention** - When we focus attention: - Faster and more accurate at detecting information. - Enhanced brain activity. - Better at processing stimuli in the focused area. - \"Spotlight\" Model: - Focused on one region like a spotlight on a stage. - Can be narrow (focused) or wide (diffused). - Diffused focus: Slower reaction times because attention is spread out. **fMRI Retinotopic Mapping** - fMRI: Measures brain activity by detecting oxygen use. - Retinotopic Mapping: - Visual cortex at the back of the brain (occipital lobe). - Neurons in the visual cortex map to the retina. - Contralateral Mapping: Right visual field projects to the left hemisphere and vice versa. - Visual Field Mapping: - Fovea: Central, sharpest vision area. - Peripheral Vision: Lower acuity, maps to different regions. - Stimuli for Mapping: - Expanding Ring: Starts at the center, moves outward. - Rotating Wedge: Moves around the visual field. **Ways to Visualize Retinotopic Maps** - Overlaying fMRI on Brain Image - Combines functional (fMRI) and structural (anatomical) images. - Helps see exactly which parts of the brain light up (are active) when visual stimuli are presented. - Useful for identifying specific regions involved in processing visual information. - Inflated Brain Map - The brain\'s surface is \"inflated\" to spread out the wrinkles (sulci) and folds (gyri) for a clearer view. - Darker patches represent sulci (grooves or dips in the brain). - Lighter patches represent gyri (ridges or raised parts). - This method makes it easier to see continuous regions of activation, without being obscured by the folds. - Flat Map - The brain is cut along specific lines and \"flattened out\" to create a 2D map. - Makes it easier to see and study the boundaries of different visual processing areas. - Shows where different parts of the visual field (e.g., top vs. bottom, left vs. right) are processed on the brain. - This technique is useful for understanding how visual information from different parts of the field maps onto the cortex. - For example, if a rotating visual wedge (like a slice of a pie) is used, scientists can see how it activates different regions across the flattened brain map, helping to delineate areas like V1, V2, and VP. **Top of Form** **Bottom of Form** **Models of Attention** - **Zoom Lens Model**: - Attention can be \"zoomed\" in or out, like a camera lens. - **Wider focus**: Less detail, spread out attention. - **Smaller focus**: More detail, concentrated attention. - **Experiment Findings** - Muller et al. (2003) - Reaction times slower when attention is spread out. - Errors increase with wider focus. - fMRI shows changes in brain activity matching this focus shif - **Not consistent with zoom lens**: Jump in performance with no difference between medium and large cue **Activity in visual cortex when participants complete this task** - Stimuli presented above fixation point thus see activity below CS - VP/ V4 (later stages) shows activity - Big patch of activity in right hemisphere and in left hemisphere - The Zoom lens model is a better description of attention than the spotlight model. **Multiple Spotlights Model** - **Split Attention**: Focus on two or more separate areas without attention in between. - **Key Idea**: You can direct attention to different places, avoiding the middle. - **fMRI Evidence**: - Activity matches regions where attention is split. - Suppression of activity in areas not being focused on **Module 6: Attention 2** **Location vs. Object-Based Attention** - Location-Based Attention - Models (spotlight, zoom lens, multiple spotlights) focus on spatial locations - Question: Is attention always location-based, even when focusing on objects? - **Object-Based Attention:** - **Valid Condition:** Target appears where attention is cued. - **Invalid Conditions:** - **Same Object:** Target on the same object but different location. - **Different Object:** Target on a different object - **Key Idea:** - If only location-based, reaction times should be equal for invalid conditions. - Faster reactions to same-object targets suggest attention can be object-based. **What Controls Attention?** - Exogenous (Bottom-Up) Attention: - Drawn by external stimuli (e.g., noise, movement). - Controlled by: Ventral system (superior temporal gyrus, anterior insula, fusiform gyrus, midsingular gyrus). - Endogenous (Top-Down) Attention: - Directed by conscious choice (e.g., reading). - Controlled by: Dorsal system (intraparietal sulcus, parietal lobules, middle frontal gyrus). - Note: Exogenous and endogenous systems involve different brain regions. **What is Attention?