Children’s Explanations: A Psycholinguistic Study
Children’s Explanations: A Psycholinguistic Study by Morag L. Donaldson, published by Cambridge University Press on February 13, 2006, explores the development of children’s abilities to give and understand explanations. This 204-page study presents evidence from imaginative experiments conducted with children aged 3 to 10, revealing their capacity to distinguish between cause and effect and various types of relationships well before the age of 7. The book emphasizes the linguistic skills necessary for explanation, particularly focusing on the understanding of causal connectives such as “because,” “so,” “why?,” and “how do you know?”
Readers will find that the study not only enhances the understanding of psycholinguistics but also offers valuable insights into cognition in children and human information processing. Donaldson’s work contributes significantly to the fields of cognitive and developmental psychology, making it relevant for researchers in education as well. By examining the interplay between language and cognitive abilities, this book provides a comprehensive look at how children articulate their understanding of the world around them.
Official synopsis Publisher
How and when does the ability to give and understand explanations develop? Morag Donaldson directly addresses this question in the present study, providing evidence from a series of imaginative experiments she carried out with 3- to 10-year-olds. In contrast to many earlier accounts, she demonstrates that children can distinguish between cause and effect and among physical, psychological and logical relations well before the age of 7. The study focuses primarily on the linguistic abilities that are needed for explanation, in particular the understanding of because, so, why?, and how do you know?, and it makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the semantics and pragmatics of causal connectives. However, the study also provides valuable insights into children’s related cognitive abilities. Children’s Explanations is a book that will be of equal interest to cognitive and developmental psychologists and to psycholinguistics, as well as to researchers in education for whom its topic must be of crucial importance.
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