PSY 153 Study Guide - Final Guide: Noam Chomsky, Behaviorism, Language Acquisition Device

• School: Hofstra University
• Department: Psychology (PSY)
• Course: PSY 153
• Professor: Donna Lutz

Document Summary

There are many reasons the behaviorist perspective doesn"t work: too many words/word combination to possibly teach them all. According to this model, child would have to be taught every single word and combination: kids are constantly coming up with unique strings or words not directly taught or involving words they never heard before. Parents respond to the meaning of what kids say more then the language. A more crude positive saying will get more reinforcement then a well-constructed negative one. Nativist perspective: language is way to complex to learn by simply exposure to it. We must be born with some kind of heard start. Whatever your exposed to turns on the switches that that hone in on the grammar of what your exposed to. Environment determines what switches get turned on and off. Donald the baby and lua the chimp. Washo: got chimp to learn sign language.