Individual Differences in Children's and Parents' Generic Language

• DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12187
• Publication Date: 2013-11-24T18:52:05Z
• Authors: Susan A. Gelman; Elizabeth A. Ware; Felicia Kleinberg; Erika M. Manczak; Sarah M. Stilwell
• Keywords: Child Development

Generics ("Dogs bark") convey important information about categories and facilitate children's learning. Two studies with parents their 2- or 4-year-old children (N = 104 dyads) examined whether individual differences in generic language use are as follows: (a) stable over time, contexts, domains, (b) linked to conceptual factors. For both parents, rate of production were across parents' usage significantly correlated that own children. Furthermore, essentialist beliefs rates frequency. These results indicate exhibits substantial stability may reflect speakers' attitudes toward categories.