Language Development and Language–Thought Relationships (6B) - MCAT Psychological and Social Foundations

Around 6 months. Repetitive consonant-vowel combinations emerge at this age.

Around 12 months. First meaningful words appear around first birthday.

Relativity: language influences thought; determinism: language determines thought. Relativity is weaker claim; determinism claims language controls thought.

Cognitive universality (language-independent thought). Opposes Sapir-Whorf; thought exists without linguistic constraints.

Information is stored in verbal codes and nonverbal (imagery) codes. Combines linguistic and visual processing for better recall.

Language is learned via operant conditioning, imitation, and reinforcement. Contrasts with Chomsky's innate language acquisition device.

Using language appropriately based on social and situational context. Considers speaker, listener, and situation for effective communication.

The meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. Focuses on meaning rather than structure or sounds.

Rhythm, stress, and intonation patterns that convey meaning. Suprasegmental features that add emotional and grammatical information.

Rules and meanings of words and sentences. Encompasses both lexical meaning and sentence interpretation.

Rules for combining words into grammatically correct sentences. Governs word order and sentence structure in a language.

Phonemes are smallest sounds; morphemes are smallest meaning units. Phonemes create sound differences; morphemes carry semantic content.

Rules for combining words into grammatically correct sentences. Determines proper word order and phrase structure in sentences.

Meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. Examines literal and conceptual meanings in language.

Use of language in context (social rules, implied meaning, intent). Considers how context shapes interpretation beyond literal meaning.

Study of sound systems and rules for speech sounds in a language. Analyzes how sounds pattern and combine in specific languages.

Study of word structure using morphemes (smallest meaning units). Morphemes include roots, prefixes, and suffixes that carry meaning.

Wernicke aphasia (Wernicke area damage). Produces fluent "word salad" speech without meaningful content.

Wernicke area (dominant hemisphere, usually left). Located in temporal lobe; damage causes receptive aphasia.

Phonology (distinct speech sounds that change meaning). Different phonemes create minimal pairs like "rice" vs "lice."

Overgeneralization of morphology (irregular plural rule error). Child applies regular plural rule to irregular noun.

Language influences thought and perception of reality. Suggests language structure shapes how speakers think and perceive.

Connects Broca and Wernicke areas; supports repetition and integration. White matter tract enabling communication between language regions.

Wernicke area (left posterior superior temporal gyrus). Damage causes receptive aphasia with fluent but nonsensical speech.

Broca area (left inferior frontal gyrus). Damage causes expressive aphasia with effortful, telegraphic speech.

Rules governing sentence structure and word order. Determines whether "Dog bites man" differs from "Man bites dog."

Smallest units of meaning (roots, prefixes, suffixes). "Un-" in "unhappy" or "cat" in "cats" are examples.

Smallest units of sound that distinguish meaning. Like /p/ vs /b/ in "pat" vs "bat" - changing one changes meaning.

Prosody. Includes intonation, stress, and rhythm that convey emotion/emphasis.