The Way We Speak Determines How We Think Essay Example for Free

The Way We Speak Determines How We Think Essay Critically evaluate this statement, drawing on the key theories and research that describe the relationship between language and thought. Language has traditionally been characterized by Philosophers as a cognitive tool used to freely externalize ones thoughts (Green, 2010 as cited in Kaye, 2010). The relationship between language, thought, culture and reality has occupied the minds of many for centuries. Early theorists argued that language and thought were two separate systems which â€Å"enter into an array of interconnected cognitive structures† (Chomsky, 1983). Extreme nativists and constructivists are key proponents of innateness and argued that knowledge and thought hold a significant innate property which exists prior to the development of language acquisition and is dependent on thought for its development. (Fodor, 1975 cited in Green, 2010) In recent years, contrasting with this position, researchers have provided empirical evidence to support a causal relationship between both language and thought which indicates how we speak does shape how we think but also how we think can influence how we speak. Boroditsky, 2010) The emergence of this new evidence elaborates on earlier ideas associated with the Whorfian hypothesis (Whorf, 1956 cited in Green, 2010) and focuses on an alternative approach, linguistic determinism. This essay will explore the different theoretical approaches and provide evidence which demonstrates how no one theory has provided conclusive empirical evidence that supports how we speak determines how we think. Preliminary studies on language and thought have resulted in contributory and conflicting information which looks at the definitions and functions of language and thought, the interactions between both and the origins. Language and thought have been considered to be some of the key components which define human nature and what it means to be human. Aitchison (2007) highlighted some of the key features which define our uniqueness as humans but also certain characteristics we share with our animal relatives. Semanticity is one feature which separates us from other species. Humans use words to communicate and to represent objects and actions. In contrast animals use sounds to communicate information about a situation. For example blackbirds give a recognizable call for danger but it does not inform others of the type of danger present. Another feature which separates us from animals is creativity. Humans have the ability to understand and produce an infinite number of novel grammatical expressions with little evidence to demonstrate this skill in animals. These differences between species demonstrate the difference between language and communication and have led to other questions about how and why language acquisition was developed (Aitchison, 2007, cited in Green, 2010). Furthermore like any other psychological dichotomy, psychologists and philosophers have questioned whether language shapes our thoughts and ideas or whether our thoughts are merely represented through what we say. One approach which argues against the notion of language influencing thought is the constructivist position. According to this approach, language is seen as an emergent property that unfolds as a result of cognitive development therefore suggesting that language may not determine how we think (Piaget, 1923, cited in Green, 2010). Evidence from Piaget’s (1923) epistemological studies demonstrates how thinking and other cognitive abilities such as symbolic play, mental imagery all exist in children before language development. However one major criticism of this theory suggests that if this idea is to be true, then children with visual or auditory impairment are likely to be handicapped in language due to insufficient sensory input. However research has indicated no difference between the rate and time which impaired children obtain their earliest words compared with seeing children. Bigelow, 1987; Nelson, 1973) Although this evidence rejects Piaget’s (1923) theory, considerations need to be applied for parents of visually impaired children compensating for the impairment. Further issues with Piaget’s (1923) theory suggests that if certain levels of cognitive development are required to assist language ability, then his notion of object permanence should precede the acquisition of concepts and objects Xu (2002) research found opposite results to Piaget’s (1923) ideas which demonstrate how a child as early as 9 months old was capable of distinguishing between two objects. Because of this conflicting information, it is difficult to assign a causal relationship between language and thought within this framework (Xu, 2002, cited in Green, 2010). In addition, the extreme nativist approach led by Fodor (1983), postulates that all concepts are innate and we possess language syntax of thought. His key ideas are centered on the content of concepts and the structure of propositions. Fodor (1983) proposed that some cognitive systems (language) are modular and interface with non-modular central systems such as memory and thinking. One of the main aspects of interest in Fodor’s (1983) framework is the acquisition of concepts. Unlike empiricists who argue that children proceed through a process of inductive generalization to understand a new concept, Fodor (1983) suggests that this is not the case and that concepts are innately pre-programmed and not learnt (Russell, 2004 cited in Green, 2010) He describes vocabulary acquisition as attaching names to pre-existing categories and concepts which are broken down into components until the end point is reached. He also explains how new or complex concepts are developed (. i. e. ipad) by decomposition into their basic elemental components. From this, it would suggest that language develops from already pre-existing concepts or thoughts which would show the directional flow of influence to come from thought rather than speech. Chomsky (2006) is also a staunch proponent for the nativist approach and offers complimentary ideas to Fodor’s (1983) theory on innateness. He argued that the syntax of language is innate and that a universal grammar underpins language. The theory suggested that linguistic ability manifests itself without being taught, and that there are properties that all natural  human languages share (Chomsky, 2006). Exploration of this hypothesis focused on word order, structure and parameters. Universally the random order of words differs amongst cultures. For example in English we use subject-verb-object language compared with those in Japanese who use Subject-Object-Verb. Chomsky (2006) argued that although the mental grammar differs from language to