Communication in Development

Communication in Development is composed of papers derived from two sources. An International Conference on Social Psychology and Language was held in Bristol in July 1979. Considerations of space rather than merit prevented some of the papers, given in supplementary sessions on language development, from being published in the proceedings. These papers are published in this volume. Also included are recent and hitherto unpublished papers from European researchers working in the field of language and cognitive development.
The contents of this volume range from the early non-verbal communication to the emergence of the child's understanding about referential communication, and to between and within socio-economic status differences in maternal and child behavior. The kinds of verbal and non-verbal experience that promote intellectual development are considered within the frames of both observed changes within children and cross-sectional studies of individual differences in mother-child interaction. The idea that the child's performance is context sensitive is one of the general ideas that has been taken increasingly into account. Two chapters pay close attention to this issue; both treat it as a challenge to experimental and theoretical ingenuity, recognizing that the child is an active participant in situations where he is observed and that the challenge is to divine the principles regulating the child's behavior.

Contenu

List of Contributors
Preface

1. Negativity in Early Infant-Adult Exchanges and Its Developmental Significance
   Initial Observations
   Theoretical Views of Early Negativity
   Empirical Reports of Negativity
   Naturally-Occurring Negativity
   Discussion
   Conclusion: Asocial and Social Negativity
   Acknowledgments
   References
2. Non-Linguistic Information Which Could Assist the Young Child's Interpretation of Adults' Speech
   Introduction
   Study 1: Contiguity of Reference and Manipulation
   Study 2: The Emphasis of Names of Objects
   Acknowledgments
   References
3. Collaboration and Confrontation with Young Children in Language Comprehension Testing
   Introduction
   Pilot Studies
   Main Experiments
   Conclusions and Wider Issues
   Acknowledgments
   References
4. From Interaction Strategies to Social Representation of Adults in a Day Nursery
   Introduction
   Method
   Results: Adults' Behavior in a Play Situation
   Results: Adults' System of Rules and Social Representation
   Conclusion
   Acknowledgments
   Notes
   References
5. Language Performance of Disadvantaged Children at 30 Months: Interpersonal and Other Environmental Influences
   Introduction
   Method
   Results and Discussion
   Two Case Studies: Zachary and Albert
   Summary
   General Conclusions
   References
6. Mothers as Teachers and Their Children as Learners: a Study of the Influence of Social Interaction upon Cognitive Development
   Cognitive Development and Social Mediation
   Method
   Results: Mother as Teacher
   Results: The Child as Learner
   Results: Mother-Child Relationships
   Discussion
   Acknowledgment
   References
7. Mothers' Answers to Children's Questions: from Socio-Economic Status to Individual Differences
   Introduction
   SES Differences in Mothers' Reported Ways of Answering Children's Questions
   SES Differences in the Ways Children Answer Questions
   Associations between Mothers' Reports of Ways They Answer Their Children's Questions and Children's Answers: Mother-Child Pairs
   Children's Answers and Questions in Relation to Mothers' Verbal Behavior
   Discussion
   References
8. Instruction Versus Conversation as Opportunities for Learning
   Introduction
   Seriation Training: Study 1
   Kinds of Interaction in Relation to Progress in Seriation: Studies 2-5
   Interpretation of Results
   Changing Theoretical Context
   Learning through Conversation: a Synthesis of Theories
   Acknowledgments
   References
9. Conflict and Cooperation as Opportunities for Learning
   Is Learning an Individual Process?
   The Interchange between the Child and the Social Setting: Communication, Understanding and Performance
   Study 1: Social Context and Performance
   Study 2: Social Context and Learning
   Learning: a Process of Performing and Communicating within a Social Context
   Acknowledgments
   References
10. Conversational Tactics and the Advancement of the Child's Understanding about Referential Communication
    Introduction
    Deficiencies in the Young Child's Understanding about Verbal Referential Communication
    Ways of Improving the Young Child's Performance and Understanding about Communication
    Why Does Giving the Child Information Improve His Performance and Understanding?
    Relationship between Mothers' Ways of Handling Communication Failure and Children's Understanding about Communication
    Summary and Conclusions
    Acknowledgments
    References
11. Some Problems for Theory, Methodology, and Methods for the 1980s
    Introduction
    Theoretical Perspectives
    Methodology
    Methods of Study
    Concluding Remarks
    References
    Author Index
    Subject Index