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Role of adult input in young children's category evolution. I. An observational study*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Carolyn B. Mervis  and
Cynthia A. Mervis
Carolyn B. Mervis*
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Cynthia A. Mervis
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
*
Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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Abstract

Three factors have been hypothesized to play an important role in the reduction of children's initial overextensions: spontaneous adult use of the correct label, correction of the child's errors, and demonstration of the important attributes that make an object a member of its adult category. The role of these factors was examined in relation to data collected from a longitudinal study of early lexical development. This study used an observational methodology combined with systematic comprehension and production testing. Results indicated that demonstrations were the most important factor in inducing toddlers to assign an object to its adult category. The question of why purely linguistic input initially plays a minor role in changing children's categories is discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , June 1988 , pp. 257 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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Footnotes

*

We thank the mothers and children who were involved in this study for their enthusiastic participation. Claudia Cardoso-Martins, Kimberlee Chamberlain, Patricia Christensen and Julie Nakamura assisted us with data collection and reduction. The theory presented in this paper has been improved by discussions with John Pani. Laurel Long and Nancy Myers provided helpful comments on a previous version of this paper. Portions of this paper were presented at the Third International Congress for the Study of Child Language, Austin, Texas, July 1984. Support for this project has been provided by the National Science Foundation, grants BNS 81-21169 and BNS 84-19036.

References

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