3.5 Communication and Language Development

Explain how key components of language and communication apply to behavior and mental processes.

• Language is a shared (mutually agreed upon) system of arbitrary symbols (often expressed as and combined into phonemes, morphemes, and semantics) that are rule-governed (via grammar and syntax) and generative to produce an infinity of ideas.
  • Exclusion: Pragmatics of language are outside the scope of the AP Psychology Exam.

Explain how language develops in humans.

• In language development across all cultures, people use nonverbal manual gestures (e.g., pointing) to communicate and develop formal language through specific stages (cooing, babbling, one-word stage, and telegraphic speech). People learning a language often make errors such as overgeneralization of language rules as they learn.