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Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
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Developmental differences in reported speech and internal state language in preschoolers' personal narratives
Megan E Welliver1, Alice J Davidson2, Alexandra McCrary2
1College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Journal of Child Language
|July 13, 2023
Summary
Five-year-olds use more cognitive state talk and reported speech in personal narratives. This developmental shift in language use supports theories of social mediation in cognitive development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistic Psychology
- Child Language Acquisition
Background:
- Preschoolers' narrative abilities develop significantly during early childhood.
- Understanding the relationship between language and cognitive development is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate developmental changes in preschoolers' use of reported speech and internal state language.
- To examine the correlation between reported speech and internal state language in children's personal narratives.
Main Methods:
- Collected 204 personal narratives from 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children.
- Transcribed and coded narratives for types of reported speech and internal state language.
- Controlled for children's vocabulary skills in the analysis.
Main Results:
- Five-year-olds used more cognitive states and narrativized speech compared to younger children.
- Reported speech, specifically narrativized and direct forms, positively correlated with cognitive state talk.
- Developmental shifts in cognitive state talk and reported speech emerge around age five.
Conclusions:
- Findings indicate significant developmental shifts in children's use of cognitive state language and reported speech at age five.
- The association between reported speech and internal state language supports Vygotsky's theory of language-mediated psychological processes.
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