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Chapter 9: Fact and Opinion Lab Activity 44: Informed and Expert Opinions |
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Objective To identify informed and expert opinions in passages from college textbooks.
Learning Readiness. Researcher Eric Lenneberg (1921–1975) claimed that human beings are born with a grammatical capacity and a readiness to produce language. Lenneberg believed that the brain continues to develop from birth until about age 13, with the greatest development leap taking place around age 2. During this period, children develop grammar and learn the rules of language. After age 13, there is little room for improvement or change in an individual's neurological structure. Lenneberg supported his argument with the observation that brain-damaged children can relearn some speech and language, whereas brain-damaged adolescents or adults who lose language and speech are unable to regain the lost ability completely. Lenneberg's view is persuasive, but some of his original claims have been seriously criticized—particularly his idea of the role of a critical time period in language development, although this is shown to be the case in some animals, such as birds and fish. Some researchers claim that not only human beings but also other animals—for example, chimpanzees—are born with a grammatical capacity and a readiness for language. —Lefton and Brannon, Psychology, 8th ed., p. 325 Copyright © 1995-2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Longman. Legal Disclaimer |
Step 2: Read the following selection from a college psychology textbook, and decide whether each statement that follows is a fact (F), an informed opinion (IO), or an expert opinion (EO).