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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
Language01:16

Language

Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Lateralization01:28

Lateralization

Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs. “eh”). Phonemes combine to...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
07:18

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges

Published on: January 26, 2024

Sex differences in language first appear in gesture.

Seyda Ozçalişkan1, Susan Goldin-Meadow

  • 1Georgia State University, Department of Psychology, PO Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010, USA. seyda@gsu.edu

Developmental Science
|August 18, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Boys lag behind girls in language development, showing delays in both speech and gesture use. This study reveals that boys produce multi-word sentences and gesture-speech combinations later than girls.

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Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
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Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Linguistics
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Children's linguistic development varies, with boys typically reaching speech milestones later than girls.
  • Previous research indicates a later onset of multi-word sentences in boys compared to girls.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate potential sex differences in children's gestures that may precede observed differences in speech development.
  • To determine if gesture-speech combinations show similar sex-based timing differences as speech-only combinations.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal observation of 22 girls and 18 boys from one-word to multi-word speech stages.
  • Data collection occurred every 4 months, tracking the emergence of speech and gesture combinations.

Main Results:

  • Boys produced speech-plus-speech (S+S) combinations 3 months later than girls.
  • Boys also produced gesture-plus-speech (G+S) combinations 3 months later than girls.
  • Gesture-plus-speech (G+S) combinations emerged earlier than speech-plus-speech (S+S) combinations.

Conclusions:

  • Children's gestures provide an early indicator of developmental timing differences between sexes.
  • Boys' delay in producing gesture-speech combinations suggests an earlier lag in sentence construction compared to girls.