Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
Development in children's sensitivity to the role of derivations in spelling
Laura Sangster1, S Hélène Deacon
1Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Abstract:
The English orthography represents the units of meaning (morphemes) as well as the units of sound in words. This experiment focused on 6- to 10-year-old children's sensitivity to the role that an understudied group of morphemes, derivations, plays in spelling. We asked children to circle the correct ending out of 3 phonologically plausible options for 2-morpheme words ending in derivations (e.g., lucky) and for 1-morpheme words with the same word-final letter sequence (e.g., study). The older children (approximately 9 years of age) were more likely to complete the endings correctly for derived words than for 1-morpheme words. This effect did not emerge for the younger children (approximately 7 years). These results help to specify the developmental trajectory of children's sensitivity to the role of morphemes in spelling.
Related Concept Videos
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a...
Information Processing Approach
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood
Schemata: Building Blocks of Knowledge
Schemata...
Language and Cognition
Derivatives of Inverse Trigonometric Functions
