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ERIC Number: EJ1351276
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Nov
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0009
EISSN: EISSN-1469-7602
Available Date: N/A
Children's Understanding of Proper Names and Descriptions
Marchak, Kristan A.; Hall, D. Geoffrey
Journal of Child Language, v49 n6 p1295-1306 Nov 2022
This research addressed the question of whether children understand proper names differently from descriptions. We examined how children extend these two types of expressions from an initial object (a truck) owned by the experimenter to two identical objects created by transforming the initial object, both owned by the experimenter. Adults and 5/6-year-olds extended a name ("Tommy") to only one post-transformation object, but extended a description ("my truck") to "both" objects. Adults and 7-year-olds (but not 5/6-year-olds) also extended a description modeled as a name ("'called' My Truck") to only one object. Like adults, children understand that proper names identify unique individuals, but that descriptions identify properties.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A