心理学与生活-第55节

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false；　or　if　we　cannot　prove　a　proposition　false；　it　must　be　true。　As　an　example；　think　about　this　
statement：　“There　has　never　been　any　scandal　about　this　candidate　for　President。　Therefore；　he　
must　be　an　honest；　moral　person。”　Is　that　really　true？　

·　“If　you　don’t　pick　up　your　clothes　before　you　go　to　bed　at　night；　pretty　soon　you’ll　be　knee　
deep　in　dirty　clothes。”　
Is　that　the　way　it　is？　This　is　an　example　of　the　slippery　slope　fallacy；　certain　applications　of　it　have　

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been　called　the　domino　theory。　The　argument　is　that　if　the　first　in　a　possible　series　of　steps　or　events　
occurs；　the　other　steps　or　events　are　inevitable。　Here　is　an　example　from　a　letter　to　the　editor　of　a　
metropolitan　newspaper；　in　which　the　writer　was　responding　to　an　article　discussing　the　morality　
of　euthanasia　in　the　case　of　a　person　with　advanced　multiple　sclerosis。　“If　we　allow　this　to　happen；　
where　do　we　stop？　Who　would　decide　at　what　point　someone　should　die？　Do　we　give　them　poison　
the　moment　they　know　they　have　multiple　sclerosis　or　cancer；　before　they　have　any　suffering？”　

。　“TV　can’t　be　harmful　for　children　because　it　occupies　their　attention　for　hours　and　keeps　
them　off　the　streets。”　
Is　this　argument　against　the　idea　that　TV　can　be　harmful　for　children　convincing？　It　is　an　example　
of　the　fallacy　called　irrelevant　reason。　This　fallacy　occurs　when　the　argument　given　to　support　a　
proposition　has　little　or　no　relevance　to　the　original　proposition。　Let　us　look　at　one　more　example。　
“Conservationists　have　suggested　that　we　could　conserve　fuel　by　increasing　the　tax　on　gasoline。　
But　more　taxes；　whether　they’re　paid　by　the　oil　panies　or　passed　on　to　the　consumer　at　the　
pump；　will　not　produce　one　more　barrel　of　oil。”　

·　“I　don’t　see　how　he　can　get　elected。　No　one　I　know　is　going　to　vote　for　him。”　
What’s　wrong　with　this　argument？　This　is　the　hasty　generalization　fallacy。　It　occurs　when　an　
isolated　or　exceptional　case　is　used　as　the　basis　for　making　a　general　conclusion。　In　statistical　
terms；　it　is　making　a　conclusion　about　a　population　based　on　information　obtained　from　a　sample　
that　is　biased　or　too　small　to　be　representative。　It　is　an　error　of　inductive　reasoning；　going　from　the　
particular　to　the　general　when　it　is　not　justified　by　the　evidence。　

。　“If　socialized　medicine　will　result　in　better　and　lower…cost　health　care；　shouldn’t　the　same　
logic　be　applied　to　automobiles？　Wouldn’t　nationalization　of　the　auto　industry　produce　
better　and　lower…cost　cars？　And　if　we　nationalize　auto　mechanics；　wouldn’t　we　get　better　
and　less　expensive　repairs？”　
These　words　were　spoken　in　rebuttal　after　Senator　Kennedy　had　called　for　national　health　

insurance　in　a　speech　at　a　meeting　of　the　United　Auto　Workers。　Does　the　speaker’s　argument　make　
sense？　It　represents　the　questionable…analogy　fallacy。　In　a　questionable　analogy；　an　attempt　is　made　to　
make　two　situations　seem　more　similar　than　they　actually　are。　A　state　senator；　using　the　Crucifixion　
as　a　rationale　for　capital　punishment；　gives　another　example；　“Where　would　Christianity　be　if　Jesus　
got　8　to　15　years；　with　time　off　for　good　behavior？”　

The　underlying　issue　in　the　fallacies　detailed　above　is　the　need　for　critical　thinking　on　the　part　of　
the　listener。　Think　about　what　was　said。　This　is　one　of　the　most　important　lessons　of　this　course。　
Does　it　make　sense；　or　does　it　just　sound　impressive？　What　motivation　could　the　speaker　or　writer　
have？　What　would　the　writer　or　speaker　like　you　to　do　based　on　their　message？　Fallacies　are　not　
necessarily　bad；　but　they　require　far　greater　scrutiny　than　they　generally　receive。　Again；　think　
critically　and　use　your　abilities　for　processing　information。　

The　Structure；　Hierarchy；　and　Criterion　of　Language　

Criterion　1：　Phonemes　

Phonemes　are　the　perceptual　units　of　which　speech　events　are　posed。　These　basic　sounds　are　
used　to　create　words。　There　are　few　of　them；　about　100　altogether；　and　they　form　the　basis　of　all　
human　spoken　language。　No　single　language　uses　all　100　phonemes。　For　instance；　English　uses　
about　40。　We　bine　these　units　of　sounds　to　make　units　of　meaning。　

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Criterion　2：　Morphemes　

Morphemes　are　the　smallest　units　of　language　that　have　meaning。　Morphemes　consist　of　what　we　
recognize　as　root　words；　stem　words；　prefixes；　and　suffixes。　Words　that　we　recognize　as　meaningful　
are　made　up　of　binations　of　morphemes。　We　use　rules　to　bine　groupings　of　morphemes　into　
coherent　sentences。　

