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Frequency and Informativeness of Gestural Cues Accompanying Generic and Particular Reference
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Meyer, Meredith; Gelman, Susan A.; Stilwell, Sarah M. – Language Learning and Development, 2015
Generic noun phrases, or generics, refer to abstract categories ("Dogs" bark) rather than particular individuals ("Those dogs" bark). Study 1 investigated how parents use gestures in association with generic versus particular reference during naturalistic interactions with their 2- and 3-year-old children. Parents provided…
Descriptors: Cues, Nonverbal Communication, Undergraduate Students, Nouns
Two-Year-Olds Use the Generic/Nongeneric Distinction to Guide Their Inferences about Novel Kinds
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Graham, Susan A.; Nayer, Samantha L.; Gelman, Susan A. – Child Development, 2011
These studies investigated two hundred and forty-four 24- and 30-month-olds' sensitivity to generic versus nongeneric language when acquiring knowledge about novel kinds. Toddlers were administered an inductive inference task, during which they heard a generic noun phrase (e.g., "Blicks drink milk") or a nongeneric noun phrase (e.g., "This blick…
Descriptors: Phrase Structure, Nouns, Inferences, Toddlers
Generic Language Use Reveals Domain Differences in Young Children's Expectations about Animal and Artifact Categories
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Brandone, Amanda C.; Gelman, Susan A. – Cognitive Development, 2013
The goal of the present study was to explore domain differences in young children's expectations about the structure of animal and artifact categories. We examined 5-year-olds' and adults' use of category-referring generic noun phrases (e.g., "Birds fly") about novel animals and artifacts. The same stimuli served as both animals and artifacts;…
Descriptors: Animals, Language Usage, Language Acquisition, Cues
Acquisition of Generic Noun Phrases in Chinese: Learning about Lions without an '-S'
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Tardif, Twila; Gelman, Susan A.; Fu, Xiaolan; Zhu, Liqi – Journal of Child Language, 2012
English-speaking children understand and produce generic expressions in the preschool years, but there are cross-linguistic differences in how generics are expressed. Three studies examined interpretation of generic noun phrases in three- to seven-year-old child (N=192) and adult speakers (N=163) of Mandarin Chinese. Contrary to suggestions by…
Descriptors: Speech Communication, Nouns, Mandarin Chinese, Phrase Structure
Differences in Preschoolers' and Adults' Use of Generics about Novel Animals and Artifacts: A Window onto a Conceptual Divide
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Brandone, Amanda C.; Gelman, Susan A. – Cognition, 2009
Children and adults commonly produce more generic noun phrases (e.g., birds fly) about animals than artifacts. This may reflect differences in participants' generic knowledge about specific animals/artifacts (e.g., dogs/chairs), or it may reflect a more general distinction. To test this, the current experiments asked adults and preschoolers to…
Descriptors: Animals, Nouns, Prior Learning, Novels
This Cat Has Nine Lives? Children's Memory for Genericity in Language
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Gelman, Susan A.; Raman, Lakshmi – Developmental Psychology, 2007
Generic noun phrases ("Birds lay eggs") are important for expressing knowledge about abstract kinds. The authors hypothesized that genericity would be part of gist memory, such that young children would appropriately recall whether sentences were presented as generic or specific. In 4 experiments, preschoolers and college students (N = 280) heard…
Descriptors: Preschool Children, Sentences, Long Term Memory, Nouns