Learning and Thinking in Infancy

Question 1

Two key characteristics of language

Answer 1

symbolic reference

generative grammar

Question 2

generative grammar

Answer 2

Set of rules that determine the form and meaning of sentences

Question 3

Four aspects of Language

Answer 3

o	Phonology (combinatorial signs) 
o	Semantics (word meaning) 
o	Syntax (rules for forming words/ sentences) 
o	Pragmatics (social/ cultural rules for using language (turn taking, eye contact etc)

Question 4

experience- expectant

Answer 4

• Language is experience expectant → all development is laid down but if you don’t experience it you won’t develop it

Question 5

Phonemes

Answer 5

the basic units of sound in a language

o Babies under ten months can tell the difference between two phonemes in any language

Question 6

Cooing and babbling (milestone)

Answer 6

o Cooing (5-10 months) and babbling (5-10 months)
• Maturation of vocal chords allows for a greater range of sounds
• Babbling can lead to first word
• Easiest sounds to make are ma and da/ba

Question 7

Vocabulary explosion (milestone)

Answer 7

Between 18 and 24 months kids go through a vocabulary explosion
comprehension always precedes production

Question 8

Syntactic Development (milestone)

Answer 8

o Holographic phrases (same word with different meaning 14-18 months)
o Telegraphic speech (two word utterances 1.5-2 years)
o Grammatical morphemes (adult like sentences 2.5 years)

Question 9

Nature

Answer 9

• Different specialized areas of the brain that process different aspects of language

Question 10

Nurture

Answer 10

• More parents talk to their kids the more rapidly they learn new words
• More highly educated parents talk to their kids more
• Cds don’t work
• 30 million word gap of higher SES vs lower SES before kid even reaches preschool
• Infant directed speech
• Babies hear higher pitch better than low pitch, slow repetition is better for learning
• Helps with statistical learning
• Encoding
• Imitation
• Intermodal perception
• Social interactions

Question 11

• All theories view language development and an interaction between innate and environmental factors, but they disagree on the “weight” of each

Answer 11

o Be able to indicate what each theory attributes to nature and nurture
o Vygotsky sociocultural context (nurture)
o Core knowledge is nature (genes programmed for language)