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Intentions help children learn meaningful rules*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2008

SMADAR PATAEL  and
GIL DIESENDRUCK
SMADAR PATAEL
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University
GIL DIESENDRUCK*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University
*
Address for correspondence: Gil Diesendruck, Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel. Tel: 972-3-5318639. Fax: 972-3-5350206. e-mail: dieseng@mail.biu.ac.il
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Abstract

The present study investigated the roles of pattern detection capacities and understanding of intentions in children's learning of linguistic rules. We taught two-year-olds a Hebrew morphological distinction between noun and verb forms using two different training protocols. The protocols were identical in all parameters except that only in an Intentional, but not in a Control condition, were children introduced to the stimuli in an intentional communicative context. We found that children learned the morphological rule only in the Intentional condition. Thus, besides their pattern detection capacities, children's understanding of intentions substantially boosts their learning of meaningful rules.

Type
Brief Research Report
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , February 2008 , pp. 221 - 234
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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