AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -2 The Critical Period Hypothesis He proposes that there is one critical phase between the age of two and about 13 years (before puberty) in which an individual is able to acquire first language (FL).

Detailed explanation-2: -Linguists ultimately concluded that because Genie had not learned a first language before the critical period had ended, she was unable to fully acquire a language. Furthermore, despite the clear improvements in her conversational competence it remained very low, and her vocalizations remained highly atypical.

Detailed explanation-3: -The critical period hypothesis (CPH) states that the first few years of life constitute the time during which language develops readily and after which (sometime between age 5 and puberty) language acquisition is much more difficult and ultimately less successful.

Detailed explanation-4: -Children’s brains develop in spurts called critical periods. The first occurs around age 2, with a second one occurring during adolescence. At the start of these periods, the number of connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons) doubles. Two-year-olds have twice as many synapses as adults.