language, the process by which certain sentences are perceived as correct while others are not is universal and independent of meaning. He also argued that language acquisition is obtained through an innate language acquisition device. His theory later evolved into principles and parameters theory and looked at the abstract rules applied when learning a language. One of the key tenets of Chomsky’s (2006) theory is that language is independent of cognition and does not influence how we think. Criticisms of his theory are highlighted as complete disregard for meaning and the social aspects or environment at which a child first acquires its words. Other critiques look at evidence produced by children with a hearing impairment. Questions surround what kind of parameters they would apply when using sign language. If Chomsky’s (2006) theory is to be correct then, it does not explain how children who learn two languages at once can apply parameter settings (Messer, 2000 cited in Green, 2010). Contrasting with the nativist approach, linguistic determinism argued in support for the notion that language influences or even determines how we speak. These ideas were first presented in the early 1930’s by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, who studied how languages vary and proposed ways that speakers of different tongues may think differently. Due to lack of empirical evidence at the time, their ideas of determinism (Whorfian hypothesis) were rejected but later reinstated with a weaker, less controversial notion of linguistic relativism, suggesting how language influences thought rather than determines it. Green, 2010) Firstly many of the early studies supporting Whorf’s hypothesis derived from studies of colour perception and naming. Brown and Lenneberg, (1954) found cross-cultural differences in the speed of colour naming and recognition, related to colour terms in different languages, though the study found correlations rather than a causal relationship. Additionally later research by Roberson et al, (2000) in the Berinmo people of Papua New Guinea showed findings which do support the Whorfian hypothesis and showed evidence for an effect of language on colour perception (Green, 2010, p. 66-372). Secondly more recent experiments carried out by Boroditsky, Winawer, Withoff, Frank and Wu (2007) investigated whether linguistic differences led to differences in colour discrimination between Russian and English speakers. Unlike English speakers, Russian speakers divide the colour terms on the spectrum differently. For example Russian speakers make a distinct differentiation between lighter blues and darker blues whereas English speakers would categories all colours of blue under on label. The experiment measured colour discrimination performance using a basic perceptual task. The results showed that Russian speakers were faster to discriminate two colours if they were part of the different linguistic categories in Russian than if the two colours were from the same category. Further effects of language were seen with English speakers who did not show any category advantage under any condition hence demonstrating how categories in language can affect performance of colour discrimination or how we speak can influence how we think. Thirdly research has also investigated spatial cognition and non-linguistic tasks and has shown how different cultures spatialize time depending on the available spatial representations (Green, 2010, p. 368). For example Dutch speakers use right and left in relation to object-centered frames of reference compared with the Mayan people of South America who use the compass points (North,South,East,West) for both geographic and object-centered frames of reference. Brown and Levinson (1993) conducted a study to investigate if these different frames of reference influenced the encoding of spatial relationships. The results showed that Dutch and Tzeltal (Mayan) speakers showed differences in reconstruction of a spatial array of objects, depending on encoding in their language which provides support for the Whorfian hypothesis and also shows how we speak can influence how we think. One critique of this experiment is the location of the task was not considered. Li and Gleitman (2002) argued that changing the environment in which spatial tasks occur can change the frame of reference used. The results from their study did demonstrate that within a different environment, participants chose to use a relative frame of reference hence highlighting the importance or significance of environmental factors in determining the frame used. Finally Boroditsky, (2001) also looked at the concept of time and whether aspects of language and culture influence how we think about this domain. Her study investigated how Mandarin and English speakers represent time and whether temporal metaphors differ between the two groups. English and Mandarin speakers both use horizontal (front/back) spatial terms to talk about time but differ in the use of vertical (up/down) spatial terms which are used by Mandarin speakers but not English speakers. Participants from both groups were asked to verify statements in English about temporal relationships from a scene containing objects that were arranged either along the vertical or horizontal dimension. The results showed that both groups organize time from left to right which is consistent with their writing direction but also that Mandarin speaker’s show evidence of vertical representation of time with earlier events represented further up after vertical priming and no evidence for this in English speakers. The results of this study provide evidence for cross-cultural differences in temporal reasoning and also support for language influencing thought. However compelling this evidence is, these findings have not been replicated in later studies. To conclude, it is clear that the above recent evidence provides support that demonstrates a transactional or causal relationship between both thought and language however due to the lack of successful replication of these results and the requirement for further investigation, once cannot conclude the notion of linguistic determinism. The way we speak does not determine how we think, but is more influential in shaping some aspects and in both directions. One must also consider that certain aspects of this cognitive process are indeed innate, that we are designed with a pre-disposition to develop language as a means of communication. It is also possible that both innateness and linguistic determinism explain different components of the same process, depending on the situation and context we find ourselves in. As the field of cognitive psychology progresses and further evidence is provided we may be able to settle on one explanation or another.

