PSY 3136 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Language Disorder, Foxp2, Twin Study

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 3136
• Professor: Heather Poole

Document Summary

Some aspects of language are much more influenced by experience. Schooling (older age groups: more schooling is more experience, so we look at how it is developed and how much is has developed. It"s the impairments in language that have a more genetic base: genetically controlled. Twin studies: greater heritability estimates for impaired and for grammar. Foxp2 language gene (this is a gene that seems to be implicated in language skills). 23 jan 2019: bees produce unique messages, but lack productivity (beyond direction/distance of food source, video (bee dance: waggle dance on youtube) Birds: process of acquisition it has a lot of parallels to human language acquisitions. Primates: distinct predator calls, but lack syntax and intention has some sort of reference. Apes with sign language or other symbol system (like a keyboard, lexigrams: many attempts and claims; most successful: kanzi (an ape who was learning language and developed the ability up to about a 2 year old human)