Cognitive psychology and language development

Cognitive and Social Psychology

Cognitive & Social Psychology

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

The critical period for learning language has been shown by research that examined the fluency of non-native English speakers according to their age upon arrival in the United States. The language ability of the non-native English speakers was measured by their ability on tests of English grammar and vocabulary, but this ability declines from the roughly the age of seven and older.

While it does seem that it would be easier for a student to learn multiple languages in school if they were learning them at the same time, there is some evidence that it may be difficult in other ways. Although the acquisition of language is largely governed by neural maturity in the brain areas that control language and speech, differences also reside in the individuals as well. Some people will have difficulty with language acquisition overall, others will experience an initial language delay. Regardless of these individual differences, the critical period for learning language overrides other influences.

Question 2.

Semantics is the study of meaning in language. The meaning of language comes from signifiers such as words, phrases, and symbols, and from the position or order of the signifiers in speech or written language. Signifiers stand for something -- they denote some meaning that is commonly understood and remains the same for the signifier across time and among speakers or writers. While we know that the meaning of words may change marginally over time in response to cultural or societal changes, by and large, the meaning of signifiers is static.

While we understand the meaning of words more quickly if they are in the order we are accustomed to hearing, we can still process and interpret the meaning of the words when they are presented in an unexpected or unusual order. Syntax is the study of combinations of words without reference to their meaning, and pragmatics is the study of the relations between the signifiers of a language, the meaning of the symbols or signifiers, and the speakers or writers of the language.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - Chapter of Persuasion and Conflict

Question 1.

Milgram's experiments in obedience were ethical, but from at least one perspective, they were not admirable. Contemporary research is governed by rather stringent human subjects review committees and human subjects policies that must be followed in order to gain permission to conduct research with people as subjects. In particular, the human subjects policies are designed to ensure that subjects understand that they can end their participation in the study at will, that they voluntarily engage with the study, and that they give consent to participating only after they have been informed about any adverse conditions that could be associated with their participation in the research.

The experiments caused considerable stress to the study participants based on false beliefs about the outcomes of their own actions. That said, the research provided valuable information about human nature with respect to obedience to authority figures, and also about the accuracy of predicting the behavior of others under circumstances such as those presented during the experiment.

Question 2.