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The development of children's knowledge structures: events, slots, and taxonomies*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Marie A. Sell
Marie A. Sell*
Affiliation:
Memphis State University
*
Department of Psychology, Memphis State University, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
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Abstract

Seventeen preschool (age range 2;10–3;6), 26 kindergarten (age range 5;5–6;7), and 26 fourth-grade (age range 9;5–10;5) children's knowledge structures were examined with a word association task and a match-to-sample picture task to determine whether or not children used slot-filler categories as a mediating structure between event-based and taxonomic knowledge structures, as proposed by Nelson (1985, 1986). In general, preschool children were able to provide event-based, but not slot-filler or taxonomic, relations; kindergarten children were able to provide event-based or slot-filler relations, but very few taxonomic relations; and fourth-grade children were able to provide all three relations. These findings support Nelson's hypothesis that taxonomic knowledge structures are derived from event-based knowledge structures with the aid of slot-filler categories.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , October 1992 , pp. 659 - 676
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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Footnotes

*

This research was partly supported by an NICHHD Training Grant (No. HD07255) awarded to the University of Kansas, Bureau of Child Research. Preparation of this manuscript was supported by a Center of Excellence Grant awarded to the Department of Psychology at Memphis State University by the State of Tennessee. I wish to thank Susan Kemper and Robert Cohen for their comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this manuscript.

References

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