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PERSONALITY AND LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR: A RESTATEMENT 1
Author(s) -
Guiora Alexander Z.,
Acton William R.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1979.tb01059.x
Subject(s) - psychology , second language acquisition , personality , linguistics , context (archaeology) , argumentation theory , theoretical linguistics , psycholinguistics , cognitive psychology , cognitive science , epistemology , social psychology , cognition , philosophy , neuroscience , paleontology , biology
This restatement of the theoretical framework underlying the research program of the University of Michigan Personality and Language Behavior Research Group addresses two theoretical issues that are at present particularly relevant to a theory of second language acquisition: the statue of constructs in the theory that have been transported or transposed from other fields, and the process (and criteria) of theory validation. Defining and assessing the value of “borrowed” constructs is of course serious concern of any interdisciplinary, applied science. Once that has been accomplished to satisfaction, however, the even more imposing task remains of testing the fit of those constructs within the larger context, in this case, a general theory of second language acquisition. Using as an example the development of the language ego paradigm (Guiora 1972). we first assess the moorings of its theoretical constructs in psychology and linguistics. We then examine the nature of the empirical evidence and argumentation that bears on its validity.