Language and Thought Psychology

Language is one of the systems through which we communicate, and it typically involves
communicating through sounds and written communication with the use of symbols, but it can
also involve our bodies (body language, how we smile, move, and approach people are all
forms up for interpretation in the game of language).

Language is often closely related to the culture that uses it and reflects culturally relevant ideas.

Example

Many languages have words that are not present at all in others.

For example, there is no English equivalent to the German word schadenfreude, which refers to
the experience of pleasure caused by witnessing another person's adversity.

As we also tend to think using language, Sapir-Whorf theorised that the language we use will
affect how we see and think of the world. However, Piaget highlights that children develop
schemas before they are capable of speaking, suggesting that cognitive

Relationship Between Language and Thought

Different theories propose different relationships between language and thought. Piaget's theory
of cognitive development argues that children's ability to use language and the content of their
speech depends on their stage of cognitive development.

In contrast, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis proposes that the language we use to communicate
determines how we think of the world around us, affecting cognitive processes like memory and
perception.

Theories of Language and Thought

The two main theories representing different perspectives on language and thought you should
know about are Piaget's theory and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development

According to Piaget's theory, language is preceded by and depends on thought. Before children
can use words correctly they need to first develop an understanding of the concepts behind
them.

This occurs through the development of schemas, a process which precedes language
development.
Definition:

Schemas refer to mental frameworks that guide children's behaviour and expectations.

Example;

According to this view, to communicate their dislike of broccoli, a child needs to first develop a
schema about not liking it. Having developed the schema and expectations about how broccoli
tastes the child can express their dislike.

Children can be taught phrases like "no broccoli" before they ever see or try it but they won't be
able to use it in a meaningful way until they understand what the phrase means.

The stage of a child's cognitive development will also limit their ability to communicate
meaningfully. In this way, language depends on thoughts.

Example;

For example, a child who is not yet able to mentally represent the perspective of another person
will not be able to talk about it or account for it when they talk to others.

Evaluation of the theories of language and thought:

While Piaget's theory appears to make sense and has some face validity, it generally lacks
empirical support. This is due to the difficulties of studying cognitive and thought processes like
schema development in pre-linguistic children.

The concept of universal stages of cognitive development has also been widely criticised. Some
studies have found that children can attain many of these developmental milestones earlier than
proposed by Piaget.

Differences in cognitive development have also been found across cultures, suggesting that
Piaget's idea of cognitive development was culturally biased (Mangan, 1978).

Evaluation of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis:

The original examples in support of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis have been refuted. It was found
that the Hopi language does have a way of expressing time. Moreover, the number of Inuit
word's for snow has been shown to be largely exaggerated by Whorf as the true number is
around 4.

However, later psycholinguistics research has found some evidence of differences in memory
and perception across speakers of different languages, supporting linguistic relativism.
Studies have found that our native language can influence how we remember past events as
well as how good we are at recognising differences between colours.

Example;

Fausey and Boroditsky (2011) investigated the memory of intentional and accidental events in
English and Spanish speakers. Both groups remembered the person responsible for intentional
actions equally well. However, English speakers had a much better memory of the agent behind
the accidental action compared to Spanish speakers.

Other Theories of Language and Thought:

Other developmental conceptualisations of language include the theories of Chomsky and

Vygotsky. Chomsky focuses on how children acquire linguistic abilities at such a young age.
Vygotsky's theory highlights how language drives further cognitive development in children.

Language and Thought:

Chomsky

Chomsky proposed that language acquisition is an innate ability. Children are already born with
the ability to acquire the rules that govern languages. Grammatical rules are common to all
languages even though they might differ across them.

An innate ability to acquire grammatical structures of a language allows children to quickly learn
the language, even based on the limited linguistic input they receive in infancy.

Language and Thought Vygotsky:

According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of cognitive development, in early development

speech and thought are independent. The two processes merge when speech is internalised. In
Vygotsky's theory, language is considered to be a cultural tool that plays a key role in
development.

• Firstly, verbal guidance from adults supports children's learning and development. Language
allows adults to share their knowledge and communicate with the child.

• Secondly, when language becomes internalised and develops into inner speech, it allows
children to guide themselves when making decisions, problem-solving or regulating their
behaviour.

Language and Thought - Key Takeaways:

• Piaget's theory proposes that language is preceded by thought during development. Moreover,
children's ability to use language is constrained by their stage of cognitive development.
• The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis proposes that the language we use determines how we think of
the world around us, affecting cognitive processes like memory and perception.

