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Presentation Type
Poster
Access Type
MSU Access Only
Start Date
2020 12:00 AM
End Date
2020 12:00 AM
Description
By 6 years-old, children exhibit a “Division of Labor” mapping language to support configurations (Landau, 2017). Support from below (SFB) events involve an object being propped up from below (e.g. a plate on a table). Mechanical support (MS) events involve an object being supported by mechanical forces like adhesion and hanging (e.g. a picture taped to a board/an apron hanging from a hook). Wefferling et al. (2020) asked 2.5-4.5 years-olds to choose descriptions of these events. Older children prefered appropriate lexical verbs (e.g. sticking, hanging) instead of “BE on” for MS. While older children exhibited this sensitivity, it was not observed in younger children (possibly due to difficulty conceptualizing mechanical forces). The current experiment examined if using videographic stimuli to illustrate events may better emphasize mechanical forces such that children (2.5-3 year-olds) would prefer lexically appropriate descriptions versus “BE on,” too. Seven participants were excluded because they did not complete half of the test trials, were too old, or got most “filler” questions wrong (n = 13).
Participants often selected inappropriate lexical verbs or used “is in” when “BE on” was appropriate, suggesting that it may have been conceptually difficult for them to map their representations of support to language. However, children were more likely to choose appropriate lexical verbs for hanging events, indicating that depictions of hanging events using motion may illustrate mechanical forces well and prompt the selection of appropriate lexical verbs.
The Role for a Core Representation of Support in Early Language Development
By 6 years-old, children exhibit a “Division of Labor” mapping language to support configurations (Landau, 2017). Support from below (SFB) events involve an object being propped up from below (e.g. a plate on a table). Mechanical support (MS) events involve an object being supported by mechanical forces like adhesion and hanging (e.g. a picture taped to a board/an apron hanging from a hook). Wefferling et al. (2020) asked 2.5-4.5 years-olds to choose descriptions of these events. Older children prefered appropriate lexical verbs (e.g. sticking, hanging) instead of “BE on” for MS. While older children exhibited this sensitivity, it was not observed in younger children (possibly due to difficulty conceptualizing mechanical forces). The current experiment examined if using videographic stimuli to illustrate events may better emphasize mechanical forces such that children (2.5-3 year-olds) would prefer lexically appropriate descriptions versus “BE on,” too. Seven participants were excluded because they did not complete half of the test trials, were too old, or got most “filler” questions wrong (n = 13).
Participants often selected inappropriate lexical verbs or used “is in” when “BE on” was appropriate, suggesting that it may have been conceptually difficult for them to map their representations of support to language. However, children were more likely to choose appropriate lexical verbs for hanging events, indicating that depictions of hanging events using motion may illustrate mechanical forces well and prompt the selection of appropriate lexical verbs.