Lenneberg: An Example Of Biologically Constrained Learning

Human behavior is an intricate combination of innate and environmental factors. The so-called critical or sensitive period for normal development is one of the most important aspects of such systems. Critical period is a maturational time period during development which the brain is particularly receptive to acquire a skill. It has been hypothesized that after this specific time period, the same experience will result in a reduced effect, or even in extreme cases, there may be no effect at all. ()
Eric Lenneberg, in his book, hypothesized that human language acquisition is an example of biologically constrained learning and it must happen during the critical period for normal development. According to Lenneberg, the critical period begins early