“in”, “on”, and “under” revisited

doi:10.1016/0010-0277(74)90011-0

Cognition

Volume 3, Issue 3, 1974–1975, Pages 245-254

https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(74)90011-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

The present study presents evidence that young children's comprehension of the locatives ‘in’, ‘on’, and ‘under’ is, at least in part, contextually determined. Children aged 1;6–3;0 were given tasks with verbal instructions which were either contextually congruent or incongruent. The results were interpreted in terms of the non-linguistic as well as linguistic strategies apparently used to interpret speech. The results and interpretation are in contrast to those of earlier research.

Résumé

La présente étude montre que la compréhension par les jeunes enfants, des locatifs ‘dans’ ‘sur’ et ‘sous’ est, pour le moins partiellement, déterminée par le contexte. On a soumis des enfants de 1;6 à 3;0 à des tâches en leur donnant des consignes verbales conformes et non conformes au contexte.

Les résultats sont interprétés en termes de stratégies non-linguistiques et linguistiques, untilisées pour l'interprétation du discours.

Les résultats et l'interprétation sont en contradiction avec ceux des recherches précédentes sur le sujet.

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The Teacher's Word Book of 30,000 Words
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Non-linguistic strategies and the acquisition of word meanings
J. exp. Child Psychol.
(1974)
E. Clark
Some perceptual factors in the acquisition of locative terms by young children
Papers from the Eighth Regional Meeting, Chicago Linguistic Society
(1972)
E. Clark
Non-linguistic strategies and the acquisition of word meanings
Cog.
(1974)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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We test the claim that learning and using language for spatial relations can influence spatial representation and reasoning. Preschool children were given a mapping task in which they were asked to find a “winner” placed in a three-tiered box after seeing one placed in a virtually identical box. The correct choice was determined by finding the corresponding relative location in the test box, making it a difficult task for preschool children. We found that hearing language for spatial relations facilitated children’s mapping performance. We found effects at younger ages on easier tasks (Experiments 1 and 2) and at older ages on harder tasks (Experiment 3). The effects of spatial relational language differed predictably according to the semantics of the terms children heard (Experiment 4). Finally, the effects of spatial language were maintained over time (Experiment 5): children given one initial exposure to the spatial terms maintained their advantage over baseline children when they again carried out the mapping task 2 days later, with no further exposure to the spatial terms. The evidence is consistent with the explanation that language bolsters children’s spatial encodings, which in turn supports their mapping performance.
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Word meaning acquisition in young children: A review of theory and research
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Words are tools for expressing and interpreting meanings. They both signify external objects or events and symbolize interior meanings or concepts. Words are arbitrary and conventional. Their meanings are strictly determined by social agreement, not by any similarity between a word and what it represents. To study how children learn words, then, is to study how arbitrary vocal forms become associated with external referents and with related concepts in the course of social exchange. This chapter defines the concepts as mental representations that specify how one should group objects or events. It describes the process of concept formation and to describe when and how words are attached to concepts. Verbal concepts, or word meanings, are those concepts which are symbolized by words. However, one's set of word meanings is not necessarily equivalent to one's set of concepts.
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^∗: We would like to thank C.N. Cofer for suggestions which led to this research.

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Cognition

Abstract

Résumé

References (13)

On the acquisition of the meaning of before and after

J. verb. Learn. verb. Behav.

What's in a word? On the child's acquisition of semantics in his first language

The Teacher's Word Book of 30,000 Words

Non-linguistic strategies and the acquisition of word meanings

J. exp. Child Psychol.

Some perceptual factors in the acquisition of locative terms by young children

Papers from the Eighth Regional Meeting, Chicago Linguistic Society

Non-linguistic strategies and the acquisition of word meanings

Cog.

Cited by (68)

Relational language and the development of relational mapping

Children's mental rotations of abstract displays

Word meaning acquisition in young children: A review of theory and research

A story about a word: Does narrative presentation promote learning of a spatial preposition in German two-year-olds?

Gesture as a support for word learning: The case of under

Facilitating the acquisition of under by means of in and on - A training study in Polish