Thought and Language

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

• 3. Good health and well-being
• 4. Quality education
• 5. Gender equality
• 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

Objectives

This course presents language and thought processes and investigates the connection between them. First it discusses the psychology of language and the processes in language expression and comprehension. Next, it discusses issues related to the psychology of thinking processes. Finally, it presents the different theoretical accounts that have connected thought and language in empirical and psycholinguistic research.

The specific goals for the course are:

• Reflect on the importance of language and communication in culture.
• Discuss theories in linguistics, language acquisition, and psychology.
• Discuss research and methodology frameworks in linguistics and cognition.
• Reflect on the relationships between language and thinking in children and adults.

Competencies

General skills

• Be able to analyse, interpret and summarise information to make judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific and ethical issues.
• Be able to communicate in speech and in writing in one's own language and in other languages and communicate non-verbally and audiovisually.
• Be able to manage information.
• Be able to organise and plan.
• Be able to solve problems and defend professional positions.
• Be able to work as part of a team and cooperate effectively.
• Be competent in the use of information and communication technology in psychology.
• Have interpersonal skills.

Specific skills

• Be able to analyse and interpret the results of evaluation.
• Be able to describe and measure factors (personality, cognitive competence, skills, attitudes, etc.) and cognitive, emotional, psycho-biological and behavioural processes.
• Be able to obtain relevant data for evaluating interventions.
• Be able to plan and evaluate programmes and interventions.
• Know how to produce oral and written reports.

Core skills

• Exercise active citizenship and individual responsibility with a commitment to the values of democracy, sustainability and universal design, through practice based on learning, service and social inclusion.

Content

The contents of the subject are organised into two thematic sections. The first section focuses on the concept of language (theoretical perspectives and main debates) and language acquisition. The second section focuses on the concept of thought and the interrelationships between language and thinking.

Topic 1. Language, linguistics, and psychology

• Definition of language, dialect, and language varieties according to different theoretical approaches
• Language and communication: non-verbal communication and language acquisition

Topic 2. Language and thought

• Definitions of thought
• Language and thought in children and adults
• The relationship between language and thought in different theoretical and methodological approaches: the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and its criticism

Evaluation

The assessment of the course will be carried out as follows:

• Type 1. Individual assessment activities (written tests): 50%
• Type 2. Written activities (process and result): 40%
• Type 3. Class activities: 10 %

No extra assessment activities are included in the assessment of the course. All types of assessments must be passed with a minimum of 5. The course syllabi for the Catalan and English sections of the course provide the specific assessment activities and those that can be retaken. The maximum percentage of assessment activities that can be retaken is 50%.

Methodology

One of the weekly sessions will be devoted to the presentation and discussion of topics related to the course. The second weekly session will be devoted to discussion of cases, assignments, and readings.

This class has two groups, one in Catalan and the other one in English. In order to be part of the English group an intermediate level of English is required. If you have questions about your level of English to participate in the English group, talk to the studies coordinator.

Bibliography

Key references

• Cortés, M. (2006). Introducció a la psicologia del llenguatge i de la comunicació. Publicacions UB.
• Garton, A. (1994). Interacción social y desarrollo del lenguaje y la cognición. Paidós.
• Mercer, N. (2000). Palabras y mentes: Cómo usamos el lenguaje para pensar juntos. Paidós.
• Soler, O. et al. (2006). Psicologia del llenguatge. UOC.
• Wertsch, J. (1993). Voces de la mente. Visor.

Further reading

Teachers will provide complementary bibliography and compulsory reading throughout the course via the Virtual Campus.