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Rule Usage in Children's Understanding of "Big" and "Little"

1984; Wiley; Volume: 55; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1467-8624.1984.tb03910.x

1467-8624

Karen E. Ravn, Susan A. Gelman,

Cognitive Abilities and Testing

RAVN, KAREN E., and GELMAN, SUSAN A. Rule Usage in Children's Understanding of Big and Little. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 2141-2150. How children interpret dimensional terms (e.g., big, little) is important to theories of semantic development. However, previous studies have yielded inconsistent results. The present study provided a more thorough test of this issue by examining 5 possible rules that children might use to interpret big and little. As shown in previous research, 4and 5-year-olds interpreted big to mean greatest height; also, they interpreted little to mean least height. Contrary to past claims, 3-year-olds used a height rule (for big and little) or a rule based on the most salient dimension (for big only). Increasing consistency in rule usage appeared to be the most significant developmental progression for children between the ages of 3 and 5 with respect to these size terms.