Astle-Rahim A, Kamawar D. Conveying symbolic relations: Children's ability to evaluate and create informative
legends.
J Exp Child Psychol 2020;
200:104968. [PMID:
32858419 DOI:
10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104968]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Two studies were conducted to examine 4- to 6-year-old children's understanding of how to convey symbol-referent relations using legends. Study 1 investigated children's ability to evaluate legends in terms of whether or not they clearly convey information (N = 74). In this study, 41% of children were successful, with performance uniquely differentiated by sensitivity to ambiguity and executive function. Study 2 investigated children's ability to create informative legends (N = 115), with 39% being successful. Nearly half of those who were unsuccessful improved after exposure to exemplars (relative to only 9% in the baseline group). Sensitivity to ambiguity uniquely differentiated their ability to create a legend and improve after exposure. These studies provide insight into children's developing understanding of how symbol meanings are effectively conveyed and the contributions of other cognitive factors.
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