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Young children's understanding of denial
Keith Austin1, Anna Theakston1, Elena Lieven1
1School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester.
Developmental Psychology
|June 10, 2014
Summary
Young children first understand denial, particularly through words and sentences, before grasping affirmation. Comprehension of denial emerges before affirmation, with language skills developing faster than gestural understanding.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Language Acquisition
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Limited research exists on young children's comprehension of negation.
- Denial represents a complex form of negation crucial for early language development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how young children comprehend denial.
- To examine the understanding of denial conveyed through gesture, single words, and sentences.
Main Methods:
- 126 children across three age groups (1y9m, 2y0m, 2y4m) participated.
- Children observed adult communicative cues (positive/negative gesture, word, sentence) about a toy's location.
- Search behavior was analyzed to assess comprehension.
Main Results:
- The youngest children showed no differential search behavior.
- 2-year-olds comprehended denial conveyed via negative words and sentences.
- 2-year-4-month-olds understood most cues, except positive sentences, indicating developing comprehension.
Conclusions:
- Young children appear to understand denial before affirmation.
- Linguistic negation comprehension precedes gestural negation comprehension in early development.
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