Shared intentionality theory posits that at age 3, children expand their conception of plural agency to include 3- or more-person groups. We sought to determine whether this conceptual shift is detectable in children's pronoun use. We report the results of a series of Bayesian hierarchical generative models fitted to 479 English-speaking…

The present study investigated children's internal state language during play with their sibling and friend across early and middle childhood. Specifically, the category type of internal state language (e.g., cognitions and goals), referent (e.g., own and other), and associations with children's birth order were examined. A total of 65 (T1: Time…

Dialectics provide a framework for deeper understanding of complex constructs and processes and allow for consideration of dynamic range of movement. Context, however, is needed to more deeply understand and use a framework of dialectics. Environment, identity, and developmental processes are suggested as important contextual factors. The metaphor…

Examines the relationship between formal operational reasoning and two language variables--subordinate clauses and tentative statements. Supports Piaget's position of independence between linguistic and cognitive development, showing how subordinate clause use and tentative statement use are not related significantly to performances on reasoning…

The infant's impressions of his environment are viewed by several philosophers, including Jean Piaget. There has been some past tendency to suppose that, prior to the acquisition of language, the infant has no real impressions about his environment. More recent understandings consider that the infant is capable of conceptualization and can express…

Examines the role of prior intention and knowledge in the comprehension of "forget" by young children. Results reveal that children initially have two interpretations of "forget": an unfilled desire and a state of not knowing. Discusses explanations for the late comprehension of "forget" in terms of representation of knowledge and intention,…

A review of the literature on the development of children's abilities to comprehend and produce metaphorical language shows this development to be a continuous process rather than one characterized by stages, and to be constrained primarily by limitations in children's knowledge and information processing abilities. More specifically, the…

This paper describes the process by which student teachers in field experience programs transform present experience into personal knowledge through experiential learning. The paper is guided by the contemporary understandings about languaging; which include reading, writing, talking, listening, and the transformation of experience into new…

The creative oral language elicited from 45 preoperational and 40 concrete operational first grade students was analyzed to study the relationship between cognitive development and the types of case relationships produced. Each child's language was analyzed for eight noun/verb relationships, including state, process, action, experience, location,…

An examination of writing readiness (the state of being ready to write with a reasonable chance of success) across grade levels has revealed some developmental stages involved in writing and has indicated the role of intention in writing. The analysis has begun at grade two, since younger children's writing is greatly affected by their…

This study is an attempt to identify social interactions which fit into a Piagetian model for cognitive change, and specifically to examine the degree to which the frequency of those interactions predicts the rate of cognitive development. The subjects were 74 elementary school children enrolled in 19 K-4 classrooms. These children were in the…