Creature feature: Preschoolers use verbal descriptions to identify referents

Representations formed on the basis of verbal descriptions may be fleeting and relatively weak or robust enough to support identification of referents. We investigated these two possibilities. Children (2.5- and 3.5-year-olds) were read verbal descriptions of unusual animals and were asked to choose the described animal from a pair of items. Sometimes the features (prototypical color and prototypical location) were distinctive (only present for the target), and sometimes one feature was present for both animals (both were yellow or on leaves). Both age groups were best able to identify the described animal when the features were distinctive, and 3.5-year-olds identified the target when both color was distinctive and a delay was inserted between the description and test.