** - Selecting specific information from the environment to focus on, while ignoring other details. - Quote: "Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence." **Link Between Attention and Consciousness** - Attention: Helps focus on an object. - Consciousness: Brings awareness to the object's attributes. - Question: Can we be conscious of something without paying attention to it? - Idea: Attention and consciousness might have separate functions, but they often overlap. **Consciousness** - 3 Key Components: - Sentience: Subjective awareness. - Access to Information: Ability to report experiences. - Self-Knowledge: Awareness of oneself. **What Are Attention and Consciousness For?** - Attention: Selects specific items for processing (e.g., focusing in noise). - Consciousness: Summarizes selected information for planning and decision-making. - Key Question: Can you have consciousness without attention? **Testing Attention vs. Consciousness** - Study (Reddy et al., 2006): - Central Task: Are all letters the same? - Peripheral Task: Is this a picture of Tom Cruise? - Findings: - Good performance on face recognition despite distraction. - Conclusion: Conscious recognition is possible without focused attention, which suggests attention isn\'t always necessary for conscious perception. **Module 7: Problem Solving** **Problem solving** - 1\. It is purposeful → The 'solution' - 2\. It involves controlled processes - 3\. A problem exists when appropriate knowledge is lacking **Well-defined vs. ill-defined problems** - Well-defined problems - Specified: (1) initial state/situation, (2) range of moves/strategies, and (3) the goal/solution - *E.g. chess, maze* - Ill-defined problems - Underspecified: Need to form plan to impose structure - How best to proceed is not immediately obvious - Most everyday problems are ill-defined **Knowledge-Rich vs. Knowledge-Lean Problems:** - Knowledge-Rich: Requires expertise (e.g., doctors). - Knowledge-Lean: No special expertise needed. **Insight in Problem Solving:** - **Insight:** Sudden realization of a solution (the "aha" moment). - **Reorganization:** Changes mental representation of the problem. - **Debate:** Is insight a unique process or part of normal thinking? **Impasse:** - **Impasse:** Feeling stuck before finding a solution. - **Question:** Why do we get stuck before gaining insight? **Representational change theory Ohlsson (1992)** - Impasse = problem represented incorrectly - Change representation: - 1\. elaboration - 2\. Constraint relaxation - 3\. Re-encoding **Representational change theory Öllinger et al. (2014)** - Prior knowledge and perceptions problem representation search can't find a solution block or impasse representational change new search problem representation **Brain Activity During Insight (Bowden et al., 2005):** - Insight activates the right hemisphere, especially the anterior superior temporal gyrus. - Helps integrate distant associations. **Strategies for Problem Solving:** - **Heuristics:** Simple rules for problem-solving. - **Means-Ends Analysis:** - Identify differences between current and goal states. - Set subgoals. - **Hill Climbing Heuristic:** Gradually move closer to the goal. - **Analogical Problem Solving:** - Use solutions from similar problems to solve new ones (e.g., using past experiences). **Types of Similarity in Problems (Chen, 2002):** - **Superficial Similarity:** Same objects, unrelated solutions. - **Structural Similarity:** Shared causal relationships. - **Procedural Similarity:** Similar solution methods. **Example Problems:** - **Tumour Problem (Gick & Holyoak, 1980):** - Use rays to treat a tumor without harming healthy tissue. - **Fortress Problem (Gick & Holyoak, 1980):** - Cognition in analogical reasoning intelligence - Working memory (Morrison et al., 2001) - Verbal and Figural analogies - Verbal WM task; Visual WM task; Control - Problem solving impaired when WM engaged - Verbal analogies impaired with verbal WM task (phonological loop) - Figural analogies impaired with visual WM task (visuospatial sketchpad) - Analogical reasoning - Allows us to experience the interconnectedness of ideas - Great way to learn difficult concepts more effectively - Is a skill -- we get better at it with practice - Enhances creative output **Chess Expertise:** - Practice: 10,000 hours to become an expert. - Chunking: Experts remember board positions better - Long-term memory - DeGroot (1965) - Briefly present board positions to expert and nonexpert players and then removed the board and asked participants to reconstruct the moves - Chess masters 91% accurate vs. non-experts 43% - Gobet's Template