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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language Development

1.1K
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...
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Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

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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.
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Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

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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.
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Introduction to Learning01:18

Introduction to Learning

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Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through practice or experience, leading to long-lasting behavioral changes. This acquisition occurs through interaction with the environment and requires practice or experience. For instance, mastering a skill such as surfing requires considerable practice and experience, highlighting the essential role of repeated interactions with the environment in learning.
In contrast to learned behaviors, unlearned behaviors such as crying, sexual...
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Vygotsky's Cognitive Development in Cultural Context01:22

Vygotsky's Cognitive Development in Cultural Context

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Lev Vygotsky, a pioneering Russian psychologist, developed a theory of cognitive development that centers on the influence of social and cultural factors. Unlike Jean Piaget, who emphasized the child's direct interaction with the physical world as key to development, Vygotsky argued that cognitive growth is an interpersonal process that unfolds within a cultural context. For Vygotsky, a child's learning cannot be separated from their social environment, which includes the values,...
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Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

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Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

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How Children Learn Their Mother Tongue: They Don't.

Mark Halpern1

  • 1, Oakland, CA, USA. markhalpern@iname.com.

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
|May 31, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Infants learn language by storing heard language in their brains, which then organizes it. This new theory challenges innate grammar and Universal Grammar (UG) acquisition models.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • The Infant Language Acquisition Problem remains a significant challenge in understanding human cognitive development.
  • Existing theories, including Noam Chomsky's, propose innate mechanisms or inference from experience for language mastery.
  • These theories often focus on grammar acquisition, overlooking alternative explanations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel solution to the Infant Language Acquisition Problem.
  • To challenge the prevailing theories of innate Language Acquisition Devices (LAD) and Universal Grammar (UG).
  • To present an alternative model where language acquisition is driven by brain storage and organization.

Main Methods:

  • Rejection of Chomsky's innate grammar and Universal Grammar (UG) models.
Keywords:
Brain developmentBrain plasticityInfant Language Acquisition Problem (ILAP)Theoretical linguisticsUniversal Grammar (UG)

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Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
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Last Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
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  • Proposal of a new theory based on the brain's capacity to store and organize auditory language input.
  • Drawing support from case studies of feral children and linguistic research involving bonobos.

    • Main Results:

    • The infant brain's plasticity and capacity allow for the storage of all heard language.
    • Language is stored in a way that facilitates its own organization within the brain.
    • The brain transforms into a mind through the process of language acquisition and storage.

    Conclusions:

    • Language acquisition is not primarily about mastering grammar through innate structures or inference.
    • The infant brain actively organizes linguistic data it receives, leading to language development.
    • This model offers a new perspective on how the brain becomes a mind via language exposure.