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Preschoolers optimize the timing of their conversational turns through flexible coordination of language comprehension and production
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Lindsay, Laura, Gambi, Chiara and Rabagliati, Hugh (2019) Preschoolers optimize the timing of their conversational turns through flexible coordination of language comprehension and production. Psychological Science, 30 (4). pp. 504-515. doi:10.1177/0956797618822802 ISSN 1467-9280.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618822802
Abstract
Conversation is the natural setting for language learning and use, and a key property of conversation is the smooth taking of turns. In adult conversations, delays between turns are minimal (typically 200 ms or less) because listeners display a striking ability to predict what their partner will say, and they formulate a response before their partner's turn ends. Here, we tested how this ability to coordinate comprehension and production develops in preschool children. In an interactive paradigm, 106 children (ages 3-5 years) and 48 adults responded to questions that varied in predictability but were controlled for linguistic complexity. Using a novel distributional approach to data analysis, we found that when children can predict a question's ending, they leave shorter gaps before responding, suggesting that they can optimize the timing of their conversational turns like adults do. In line with a recent ethological theory of turn taking, this early competency helps explain how conversational contexts support language development.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Psychological Science | ||||||
| Publisher: | Sage | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1467-9280 | ||||||
| Official Date: | April 2019 | ||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 30 | ||||||
| Number: | 4 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 504-515 | ||||||
| DOI: | 10.1177/0956797618822802 | ||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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