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    The development of metaphorical language comprehension in typical development and in Williams syndrome

    Thomas, Michael S.C. and van Duuren, M. and Purser, Harry and Mareschal, Denis and Ansari, D. and Karmiloff-Smith, Annette (2010) The development of metaphorical language comprehension in typical development and in Williams syndrome. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 106 (2-3), pp. 99-114. ISSN 0022-0965.

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    Abstract

    The domain of figurative language comprehension was used to probe the developmental relation between language and cognition in typically developing individuals and individuals with Williams syndrome. Extending the work of Vosniadou and Ortony, the emergence of nonliteral similarity and category knowledge was investigated in 117 typically developing children between 4 and 12 years of age, 19 typically developing adults, 15 children with Williams syndrome between 5 and 12 years of age, and 8 adults with Williams syndrome. Participants were required to complete similarity and categorization statements by selecting one of two words (e.g., either “The sun is like ___” or “The sun is the same kind of thing as ___”) with word pairs formed from items that were literally, perceptually, or functionally similar to the target word or else anomalous (e.g., moon, orange, oven, or chair, respectively). Results indicated that individuals with Williams syndrome may access different, less abstract knowledge in figurative language comparisons despite the relatively strong verbal abilities found in this disorder.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Williams syndrome, language, metaphor, cognitive development, categorization, conceptual development
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Educational Neuroscience, Centre for, Birkbeck Knowledge Lab, Brain and Cognitive Development, Centre for (CBCD)
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 29 Nov 2010 09:21
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 16:53
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/2875

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