The Power Of The Situation :: essays research papers

The Power of the Situation A week of urban mayhem was ignited by the April 29, 1992 jury acquittal of four white police officers who were captured on videotape beating black motorist Rodney King. The angry response in South Central produced its own brutal footage, most dramatically the live broadcast from a hovering TV news helicopter of two black men striking unconscious with a brick, kicking, and then dancing over the body of, white truck driver Reginald Denny. The final three-day toll of what many community activists took to defiantly calling an uprising, revolt, or rebellion, was put at 53 dead, some $1 billion in property damage, nearly 2,000 arrests, and countless businesses in ashes. These two men, Damian Williams and Henry Watson undoubtedly committed a heinous crime, but thousands more looted, burned, and destroyed property with the same disregard for life and property. Were all these people criminals who used the verdicts as an excuse to commit crimes, or was the nature of the social situation the primarydeterminant of this nefarious behavior? In the course of this paper, I plan to explore this question from a psychological perspective with an emphasize on conformity and social norms, bystander intervention, social perception and reality, and finally, prejudice. Generally looking at the Los Angeles riots, and specifically drawing upon the Reginald Denny beating and subsequent trial, the power of the situation becomes evident, as thousands of people living in an extremely poor and crime-ridden area of Los Angeles, lashed out against a perception of injustice through violence. The conditions that lead people to perceive themselves as victims of unjust actions are rather complex. In this case, the favorable verdicts towards the officers who beat Rodney King was the "unjust action", not only for Rodney King, but for the community he came from. The perceived damage to desired social identities and justice led to resentment on the part of a historically poor and underprivileged class of citizens. The individual attempts to explain the event (the verdicts) by processes of attribution in which grievance may or may not be formed. (DeRidder, Schruijer, and Tripathi, 1992). The attribution of responsibility and blame is activated when confronted with unexpected behavior, unwanted consequences, or stressful, puzzling, and important events (Wong & Weiner, 1981). Thus the attribution process may be activated either when the individual experiences harm, or perceives an anti-normative action by another person or group. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone residing in south-central Los Angeles looted. Instead the majority stayed in their homes until the participants ceased their destructive activities. This does not take away from the validity of the attribution theory due to the individual differences in