theory -- Template structure: - Chess experts use fixed and variable information for strategies. - 3 templates -- some large - Superior template knowledge more important than strategy - Precise board location of pieces stored - Better recall of random chess positions - Charness et al. (2001): Tactically relevant eye gaze in first second: - Experts - 80% of time, Novice -- 64% of time **10-Year Rule** - Elite performance requires over 10 years of practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). - Some individuals excel despite similar practice levels. **Problem-solving tasks** - **Nine-Dot Problem:** Requires insight to find a solution. - **Nine Pigs Problem:** Similar to the nine-dot problem in requiring restructuring of thought. - **Tower of Hanoi:** A non-insight problem solvable through sequential steps. **Module 8: Decision Making** **Judgment vs. Decision Making** **Judgment:** - Assess likelihood of events using incomplete information. - Accuracy is key for evaluating judgments. - Initial step in decision-making. **Decision Making:** - How people choose actions to achieve goals. - Quality of decisions depends on the situation\'s importance. **Judgment** **Bayesian Inference:** - Updates initial beliefs (prior probabilities) based on new evidence (posterior probabilities). **Example: Taxi Cab Problem (Kahneman & Tversky, 1972):** - **Scenario:** Witness identifies a taxi as Blue. - **Prior Probabilities:** 85% Green, 15% Blue. - **Witness Accuracy:** 80% correct when saying it's Blue, 20% wrong when saying it's Blue for a Green taxi. - **Calculations:** - Odds ratio: 12:17 - Final probabilities: 41% Blue, 59% Green. **Neglecting Base Rates:** - People often ignore the base rate (how common an event is) and focus too much on new evidence. **Heuristics** **Types of Heuristics:** - **Representativeness Heuristic:** Judging category membership based on appearance. - **Conjunction Fallacy (Tversky & Kahneman, 1983):** - Mistaken belief that combined events are more likely than individual ones (e.g., believing Jane is more likely a feminist public servant than just a public servant). - **Availability Heuristic (Kahneman & Tversky, 1974):** - Frequency estimates based on how easily examples come to mind (e.g., overestimating murder rates compared to suicide). - **Support Theory (Tversky & Koehler, 1994):** - Perception of likelihood changes with how an event is described. - **Fast-and-Frugal Heuristics:** - Simple strategies for quick decisions (e.g., Take-the-Best heuristic). **Dual-Process Theory (Kahneman, 2003)** **Systems:** - **System 1:** - Intuitive, automatic, and quick. - Most heuristics rely on this system. - **System 2:** - Analytical, slower, and requires effort. - Used for more complex decision-making. - Serial processing: System 1 → System 2, Parallel processing: System 1 / System 2 **Dual-process theory: evaluation** - Strengths - Reasonable evidence for the existence of two different processing streams - Most judgements appear to be determined by something like System \#1 - Explains individual differences in judgement performance - Those relying more heavily on System \#2 will be advantaged - Limitations - People make more use of baserate information than assumed - Error-prone performance may not relate to System 1 - Not very explicit about the processes involved in judgement - Processes may operate as parallel, rather than serially **Expected Utility Theory (Neumann & Morgenstern, 1944)** - Decision maker chooses between risky or uncertain prospects by comparing their expected utility. - Expected utility = (prob. of outcome) x (utility of outcome) - Rational decision making (i.e., maximise gains and minimise losses) **Irrational decision-making** - Rational decision-making: maximise gains and minimise losses - Expected utility theory does not account for actual/irrational decision-making. **Prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979, 1984)** - To explain irrational decision-making. - Two main assumptions: - \(1) Reference point (present state) - \(2) More sensitive to potential losses than potential gains (i.e., loss aversion)  **Sunk cost effect** - Sunk-cost effect -- the tendency to pursue a course of action even after it has proved to be suboptimal -- 'throwing good money after bad' - Example You have concert tickets to see a band. While travelling to the concert your car breaks down. You call roadside assistance, you wait for 45 minutes and in the end your car gets towed.....You end up calling a taxi to take you to the concert even though you don't feel like going now **Framing effect** - Framing effect - Decisions are influenced by irrelevant aspects of the situation. - Example (from Tversky & Kahneman, 1981) Outbreak of unusual disease is likely to kill 600 people **Prospect Theory** - More adequate than expected utility theory - Ecologically valid - Limitations: - No explicit rationale for value function - Oversimplified -- neglects cognitive processes - Loss aversion not always found - Little attention to social and emotional factors **Module 9: Language 1** **What is language?