The Possible Relationship Between Language & Thought (AQA GCSE Psychology): Revision Note

Language & Thought

• Language could be defined as a 'code in which spoken sound is used to encode meaning' (Barrett, 1999)

• Language enables human beings to form mental representations of the world: both abstract (e.g. 'freedom') and concrete (e.g. 'cat')

  • In short, it gives a 'shape' to what humans see, hear, smell, touch and taste in the world they inhabit

• Language depends on both innate and learned influences

  • Each person has an idiolect (their own individual use of language) which develops and is modified throughout their lifetime as a result of both biological and environmental influences

• Thought could be defined as 'the action or process of thinking' (Oxford Languages, 2024)

• Thought enables humans to imagine, create and extend existing ideas about the world they inhabit, as well as worlds which do not exist at all

• Language and thought are closely linked but distinct: each depends on and is shaped by the other

  • Try coming up with a single word without using thought to do so — then try thinking about something without having the language to understand what you're thinking of

  • This interdependence means neither can be fully explained without reference to the other