The Impact of Contextual Factors on Response Patterns of Novel Word Pairings

Abstract

The overall aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of task presentation and context of exposure on children's response patterns of novel word object pairings. The hypothesis was that children's responses will vary by task setting (instructions, number of choice items, and context of presentation). A set of three experiments was administered to 64 preschool age children. Markman's and Hutchinson's experimental paradigm was used to investigate our hypothesis. The results suggest that task presentation and context of exposure have an impact on children's response patterns of novel word object pairings, since the inferences about word pairings were highly sensitive to task demands. The results are discussed in terms of their applications both theoretically and methodologically.