Mother-child conversation and children's understanding of biological and nonbiological changes in size.

Full Abstract

This article explores the ways that mothers and children from primarily middle-income European American backgrounds reason about events in which biological and nonbiological objects change in size. In Study 1, mother-child conversations were examined to investigate the events mothers described as growth, as well as the ways mothers explained events occurring in different domains. Findings indicate that although mothers primarily discussed events in domain-specific ways, they exhibited some domain blurring in their talk to children. In Study 2, 3-year-old children (M = 3 years, 2 months) and 5-year-old children (M = 5 years) provided descriptions and explanations of the same events. Results suggest that preschool children have begun to develop domain-specific understandings. Results are discussed in light of the role that social interaction plays in children's conceptual development.

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Author information

Author/s: Jipson, Jennifer L (JL); Callanan, Maureen A (MA);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA. jjipson(-atsign-)umich.edu

Grants: HD26228 (Agency:United States NICHD)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Child development (Child Dev), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2003 Mar-Apr; vol 74 (issue 2) : pp 629-44

Dates: Created 2003/04/22; Completed 2003/08/04; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12705577, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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