PSYC 355 - Language and Thought

Language is a distinctive human ability that distances humans from the rest of the animal kingdom - including chimpanzees, with whom people share 98 percent of the same genetic inheritance. Although language is considered as primarily serving communication in its advanced form, it is also an important vehicle for thought, with the potential to extend, refine, and direct thinking. The interaction of language with other cognitive abilities is the central focus of the course. Students compare the communication systems of other species with human language, examine efforts to teach human language to apes, learn how psycholinguists conceptualize and investigate language-mind relationships, and inquire into the cognitive abilities of various types of language users, such as bilinguals and deaf and hearing signers. Attention also is given to evolutionary changes in the neural structures implicated in human language and to neural processes constraining the developmental course of language acquisition.

Credits: 1.00
Crosslisted:

NEUR 355

Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: (

NEUR 170

) and (

)
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements

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