Explain why the relationship between language and thought is reciprocal, and give examples of research evidence to support each direction of causality.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A good answer would include the following key points:
- Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed that language shapes thought, a controversial position spurred by his anecdotal claims that members of different cultures conceptualize their worlds differently through language use.
- Nonetheless, there is some evidence for this position. For example, language provides categories, which in turn help children structure, predict, and anticipate events in their world, thereby influencing their thought processes.
- The opposing view, that thought influences language, was held by thinkers such as Jean Piaget, and is equally controversial.
- Evidence in favor of this position comes from cross-cultural research and studies of prelinguistic children. People's ability to categorize and perceive aspects of their cultural environment, in absence of language, illustrates that some forms of thinking precede language.
- The balanced view that language and thought influence one another is held by the majority of thinkers in this area, and is also supported by research evidence.
- For example, thoughts are pretty difficult to communicate without some kind of language system, making the think-first-then-communicate direction quite plausible. Conversely, greater language facility typically spurs greater cognitive ability, as new concepts and new ways of describing them are mastered.