Abstract
Children’s interpretations of lexical and vocal cues to speaker affect, independently and in combination, were examined in four studies. In Experiments 1 and 2, 7- to 11- year-olds’ judgments of lexical and paralinguistic cues were evaluated. In Experiment 3, these cues were combined to produce consistent and discrepant messages. The affective interpretations of 7- to 10-year-olds reflected a weighted-averaging strategy favoring the affect conveyed lexically. In Experiment 4, the developmental trajectory of children’s interpretations of discrepancy from 4 to 10 years of age was investigated. Both 4- and 7-year-olds appeared to use a weighted-averaging strategy favoring lexical content, whereas 10-year-olds utilized a strategy favoring paralanguage.
Recommended Citation
Friend, Margaret and Becker Bryant, Judith
(2000)
"A Developmental Lexical Bias in the
Interpretation of Discrepant Messages,"
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Vol. 46:
Iss.
2, Article 9.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/mpq/vol46/iss2/9