[A study on the development of message-production in the referential communication]

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics
• Communication Studies

Background:

• Message production is crucial for effective communication.
• Understanding how children develop communication skills is vital for educational and therapeutic interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental trajectory of message production in children.
• To analyze changes in message content and mode during referential communication tasks.

Main Methods:

• Children aged 3-12 years participated in a referential communication task.
• Participants encoded and verbally communicated visual stimuli to different listeners (adults, peers).
• Analysis focused on differences in message content and encoding modes.

Main Results:

• Five-year-old children exhibited more changes in communication mode compared to three-year-olds.
• Conversely, five-year-olds showed fewer changes in message content than other age groups.
• Message production development involves initial stabilization of associative encodings, followed by changes in content.

Conclusions:

• The development of message production involves distinct stages of mode and content changes.
• Listener characteristics (adult vs. peer) may influence message production strategies.
• Findings contribute to understanding the cognitive and linguistic development of children's communication.