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Use of a head camera to examine maternal input and its relation to 10- to 26-month-olds’ acquisition of mental and non-mental state vocabulary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2020

Ted RUFFMAN ,
Ben LORIMER ,
Sarah VANIER ,
Damian SCARF ,
Kangning DU  and
Mele TAUMOEPEAU
Ted RUFFMAN*
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
Ben LORIMER
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
Sarah VANIER
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
Damian SCARF
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
Kangning DU
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
Mele TAUMOEPEAU
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
*
*Address for correspondence:Ted Ruffman Department of Psychology University of Otago PO Box 56 DunedinNew Zealand e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

We examined the relation between maternal responsiveness and children's acquisition of mental and non-mental state vocabulary in 59 pairs of mothers and children aged 10 to 26 months as they engaged in a free-play episode. Children wore a head camera and responsiveness was defined as maternal talk that commented on the child's actions (e.g., when the child reached for or manipulated an object visible in the head camera). As hypothesized, maternal responsiveness correlated with both mental and non-mental state vocabulary acquisition in younger children (approximately 18 months and younger) but not older children. We posit a diminishing role for maternal responsiveness in language acquisition as children grow older.

Keywords

maternal responsivenessmental state vocabularynon-mental state vocabulary
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 47 , Issue 6 , November 2020 , pp. 1228 - 1243
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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