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Contextual influences on narrative discourse in normal young adults
C A Coelho1, B Z Liles, R J Duffy
1Dept. of Communication Disorders, Gaylord Hospital, Wallingford, Connecticut 06492.
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
|November 1, 1990
Summary
This study examined narrative ability in young adults through story retelling and generation tasks. Rehearsal improved narrative coherence, showing context influences presentation competence.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Understanding narrative ability is crucial for assessing cognitive and linguistic development.
- Task demands and practice effects can significantly influence expressive language skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how different narrative tasks (retelling vs. generation) affect performance.
- To examine the impact of rehearsal (practice effect) on narrative production in young adults.
Main Methods:
- Assessed narrative ability in 20 young adults using story retelling and story generation.
- Tasks were repeated after a 1-week interval to evaluate practice effects.
- Analyzed sentence production, intersentential cohesion, and story grammar organization.
Main Results:
- Narrative performance varied significantly based on the specific task and the linguistic measure used.
- An improvement in cohesive adequacy was observed from the first to the second trial in one story generation condition.
- No significant practice effect was found across all measures and tasks.
Conclusions:
- The context of narrative presentation (retelling vs. generation) influences the competence and manner of expression.
- Rehearsal of complex narrative tasks can lead to enhanced narrative coherence and organization.