Boroditsky: aim and procedure
AIM: whether spatial metaphors for time shape thought — does language influence thought? English lays time out HORIZONTALLY (week ahead, past behind); Mandarin does too but ALSO VERTICALLY (earlier up, later down). PROCEDURE: English and Mandarin speakers saw a horizontal or vertical prime picture, then judged a time statement true/false while the TIME TAKEN was recorded; all questions were in English. A later part TRAINED English speakers to use vertical time language.
The findings examiners credit
English speakers were faster after a HORIZONTAL picture; Mandarin speakers faster after a VERTICAL one — even though every question was in English; and English speakers TRAINED in vertical time language then behaved like Mandarin speakers. CONCLUSIONS: a language's spatial layout for time becomes a habit of thought carrying into another language, so language INFLUENCES thought (relativism); training changed it, so it does not FIX thought (against determinism).
Strengths and weaknesses, each justified
Justify each side. STRENGTHS: controlled lab conditions; an objective timed measure; English-only testing rules out that Mandarin speakers just used Mandarin words; the TRAINING part gives a CAUSAL claim, not just a group difference; replicable. WEAKNESSES: artificial task (limited ecological validity); small speed differences (not a difference in understanding); bilingual Mandarin speakers; only two languages, mostly students; not always replicated.
Where Boroditsky sits: evidence, not debate
Learn the study with what it evidences. The chain: determinism (language DETERMINES thought — the position tested); relativism (language INFLUENCES thought — the one supported); Boroditsky (2001) is the EVIDENCE (each group faster in its own language's layout even in English, and training changes it); Yuki et al. (2007) is the OTHER Topic 10 study — culture and non-verbal cues, not language and time. A stem naming the study wants which position it supports.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Boroditsky argues AGAINST determinism
Boroditsky is often cited for the WRONG side. Determinism (language DETERMINES thought) is argued AGAINST — Mandarin speakers answered horizontal questions fine, and English speakers TRAINED in vertical language changed, neither of which fits determinism. Relativism (language INFLUENCES thought) is SUPPORTED, because each group was faster in its own language's layout.
Level 3 responses were rare mainly through confusing linguistic relativism and determinism (June 2024 P2 Q41), with the same confusion at Nov 2021 P2 Q42, June 2023 P2 Q40 and June 2024 P2 Q37; candidates explained a missing colour word as colour-blindness (June 2022 P2 Q37).
Time zones instead of spatial layout
Asked why two companies discussed meeting times differently, many candidates gave TIME ZONES and working hours — geography, not psychology. The wanted answer: their languages lay time out differently in space (one HORIZONTALLY, one also VERTICALLY), and Boroditsky (2001) found this in how fast people think about time. Clocks and offices score nothing.
The time zones and business hours answer is recorded at June 2022 P2 Q38, where a large number of candidates gave it.
Findings with no scenario link score nothing
Level 3 is rare when the study is described but not linked to the question. AO3 cannot be awarded without AO2, so an account that never touches the question scores little. NOT application: the name, repeating the stem, or lifting the scenario. Application ties the study to the scenario's OWN detail — Mei, raised with Mandarin, draws a column with the first session on top.
Level 3 responses were rare partly because of description of studies without linking back to the question (June 2024 P2 Q41); AO3 cannot be awarded without AO2 (June 2023 P2 Q31); the name is not application (June 2022 P1 Q4b; June 2023 P2 Q25); lifting the scenario is not using it (June 2023 P2 Q16).
Result restated where a conclusion is asked
A result is what was measured; a conclusion is what it means. 'English speakers answered faster after horizontal pictures' is a RESULT; the CONCLUSION is that a language's spatial layout for time becomes a habit of thought carrying even into another language. Restating the timing where a conclusion was asked scores nothing.
A result restated where a conclusion was asked scores zero (June 2023 P2 Q1f; June 2024 P1 Q5a).
Weakness given where improvement is asked
An improvement asks what to do DIFFERENTLY next time; candidates give a weakness instead. 'The task was artificial' is a weakness; the improvement is the fix — compare more than two languages, or test an everyday time-planning task rather than timed picture judgements. State the change and the problem it solves: a weakness names the fault, an improvement the remedy.
An improvement item answered with a weakness (June 2024 P1 Q5b and Q18b).
Do not overstate the timing finding
'They experience time completely differently' overstates it. Mandarin uses vertical AND horizontal and reads horizontal fine. The measure was answer TIME by a fraction of a second — layout comes more READILY, not what time IS. It does not prove determinism: trained English speakers shifted. 'Only speed' is unfair: a trainable, second-language difference is real evidence.
The relativism-versus-determinism confusion is recorded at Nov 2021 P2 Q42, June 2023 P2 Q40 and June 2024 P2 Q37 and Q41; going beyond a single AO3 point is the route into the higher bands (June 2023 P1 Q22; June 2024 P1 Q26).
If the stem names Boroditsky, use the study
If the stem names Boroditsky, use the study — the horizontal/vertical prime, each group faster in its own layout even in English, plus training. If it names relativism or determinism, use Boroditsky as EVIDENCE. Do not swap study for theory or vice versa.
The 9-mark Assess structure
Marked AO1 3 / AO2 3 / AO3 3; 7-9 needs AO3 and balance. AO1: the study. AO2: land each point on the scenario's detail. AO3: balance controls against artificiality, plus the training part (strongest). Conclude: a habit of thought, not a difference in understanding. Prose only.
Describe, strength and difference rules
A describe needs two DIFFERENT points; the same one reworded scores one. On a strength/weakness use point (a feature of THIS study), why, consequence. On a difference, side-by-side definitions score one; a connective such as 'whereas' earns the second mark.
A named study on the specification. You need its aim, procedure, findings (results and conclusions), strengths and weaknesses — and you must be able to apply it to a scenario.
Linguistic determinism — the claim that language determines thought: without a word for a concept you cannot really think it.
Linguistic relativism — the claim that language influences how you see the world, making some ways of thinking more habitual than others.
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