title: A semantics-based approach to the "no negative evidence" problem.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that children retreat from argument-structure overgeneralization errors (e.g., *Don't giggle me) by inferring that frequently encountered verbs are unlikely to be grammatical in unattested constructions, and by making use of syntax-semantics correspondences (e.g., verbs denoting internally caused actions such as giggling cannot normally be used causatively). The present study tested a new account based on a unitary learning mechanism that combines both of these processes. Seventy-two participants (ages 5-6, 9-10, and adults) rated overgeneralization errors with higher (*The funny man's joke giggled Bart) and lower (*The funny man giggled Bart) degrees of direct external causation. The errors with more-direct causation were rated as less unacceptable than those with less-direct causation. This finding is consistent with the new account, under which children acquire-in an incremental and probabilistic fashion-the meaning of particular constructions (e.g., transitive causative = direct external causation) and particular verbs, rejecting generalizations where the incompatibility between the two is too great.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Liverpool.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ambridge
authors.forename: Julian M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.forename: Caroline F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Rowland
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Clark