** - A SYSTEM OF SYMBOLS AND RULES THAT ENABLE US TO COMMUNICATE (HARLEY, 2013) - A FORMAL SYSTEM FOR PAIRING SIGNALS WITH MEANINGS (FERNÁNDEZ & SMITH CAIRNS, 2010) **Levels of language description** - PHONETICS: THE ACOUSTIC DETAIL OF SPEECH SOUNDS & HOW THEY ARE ARTICULATED - PHONOLOGY: THE STUDY OF SOUNDS & HOW THEY RELATE TO LANGUAGES - MORPHOLOGY: THE STUDY OF HOW WORDS ARE BUILT UP FROM MORPHEMES - MENTAL LEXICON - SYNTAX: THE RULES OF WORD ORDER OF A LANGUAGE - SEMANTICS: THE STUDY OF MEANING - PRAGMATICS: THE ASPECTS OF MEANING THAT DO NOT AFFECT THE LITERAL TRUTH OF WHAT IS BEING SAID **What questions motivate research into human language?** - IS LANGUAGE INNATE? - DOES LANGUAGE INFLUENCE THOUGHT? - CAN OTHER SPECIES ACQUIRE LANGUAGE? - TO UNDERSTAND THESE QUESTIONS IT IS NECESSARY TO APPRECIATE THE COMPLEXITY OF LANGUAGE AND HOW LANGUAGES DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER WHAT DOES THE INFANT NEED TO SOLVE WHEN ACQUIRING SPOKEN LANGUAGE Problem 1 -- Speech is complicated The vocal tract - It\'s even hard to deliver auditory information to people in MRI scanners because of metal - Left structural MRI image - Glottis -- vocal folds are here -- humm noises - Epiglottis -- closes off windpipe when you're swallowing - Pharyngeal cavitiy -- tongue pushed up here to produce different sounds -- Arabic - Uvula -- dangly -- used in some languages - by blocking off or par/ally blocking off the airflow from the lungs, that\'s how we make consonants - Vowels are made up by moving the tongue around this part of the vocal tract Problem 2 Languages Differ - CANTONESE - tonal language - IRISH - spoken as a first language by many people in Ireland - !XÕO -- Taa language - Click language -- spoken in Africa - if you learnt this language first, those clicks, those types, clicks and tones would sound just as much like a consonant, like a tuh or a duh. - JAMAICAN MESOLECT ENGLISH - Creole - mix of English and languages from Africa - Infant will grow up speaking the language of their environment - Differ...IN THE NUMBER OF PHONEMES - PHONEMES: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LANGUAGE - A BIT LIKE ENGLISH LETTERS, BUT NOT QUITE - MEANINGLESS UNITS COMBINE IN INFINITE WAYS TO CREATE NEW MEANINGS - E.G., CAT, ACT, AND TACK ALL CONTAIN PHONEMES /K/ /Æ/ /T/ - DIFFERENT LANGUAGES → DIFFERENT PHONEME INVENTORIES - ENGLISH: \# DEPENDS ON THE DIALECT - AUS 43, BRITISH RP 47 - OTHER LANGUAGES: AVERAGE: 20-37 - different languages also have different phonemes - regional differences accents - by the Gme you\'re an adult, then someGmes that can get in the way of being able to hear the differences between sounds in other language **Module 10: Language 2** **Word Segmentation Problem** - Listening to Native vs. Foreign Language - We perceive a sequence of words without clear acoustic gaps. - Foreign languages seem more continuous and harder to parse. - Strategies for Word Segmentation in Adults - Phonotactic Constraints: Some sounds can\'t be combined in English (e.g., /pf/ as in \"hip flask\") - Possible Word Constraint: Words must have at least one vowel. - Stress Patterns: Strong syllables often mark word onsets. - Coarticulation: Smoother transitions within words compared to between words. - Recognizing Familiar Words: Using known vocabulary to identify word boundaries. - Infant Word Segmentation - Challenges: Infants don\'t rely on language-specific knowledge. - Not Isolated Words: Caregivers rarely speak to infants in individual words. - Prosodic Cues: Pauses, stress, and intonation help infants segment speech. - Distributional Cues: Transitional probability is key. - Transitional Probability - High Probability: Syllables within the same word. - Low Probability: Syllables at the boundary of different words. - Infants can use a drop in transitional probability to detect word boundaries. - Artificial Language Studies - Saffran, Newport, & Aslin (1996): Infants exposed to artificial language could segment words based on transitional probabilities. - Testing Limits: Infants can handle variations (e.g., word length) seen in natural languages. - Summary: Word segmentation relies on statistical learning, but there\'s more to how infants learn to recognize words. **Is Language Innate?