• Whorf used examples from Native American culture to support his claims.

• The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has received some empirical support. Studies have found that our
native language can influence how we remember past events as well as how good we are at
recognising differences between colours.

• Chomsky proposed that the ability to acquire language is innate.

• According to Vygotsky, language plays a key role in development. Language can be used to
provide children with verbal guidance. Later, when children internalise it, language helps them
solve problems and rude behavior.

Relationship Between Thinking and Language;

The relationship between thinking and language is what psychologists have been studying for
decades. How an individual thinks is directly correlated to their language. Thinking is a cognitive
process that allows an individual to make connections and develop meaning for the world
around them.

Language is a system of communication that involves sounds, gestures, and symbols.

Language provides the framework for an individual's conscious and subconscious thoughts. It
also provides a framework for society, values, and beliefs.

What Comes First:

Language or Thought

There have been many debates regarding what comes first, language or thought. According to
research, thought comes before language. A child is born with the ability to think about objects
before they learn language. Although thought comes first, the language an individual speaks
influences their mind and ability to interact with the world around them.

Different languages often have different views on the world. This occurs because languages
often use different genders, tenses, and case systems. For example, the French and Spanish
languages attribute gender to objects, and the Hopi language does not use past or present
tense.

Cognitive Development:
Cognitive development is the gradual development of the brain's ability to think and make
decisions. In children, cognitive development includes the development of language and
thought. Cognitive development begins early in childhood, generally from birth to age 5. During
this time, children process information by observing and interacting with others.

Language and cognitive skills are strongly related. Although a child cannot form words for
several months, they begin to learn language from the first time they hear it. How a child learns
language can impact the way they learn throughout life. Strong language skills are often
associated with strong cognitive skills. Another way information may be processed is through
visual thinking. Visual thinking, also known as picture learning, is the process of organizing
thoughts through visual [Link] process of learning is common to some degree in many
people.

Examples of the Power of Language:

Video Transcript

Language and Thought:

When you read, you may hear your own voice read the words, or maybe even someone else's
voice. Your mind is thinking about this on a conscious and subconscious level as you read,
which make us realize: language has a lot of influence over your thoughts. How we think and
how we communicate are directly correlated, which is something that has astounded scholars
for decades. So, how does the language you speak actually impact your mind? Let's think about
it.

Language and Cognitive Development:

We're going to talk about language and thinking in a few different terms, starting with cognitive
development, or the gradual development of the brain's ability to think, make decisions, solve
problems, and so on. Humans are not born with language, but learn it over time. This means
that language is almost the first thing we ever learn. Although we may not be able to create
words for a few months, our minds start beginning to acquire language from the first time we
hear it. Therefore, the way we learn language actually can impact the way we will learn for the
rest of our lives.

As our minds learn language, that language creates a framework that allows our mind to form
consistent and conscious thought. Humans are amazingly self- reflective, thinking about
ourselves and our experiences and our very existence. Language allows our minds to process
this information in a consistent way. As it turns out, the more language we learn, the faster our
mind may be able to work. There's a reason smart people often seem to have a larger
vocabulary: an increased learning of language lets the mind respond more efficiently to various
situations. That same logic is why children raised bilingually may have an easier time learning
other forms of information later in life.
What's interesting here is that because humans are not born with language, many scholars
assume we aren't meant to think entirely through language. In fact, most people think, at least to
some degree, in images. Thinking in images can change the way that the mind interprets and
remembers information. So, is this bad? No. After all, what is a written language but a
consistent system of images? It's just a different way for the mind to think. That being said,
some researchers do believe that an inability to switch between visual and linguistic thinking
may be the cause for speech delay in conditions like autism.

Language and Critical Thinking:

The more we study language, the more we realize its power. Yes, it provides the framework for
our thoughts, but it also provides the framework for our society, values, actions, and beliefs.
Let's look at some examples:

First, language impacts the way we interpret a situation and respond to it. Researchers have
long observed a direct correlation between vocabulary and response in diverse social settings.
When engaging in professional or academic settings, the individual agent's vocabulary may
adopt more formalistic mannerisms. An alteration in language patterns reflects the need to
transition into a new paradigm of thinking. On the other hand, a more normal tone and words
are better for social situations. Rather than dealing with lofty and academic ideas, the mind has
different things to worry about. A change of language can prepare a person's mind for different
situations.