When do children avoid backwards coreference?
This study investigated the claim that very young children avoid backwards coreference in their interpretation of sentences containing pronouns. Eighty-one children ranging in age from 3;1 to 8;0 and eight adults acted out four types of pronominal sentences. Cross-sectional data and individual response patterns reveal that children initially prefer internal coreference even when such a response is disallowed for structural reasons. Avoidance of backwards coreference appears to be a late developing phenomenon characteristic of six-year-olds. Adult response patterns, which are manifested by some very young children, emerge as the dominant pattern by age seven.
Hsu
J R
JR
Department of Communication Disorders, William Paterson College of New Jersey, Wayne 07470.
Cairns
H S
HS
Eisenberg
S
S
Schlisselberg
G
G
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012660:Semantics; D013067:Speech Perception