Criterion　3：　Syntax　

Syntax　is　a　system　of　rules　that　specify　how　we　bine　words　into　phrases　and　sentences。　

Looking　back　at　the　basics　of　spoken　language；　what　inferences　might　we　be　able　to　make　about　the　
controversy　of　whether　the　higher　primates　are　capable　of　speech？　They　seem　able　to　meet　the　first　
two　criteria　of　language；　the　symbolic　and　generative　requisites；　but　do　they　follow　the　structure　of　
language；　according　to　the　rules　of　syntax？　Not　yet；　at　least　so　far　as　we　have　been　able　to　
determine。　

Language　and　the　Human　Child　

Developmental　Milestones　

People　learn　to　speak　and　use　language　in　highly　predictable　ways。　Certain　skills　are　required　for　
learning　to　speak；　such　as　babies　crying　before　coherent　vocalization　can　occur。　Following　crying；　
babies　babble　at　age　4　to　6　months；　begin　using　phonemes　at　7　to　11　months；　and　usually　speak　
their　first　real　word　at　about　1　year　of　age。　Nouns　such　as　“banana”　or　“bar”　or　“mom”　get　used　a　
lot　at　first　to　indicate　the　child’s　wants。　

Between　2　and　2。　years；　sentences　begin　to　appear　and　increase　in　plexity　up　to　about　age　5；　at　
which　time　the　child　has　good　syntactical　capability　and　can　even　tell　short　stories　（like　the　cat　
drew　the　picture　on　my　bedroom　wall）。　One　interesting　aspect　of　language　acquisition　is　that　the　
phonemes　used　during　the　first　year　by　babies　are　cross…cultural。　The　early　sounds　of　all　babies　are　
the　same；　regardless　of　the　language　spoken　around　the　child　or　the　language（s）　he　or　she　will　
eventually　learn　to　speak。　Why？　Because　the　first　few　sounds　are　easy　to　make；　there　are　words　and　
sounds　that　are　mon　in　a　cross…cultural　sense；　such　as　“mama”　and　“pappa。”　However；　what　
is　the　process　once　babies　do　begin　to　speak？　

Overextensions　

When　learning　to　speak　formally；　children　are　limited　by　vocabulary　size；　so　they　generalize　one　
concept　to　include　many　others。　For　example；　if　a　child　had　learned　to　say　“banana”；　she　may　refer　
to　all　fruit；　generically；　as　“banana”；　at　least　for　a　short　time。　“Ball”　is　another　frequently　
generalized　word；　and　is　often　applied　to　anything　that　is　round。　This　process　exemplifies　the　
child’s　use　of　one　concept　to　include　others　beyond　its　original　meaning。　

Holophrases　

Holophrases　are　single…word　utterances　that　represent　the　meanings　of　several　words。　This　is　due　
to　the　child’s　lack　of　ability　to　form　more　plex　word　patterns　at　an　early　age。　“Car”　is　an　
example　of　a　holophrase。　Many　children　simply　say；　“car”　to　indicate　that　they　want　to　ride　in　a　car　
or　to　tell　a　parent　to　look　at　a　car。　Before　syntax；　children　express　themselves　by　naming　the　most　
critical　aspects　of　a　thought　process。　

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Telegraphic　Speech　

Telegraphic　Speech　uses　content　words　and　leaves　out　prepositions；　articles；　and　anything　else　that　
is　not　critical　to　expression　of　the　thought。　At　this　time；　you　get　ments　such　as；　“car　fast。”　As　the　
child’s　vocabulary　expands；　sentences　increase　in　length　and　their　specific　meaning　bees　easier　
to　discern。　

Metalinguistic　Awareness　

Metalinguistic　Awareness　is　the　ability　to　think　about　using　language。　Sentences　get　longer；　more　
plex；　and　you　see　the　emergence　of　puns　and　jokes；　such　as　play…on…word　games；　begin　to　
appear　in　the　vocabulary　of　the　school…aged　child。　

Language　Acquisition　Theories　

For　most　of　its　history；　psychology　has　expressed　little　interest　in　language。　Once　it　did　express　
interest　in　language；　however；　a　number　of　theories　followed　in　quick　succession。　

Learning　Theories　

B。　F。　Skinner　proposed　that　children　learn　language　by　imitation　and　reinforcement。　This　idea　
would　hold　that　children　learn　to　speak　by　imitating　older　children　and　adults。　Specifically；　
Skinner　proposed　that　children　learn　by　association　of　words　within　sentences；　with　each　word　
being　a　stimulus　for　the　one　following　it。　
Nativist　Theories　
This　perspective　was　proposed　by　Noam　Chomsky　in　the　1950s　and　60s　as　a　rebuttal　to　Skinner’s　
theory；　a　theory　Chomsky　regarded　as　flawed。　Chomsky　felt　that　the　flaw　was　in　the　association　of　
ideas；　stating　that　if　that　was　a　valid　premise；　the　same　stimulus　word　would　always　lead　to　the　
same　response。　He　proposed　that　humans　are　born　with　a　“native”　ability　to　learn　language；　that　
we　have　a　built…in　or　hardwired　capability　for　language　acquisition。　Part　of　Chomsky’s　logic　for　his　
theory　is　that　the　language　acquisition　process　is　the　same；　cross…culturally。　No　matter　where　you　
are　or　what　language　you　learn　to　speak；　the　process　is　the　same。　He　f