The effects of stress on the understanding of pronominal co-reference in children
- 1 January 1973
- journal article
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
- Vol. 2 (1), 1-8
- https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01067108
Abstract
Children aged 3, 4, and 5 years old were given sentences to act out in which the presence or absence of stress on a pronoun was critical to the reference of the pronoun. They were then divided up into three groups based on their proficiency in imitating sentences. Performance on unstressed pronouns was uniformly high in all three groups. Stressed pronouns were acted out like unstressed pronouns by the least advanced group, and improvement was radical from the lowest to highest groups. In the sentences used, unstressed pronouns could be interpreted by a natural cognitive strategy, in which the least change is required in the roles of the sentence actors. Early performance can be accounted for by use of this strategy. Interpretation of stressed pronouns required reversal of the role of one actor, which the less advanced children evidently found difficult. Results are discussed for their significance for theories of pronominal reference.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The Use of Definite and Indefinite Reference in Young ChildrenThe American Journal of Psychology, 1977