Language, Thought and Communication

What Language, Thought and Communication covers

Language, Thought and Communication is examined in Paper 2, optional (two of five are studied). It covers Piaget and Vygotsky on language and thought, linguistic relativism and determinism, human and animal communication, non-verbal communication and Darwin's evolutionary theory and the Yuki and Boroditsky studies.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Piaget and Vygotsky on language and thoughtPiaget's view that thought comes first and representational thinking, Sinclair-de-Zwart's findings, and Vygotsky's pre-linguistic thought, egocentric speech and inner speech.Open →
• Linguistic relativism and determinismThe Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, linguistic determinism and relativism, and the evidence from the Hopi, Inuit snow words, the Dani, the Berinmo and the Pirahã.Open →
• Human and animal communicationThe difference between communication and language, Aitchison's ten criteria including displacement and structure-dependence, and vervet monkey alarm calls and the honeybee waggle dance.Open →
• Non-verbal communication and Darwin's evolutionary theoryFacial expressions, eye contact, posture, postural echo, gestures, personal space and Hall's zones, cultural differences, and Darwin's evolutionary theory of expression.Open →
• The Yuki and Boroditsky studiesYuki's study of eyes and mouths in American and Japanese emoticons, and Boroditsky's study of how English and Mandarin speakers think about time.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Language, Thought and Communication further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Linguistic determinism vs Linguistic relativism

  Linguistic determinism: the view that language fixes the limits of what a person can think. Linguistic relativism: the view that language shapes, without fixing, how a person thinks.

• Pre-linguistic thought vs Pre-intellectual language

  Pre-linguistic thought: thinking that happens without words, such as solving a problem by acting. Pre-intellectual language: sounds such as crying and babbling made without reasoning behind them.

• Displacement vs Creativity

  Displacement: talking about things not present in time or place. Creativity: producing and understanding new utterances never heard before.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is Piaget's view of the relationship between language and thought?

   Model answer

   Piaget argued that thought develops first and language depends on it. Children can only use words for ideas they already understand.

2. 2

   What is representational thinking?

   Model answer

   Representational thinking is the ability to hold an image or idea of something in the mind. Piaget believed children develop it before they begin to use language properly.

3. 3

   Why did Piaget believe representational thinking must come before language?

   Model answer

   Words are symbols that stand for things. A child must first be able to picture objects mentally before words can be attached to them.

4. 4

   How does a child's use of the word gone support Piaget's view?

   Model answer

   Children tend to use words like gone only after understanding that hidden objects still exist. The concept comes first and the word follows.

5. 5

   What did Sinclair-de-Zwart (1969) find about language and thought?

   Model answer

   Children who could not solve conservation tasks were taught words such as longer and shorter. Most still could not solve the tasks, suggesting words alone do not create understanding.

6. 6

   Give one weakness of Piaget's view of language and thought.

   Model answer

   Piaget may have underestimated the role of language and social interaction in developing thought. Vygotsky argued that language becomes a key tool for thinking.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Language, Thought and Communication revision questions

What does Language, Thought and Communication cover in Edexcel GCSE Psychology?

5 subtopics: piaget and vygotsky on language and thought, linguistic relativism and determinism, human and animal communication, non-verbal communication and darwin's evolutionary theory and the yuki and boroditsky studies. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Language, Thought and Communication organised?

By the Edexcel 1PS0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.