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Height, age, and function: differing influences on children's comprehension of ‘younger’ and ‘older’*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Stan A. Kuczaj II  and
Amy R. Lederberg
Stan A. Kuczaj II
Affiliation:
Department of PsychologySouthern Methodist University
Amy R. Lederberg
Affiliation:
Institute of Child DevelopmentUniversity of Minnesota
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Abstract

Three investigations of pre-school children's comprehension of younger and older are discussed. The results suggest that children focus on height (or the lack of the same) in their initial hypotheses about the meanings of the terms, ignoring age and/or function cues. The results also suggest that the acquisition of antonyms which may be characterized as marked–unmarked is not necessarily characterized by the child equating the meaning of the marked and unmarked terms prior to learning the correct meaning of the marked term. These findings are discussed in terms of recent theorizing about lexical-meaning acquisition.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , October 1977 , pp. 395 - 416
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1977

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