A number of studies have supported the linguistic relativity hypothesis, as championed by Whorf (1940). Define the linguistic relativity hypothesis. Cite one study that supports the hypothesis

Question

Describe the study's method, and discuss how the results of the study support the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The linguistic relativity hypothesis holds that differences in language cause differences in thinking. Levinson's (1977) study of spatial memory supports the linguistic relativity hypothesis. In the study, Levinson compared speakers of Dutch to speakers of the Guugu Yimithirr language. The two languages differ in terms of the way they encode spatial information. For example, Dutch speakers use words that mark spatial position relative to the body (e.g., left and right), whereas speakers of Guugu Yimithirr use words that mark spatial position in absolute terms (e.g., west and east). In the study, participants were seated at a table and were asked to view an arrangement of objects. Then, they were taken to another room, seated at a table facing in the opposite direction, given the original objects, and asked to arrange the objects just as they had been arranged in the first room. Dutch speakers tended to arrange the objects relative to their own bodies (e.g., if an object was on their right-hand-side in the first room, then they placed it on their right-hand-side in the second room). However, speakers of Guugu Yimithirr tended to arrange the objects in terms of absolute position (e.g., if an object was facing East in the first room, then they placed it facing East in the second room). In this example, linguistic differences led to differences in spatial memory, thus supporting the idea that differences in language are related to differences in thinking. Other possible answers include Lucy (1992) and Choi et al. (1999).