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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

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Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
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Gene expression is a dynamic process that is significantly influenced by environmental factors. This interaction underlies the complex nature of biological development and the phenotypic differences observed among individuals, even among those with identical genetic makeups. Factors such as radiation, temperature, behavior, nutrition, and stress play pivotal roles in determining how genes are expressed. The concept of the reaction range is central to understanding this interaction. It posits...
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Human genetics provides a profound framework for understanding the interplay between genetic predispositions and human psychology. At the heart of this discipline lies the study of how genes influence physical traits, behaviors, and susceptibility to diseases. Each person carries a unique genetic code that subtly or significantly shapes their psychological and behavioral landscape.
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Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism
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Published on: October 3, 2018

Genetic effects on children's conversational language use.

Laura S DeThorne1, Stephen A Petrill, Sara A Hart

  • 1University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 901 South Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA. lauras@uiuc.edu

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|March 28, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Genetic factors significantly influence children's conversational language skills, accounting for over half of the variance. Environmental influences showed no significant impact on spontaneous language development.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Behavioral Genetics
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Individual differences in children's language skills are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.
  • Understanding the interplay of these factors is crucial for explaining language acquisition and development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the genetic and environmental contributions to individual variations in children's conversational language use.
  • To determine the genetic overlap and specificity between conversational and formalized language abilities.

Main Methods:

  • Behavioral genetic analyses were performed on conversational measures and standardized tests.
  • Data were collected from 380 twins aged approximately 7 years.
  • Multivariate latent factor analyses were employed to assess genetic and environmental influences.

Main Results:

  • A heritability of .70 was found for the conversational language factor.
  • A heritability of .45 was observed for the formal language factor.
  • A significant genetic correlation of .37 was identified between conversational and formal language, with specific genetic effects for conversational language.

Conclusions:

  • Genetic effects account for over half of the variance in children's conversational language skills.
  • No significant shared environmental influence was detected for spontaneous language use.
  • Findings support context-dependent language knowledge construction while acknowledging overlap between conversational and formal language contexts.