Constructing agency : the role of language
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Speakers of the world's languages differ in how they typically describe the same events. For example, to describe the same physical event in some languages it would be natural to say "He broke the vase" while in others one would say "The vase broke itself." Do such patterns in language matter for how people construe and remember the same events? Do patterns in language shape whether we construe someone as being an agent, whether we attend to and remember who was involved, and how much we blame and punish those involved? Evidence from several populations - speakers of English, Spanish, and Japanese; adults and children -- suggests that the answer to these questions is "Yes". There are cross-linguistic differences in eye-witness memory for the same events, and language influences judgments of blame and punishment. The effects of language appear to be strong: Patterns in one's linguistic environment affect thinking even when people are not required to use language in a task and even when other rich sources of non-linguistic information are available.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Fausey, Caitlin Marie |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Psychology |
| Primary advisor | Boroditsky, Lera |
| Thesis advisor | Boroditsky, Lera |
| Thesis advisor | Clark, Herbert H |
| Thesis advisor | McClelland, James L |
| Advisor | Clark, Herbert H |
| Advisor | McClelland, James L |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Caitlin Marie Fausey. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Psychology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2010. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2010 by Caitlin Marie Fausey
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...