Psychology 100:12Psychology 100:12

Chapter 11: Part IVChapter 11: Part IV

Development Development

Outline

Whorf’s hypothesisBrain & Language Gender & Moral

Development

Study Questions:

• Describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral development.

Language

Benjamin Whorf• Linguistics– Whorf’s hypothesis

>Linguistic Relativity hypothesis: Your language shapes your thoughts

Language controls thought and perception

>The Hopi as a timeless people>Heider (1971, 1972)

Focal colours Dani Language (New Guinea)

• Two words for colours: Mola (bright) & Mili (dark, cool)• Recognition memory influenced by focality

Language

Benjamin Whorf• Linguistics– “Eskimo words for snow” (100, 200, or 400?!?)

>Martin (1986) Franz Boas (1911; derived forms) 4 ‘Eskimo’ words for snow

• Aput - snow on the ground; Qana - falling snow; piqsirpoq - drifting snow; qimuqsuq - snowdrift.

English words for water• Liquid, lake, river, pond, sea, ocean, dew, brook, etc.

> these could have been formed from the ‘root’ water

> ‘Eskimos’ all snow related words from 4 ‘roots’

Language

Benjamin Whorf• Linguistics– “Eskimo words for snow” (100, 200, or 400?!?)

> Whorf (1940s) “We have the same word for falling snow, snow on the ground, snow

packed hard like ice, slushy snow, wind-driven flying snow- whatever the situation may be. To an Eskimo, this all-inclusive word would be almost unthinkable; he would say that falling snow, slushy snow, and so on, are sensuously and operationally different, different things to contend with; he uses different wards for them and for other kinds of snow.” (Whorf 1940)

7 words for snow (what about sleet, slush, hail, blizzard, etc.?)

Language

Benjamin Whorf• Linguistics

– “Eskimo words for snow” (100, 200, or 400?!?)> Brown (1958): Three words for snow

Only looked at the figures in Whorf’s paper!

> Eastman's (1975) Aspects of Language and Culture Cites Brown: "Eskimo languages have many words for snow”

(Mentions six lines later that the number was 3)

> Lanford Wilson's 1978 play “The Fifth of July” 50 words for snow

> New York Times editorial (1984) :100+ words for snow> The Science Times (1988)

"The Eskimos have about four dozen words to describe snow and ice”

> Cleveland weather forecast: 200 words for snow

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language– Aphasia: Language deficits resulting from brain-related

disorders and injury.> Very common

40 % of all strokes produce some aphasia

– Broca’s Aphasia> Paul Broca - studied patient Leborgne (A.K.A.’Tan’)

Treated for leg injury Died a few days later Autopsied brain Discovered ‘Broca’s area’ Left Hemisphere dominance for language

Brain & Language

Paul Broca

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language

Brain & Language

Paul Broca

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language– Broca’s Aphasia

> Production Deficits Problems in producing fluent language Range from ‘Tan,tan,tan,…’ to short phrases Lack function words and grammar

• May retain idioms (‘fit as a fiddle’) or songs Proximity to motor cortex

• Dysarthria: loss of control over articulatory muscles

• Speech Apraxia: Unable to program voluntary articulatory movements.

Paul Broca

Brain & Language

Paul Broca

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language– Broca’s Aphasia

> Comprehension deficits Unable to analyze precise grammatical information

• “The Boy ate the cookie”• Who ate the Cookie?• “Boy ate cookie”• Implied grammar (cookies don’t eat boys)• “The Boy was kicked by the

girl”• Who kicked whom?• “Boy kick girl”

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language– Wernicke’s Aphasia

>Carl Wernicke, 1870s Production deficits

• Sounds fluent (e.g., foreign language)• Neologistic (invented words)• Semantic substitutions• E.g.

I called my mother on the television and did not understand the romers by the door.

Brain & Language

Carl Wernicke

Carl Wernicke

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language– Wernicke’s Aphasia

>Carl Wernicke, 1870s Comprehension deficits

• Do not recognize the incomprehensibility of their own sentences

• Do not comprehend written or spoken language “Here and gone again”

• Aphasia improves over time• Anomia: Losing the ability to retrieve words

(nouns)

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language– Classical localization model (Lichtheim, 1885;

Geschwand, 1967)

>Damage to main areas Broca’s Aphasia Wernicke’s Aphasia

>Damage to connections Conduction aphasia Transcortical sensory aphasia

Brain & Language

Brain & Language

• Neuropsychology of language

Brain & Language

Gender Development

• Some definitions– Gender roles: Cultural expectations about how men and

women should behave> Around 2 yrs ->identify themselves as a boy or girl.

– Gender Stereotypes: Beliefs about differences in the behaviour, abilities, and personality of men and women.

Gender Development

• Nature of gender differences.– Beck’s assessment

>Girls show earlier verbal development interpretation of emotional cues more compliant

> Boys show stronger spatial abilities increased aggression more likely to have language/behaviour problems

Gender Development

Gender Development

• Gender identity and sexual orientation– Gender Identity: The association we make with

being either male or female.

– Gender Constancy: recognizing that being male or female is irrevocable.>By age 5

– Sexual orientation: Inclination towards choosing a partner of the opposite or the same sex.

Gee, you mean I can’t make anyone gay?

Gender Development

• Gender identity and sexual orientation– Biological Basis of sexual orientation

>Role of sexually dimorphic nucleus LeVay(1991)’s post mortum analysis

>Role of prepuberty experience Only predictor is how one feels Genetic basis Concordance rates: MZ twins: 52% DZ twins: 22%

Moral Development

Jean Piaget• Piaget’s Theory

– Stage 1: Moral Realism.>Characterized by egocentrism

Personal consequences of behaviour Blind adherence to rules. Rules come from authority, cannot be changed. Moral judgement -> consequences not intentions.

– Stage 2: Morality of Cooperation.>Rules are social conventions>Flexibility - rules can be changed by convention.

Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s Theory– Tested childrens responses to various moral dilemmas– Three levels and 6 or 7 stages

> Preconventional Level Stage 1: Punishment and obedience

• Direct consequences to self, avoid punishment Stage 2: Naive instrumental hedonism

• Different people have different self-interests• Weigh potential risks and benefits

He won’t mind serving time in jail if his wife is alive and waiting for

him

Lawrence Kohlberg

Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg

Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s Theory>Conventional Level

Stage 3: Maintaining good relations and conformity• Live up to expectations of others• Good acts receive approval, improve relationships

His family will think he is a bad husband if he lets his wife die

Stage 4: Law and order morality• Rules and laws maintain social order• Duty bound to follow the conventions of the greater

society

Moral Development

Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg

Moral Development • Kohlberg’s Theory

>Postconventional Level Stage 5: Human rights, social welfare / contracts

• Individual rights can outweigh laws Stages 6 and 7: Universal ethical principles and

cosmic orientation• Values transcend societal norms (Ghandi,

Schweitzer, etc.)The law isn’t set up for this situation. Saving a life is more

important than obeying this law

Ghandi

Albert Schweitzer