Will Project Creep Cost You Or Create Value

Mediators scope adjustments to accommodate new realities or incorporate new capabilities can pay off, but only when they're done very intentionally and with a hard-nosed insistence on demonstrating up front where the money is going to come from. Such vigilance doesn't just happen, which is why for every story like Infant's, there's probably three or four that speak to the dangers of creep. Need an example? Think of the Big Dig, the highway project to put Boson's central artery underground, in which scope changes were all too casually agreed to when they were noticed at all.Construction for this project began in 1991 and was supposed to take 10 years and cost $4. 9 billion. Current projections suggest that more realistic figures are, at minimum, 14 years and $14. 6 billion. You treat every project as utterly unique, none of the learning from one project to another-?which essentially has to do with recognizing patterns-?transfers over,† says Steven Wheelwright, a professor and se nior associate dean at Harvard Business School (HOBS) whose research focuses on product and process development.And just what is this relevant learning Wheelwright is referring to? Conversations with project managers who have a track record of success underscore the importance of adopting, in the initial planning phase, key frameworks, rules, and structures to ensure: ; The right people have defined the project's scope. ; The project's boundaries have been sharply delineated. ; The impact of potential alterations or slippage can be quickly calculated.In the implementation phase, the challenge is to organize the work so as to minimize the inherent uncertainties. Whether you're the manager or the executive sponsor of any major project, a solid methodology that's sensitive to creep can make it easier for you to decide, in the moment, which project add-ions to say yes to and which to pass on. The planning phase A surprising number of projects get under way without a thorough attempt to define their parameters, specs, and performance characteristics.Haste is the chief culprit here, says Dave Nonfat, who brings 40 years of industry project management experience to his role as Enron operations adviser at HOBS and project manager for the renovation of one of the school's main classroom buildings. â€Å"There's a minimum lead time that all projects require,† says Nonfat, and it's the responsibility of the project's manager to know what that lead time is and to ensure that it not squeezed. Here are the key tasks of the planning phase: Differentiate scope from purpose.As you define the parameters of a project, its critical to separate its scope from its purpose. â€Å"A project's purpose is the general benefit it will provide to the organization,† explains Alex Walton, a Winter Park, AAA. Based project con- Copyright C 2005 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 3 Project Creep (continued) sultan who's worked with computer, aerospace, financial, and medical/nutritional companies. â€Å"Its scope comprises the particular elements (or product attributes) that the project team can control and has agreed to deliver. For example, a project's purpose may be to create a new food item that will increase sales by $20 million. But the team developing the product needs to know what features the product must have and what the budget for producing the product will be. This is the information that a three- to four-sentence document known as a scope statement provides; it spells out how the team intends to achieve success and, thus, the criteria on which it will be evaluated. Involve key stakeholders.Make sure that you have the right people defining the project's scope. â€Å"If you don't have all the affected stakeholders and sponsors at the table, either you won't get an accurate identification of the critical dependencies and functionalities or you won't have the people who can ensure that the project hews to th ose critical dependencies and functionalities,† says Brian Dobby, a Enron project manager for Meddles, a Mason, Ohio-based subsidiary of Custodianship's, who oversees the installation of electronics systems in health care facilities.For this reason, it's crucial to include â€Å"the end users perspective and needs when you're scoping out the functionality that's required,† says Wheelwright. In the renovation of Baker Library at HOBS, for example, project planners solicited faculty members' input about the prototypes of the new office spaces that were being designed for them. Plan in the aggregate. Getting the right people involved in defining the scope ND devoting sufficient time to the project planning phase aren't enough to ensure that the project has clear boundaries, however. Organizations also need to do aggregate project planning,† says Wheelwright, â€Å"in which they develop a strategy that lays out a pattern and rhythm for when subsequent projects will o ccur. † This is especially important for new product development. Without such a schedule for future projects, a product engineer with a new idea can grow concerned that it will never be implemented; as a result, there's a strong temptation for the engineer to try to slip that idea into the product that's currently in placement-?regardless of its impact on the cost and schedule.The analysis of prior projects serves as a valuable adjunct to aggregate planning. For example, study the past 1 0 internal IT projects your company has undertaken what patterns emerge? The findings can help you identify and better prepare for potential trouble spots in the IT projects that are on the docket for the coming years. Set the rules. One last piece Of work in the planning phase that can minimize the chances of project creep involves creating buffers or rules that make it difficult for significant hanged to occur without conscious discussion and approval. For instance: ; Set up a change contro l board.In highly structured project environments, such a group is responsible for â€Å"gathering information about the impact that a proposed change will have on the schedule, budget, or scope; voting on the proposed change; and then sending a request-for-change document on for the project sponsors' signature,† says Bob Tartan, a senior consultant who specializes in IT and telecommunications projects for Haverford, pa. -based PM Solutions. Thus, for an IT project affecting the sales, marketing, and logistics departments, the change intro board would comprise senior managers from each of these units.

My Childhood Memories Without Gary - 1142 Words

Little girls usually request princess gowns and Barbie dolls for their birthday each year. Growing up, for my birthday, I asked my parents for a little sister. A bit of an unconventional gift. I wanted nothing more than someone to share closets with, to help me get ready for dates, and to gossip endlessly with. My wish was never granted. Instead, I got something I did not realize I needed. Something I would not immediately realize how life changing it would be. God graced me with two older brothers, Alex and Gary. The twist in this story is, I am now older than one of them. Confusing, I know. What is even more confusing, they are the same age yet their birthdays are 11 days apart. There are few scenarios that make this possible. Alex is my†¦show more content†¦That woman was not my mother. I immediately asked her, â€Å"Mom what’s wrong?† The conversation that followed I imagine is one my mother wished never would have occurred in her lifetime. Her words foreve r imprinted in my mind, â€Å"Gary passed away.† â€Å"No he didn’t mom.† I could not fathom that being true. To make something like that up would be cruel. My mom was not lying. Life from that moment on has never been the same. The loss of a family member creates a void that will never be filled. Never had I imagined that at the age of 18 with the world at my heels, I would be leaving my freshman college dorm to travel home to bury my 20 year old brother. Nearly six years later, at the age of 24 I am now older than my older brother. I have surpassed many milestones he will never have the pleasure of experiencing. Gary will eternally remain the young age of 20. However, my life continues, on April 24th every year I add 365 days to my roster. I am the type of person that searches for a silver lining in almost every situation possible. How does one find a silver lining in death? You don’t. The only way I can fathom dealing with it is knowing I have a guardian angel safeguarding all those in my life as well as me. That is not to say I have not gained anything from this tragedy. First and foremost my last words to Gary were â€Å"I love you.† Those are also the last words in any conversation I have with my friends and family. Second, this lifeShow MoreRelatedThe Green River Killer Essay959 Words   |  4 Pagesto justice. The green river killer is one case that really got me intrigued into forensics and I got mesmerized by the techniques that are being used to catch murderers and other crimes being committed. The green river killer had an interesting childhood that led him to be a serial killer. He committed multiple murders on prostitutes and left there families with agony and pain. 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