** - Language as an Instinct - Prewired Ability: Humans can learn any language regardless of phoneme variety or grammar structure. - Chomsky\'s View: Proposed the Language Acquisition Device, suggesting that language learning is innate. - Against Reinforcement Theory (Skinner): Children create novel sentences they\'ve never heard (e.g., \"I goed to daycare\"). - Learning from Input: Alternative view that language learning depends entirely on exposure. Does Language Influence Thought? - Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - Strong Version: Language determines thought. - Weak Version: Language influences perception. - Weakest Version: Language affects memory. - Case Study: Differences in how languages express spatial relationships (\"frames of reference\"). Is Language Specific to Humans? - Human Uniqueness: Exploration of whether language ability is exclusive to humans, with examples like Nicaraguan Sign Language showing the development of language from gestures. **Module 11: Language 3** Reading Systems and Orthography - Types of Writing Systems: - Logographic: Symbols represent words or morphemes (e.g., Chinese characters). - Syllabic: Symbols represent syllables (e.g., Japanese Kana). - Alphabetic: Symbols (letters) represent individual phonemes (e.g., English, Greek). - Phonemes vs. Letters: - Words are made up of distinct sounds (phonemes), which are represented by letters or letter combinations. - English phonemes can be complex (e.g., "th" can sound like /θ/ or /ð/). Orthographic Depth - Orthographic Depth: Refers to how consistently letters map to sounds. - Shallow Orthographies: Consistent letter-to-sound mappings (e.g., Finnish). - Deep Orthographies: Inconsistent mappings; pronunciation/spelling can vary (e.g., English). - Feedforward and Feedback Consistency: - Feedforward (FF): How easily a written word\'s pronunciation can be determined. - Feedback (FB): How easily a spoken word can be spelled. - English is inconsistent in both FF and FB, making it harder to read compared to languages like Finnish. Phonemic Awareness and Literacy - Phonemic Awareness: Understanding that words consist of individual sounds (phonemes); crucial for reading success. - Key Studies: - Portuguese Study (Morais et al., 1979): Literate individuals outperformed illiterate individuals in phoneme deletion tasks. - Chinese Study (Read et al., 1986): Learning an alphabetic script (like Pinyin) helps with phoneme awareness, even for speakers of a logographic language. Reading Models - Dual-Route Cascaded Model (Coltheart et al., 2001): - Two routes for reading: 1. Grapheme-Phoneme Conversion (GPC): Translates letters into sounds (used for unfamiliar or nonwords). 2. Lexical Route: Directly recognizes whole words (used for familiar words, including irregular words). - Surface Dyslexia: Difficulty reading irregular words. - Phonological Dyslexia: Difficulty reading nonwords. - Deep Dyslexia: Difficulty reading nonwords and makes semantic errors. - Distributed Connectionist Approach (Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989): - Emphasizes the integration of semantic, orthographic, and phonological information. - Learning occurs through experience and exposure. Experiment on Orthographic Processes - Tyler & Burnham (2006): - Experiment tested if orthographic knowledge interferes with phoneme tasks. - Method: Participants removed specific sounds from words (e.g., "take /s/ from 'spets'"). - Result: Longer reaction times for tasks where orthographic (spelling) information conflicted with the phoneme removal task. Differences in Language Learning - Orthographic Transparency: Explains why languages like Finnish (with consistent mappings) are easier to learn compared to English. - Seymour, Aro, & Erskine's (2003) Study: - Finnish children quickly master reading due to consistent grapheme-phoneme rules, unlike English-speaking children who take longer. Key Terms and Concepts: - Word Superiority Effect: Easier to recognize letters within words than in isolation. - Semantic Priming: Faster recognition of words when preceded by related words. - Dyslexia Subtypes: - Surface, phonological, and deep dyslexia based on different impairments in reading processes. Key Takeaways: - Learning to read changes how we perceive and process speech sounds. - Different writing systems and orthographic depth influence reading acquisition. - Reading models help explain why some people struggle with specific aspects of reading, such as irregular word recognition or nonword reading.