Mental state vocabulary in family interactions: SES variations in input and young children?s production

ROSEMBERG, C.R.; RESCHES, M.; STEIN, A.; MIGDALEK, M.; ALAM, F.

Lyon

Congreso; IASCL 2017; 2017

IASCL

This work aims to analyze SES variations in the mental-state language used and heard by young children in family interactions at home. Previous research has shown that the caregiver?s amount, diversity and discursive use of mental-state language can give way to children?s individual differences in ToM abilities (De Rosnay & Hughes, 2006; Howard, Mayeux & Naigles, 2008). However, most of these studies have been carried out with middle-income populations, but little is known about the use of mental state language in interactions with young children from other social groups. Our analysis addresses the vocabulary that refers to emotions, desires and cognitive states and events used by 4 year-old Argentine children from middle income and urban-marginalized populations and that is contained in the input they receive in everyday situations in their homes. The data analyzed consists of 252 hours of spontaneous situations (including play, hygiene, and mealtime situations) recorded in the homes of 21 children (4:5) from urban - marginalized populations and 228 hours of spontaneous situations (play, hygiene, meal) recorded in the homes of 19 children (4:5) from middle-income populations. Each child?s home was recorded for 12 hours. Data were transcribed according to CHAT and analyzed using the CLAN Program (MacWhinney, 2000).
The analysis considered the quantity and diversity of nouns, adjectives and verbs that refer to emotions, cognitions and desires that the children were exposed to and produced themselves. Results showed significant differences according to social groups in the amount of mental terms that they used (U=52, p