Cognitive Cartography Sequence

This undergraduate psychology sequence explores the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, examining how language structures influence cognitive processes like color perception, spatial orientation, and object categorization through historical and modern empirical lenses.

Thinking in Tongues Foundations

An introduction to the historical roots of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, contrasting the 'strong' version of linguistic determinism with the 'weak' version of linguistic relativity.

Perception Across Cultures: The Color Debate

This lesson examines empirical studies on color perception, specifically focusing on the Winawer et al. study on Russian blues. Students analyze data sets to determine if language categories affect the speed and accuracy of perceptual discrimination.

Spatial Frames of Reference

Learners explore the difference between egocentric (relative) and geocentric (absolute) spatial coordinates used in different languages. The class analyzes how speakers of languages like Guugu Yimithirr perform on non-linguistic rotation and memory tasks compared to English speakers.

Grammatical Gender and Object Categorization

Students investigate how arbitrary grammatical gender assignments in languages like Spanish and German influence adjectives used to describe inanimate objects. Through a comparative analysis workshop, students hypothesize how gender morphology impacts cognitive representations of objects.

The Neo-Whorfian Synthesis

In this culminating seminar, students synthesize evidence from the previous lessons to debate the current standing of linguistic relativity. They develop a nuanced position paper outlining where language significantly shapes cognition and where universal cognitive constraints prevail.