Journal Articles
- Vasil, J; Price, D; Tomasello, M, Thought and language: Effects of group-mindedness on young children's interpretation of exclusive we.,
Child development, vol. 95 no. 3
(May, 2024),
pp. e155-e163 [doi].
(last updated on 2024/08/25)
Abstract: The current study investigated whether age-related changes in the conceptualization of social groups influences interpretation of the pronoun we. Sixty-four 2- and 4-year-olds (Nā=ā29 female, 50 White-identifying) viewed scenarios in which it was ambiguous how many puppets performed an activity together. When asked who performed the activity, a speaker puppet responded, "We did!" In one condition, the speaker was near one and distant from another puppet, implying a dyadic interpretation of we. In another condition, the speaker was distant from both, thus pulling for a group interpretation. In the former condition, 2- and 4-year-olds favored the dyadic interpretation. In the latter condition, only 4-year-olds favored the group interpretation. Age-related conceptual development "expands" the set of conceivable plural person referents.
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