Why Talk about Mental States? The Significance of Children's Conversations with Friends, Siblings, and Mothers.

Brown, Jane R.; And Others

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Peer reviewed

ERIC Number: EJ528212

Record Type: CIJE

Publication Date: 1996

Pages: N/A

Abstractor: N/A

ISBN: N/A

ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920

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Why Talk about Mental States? The Significance of Children's Conversations with Friends, Siblings, and Mothers.

Brown, Jane R.; And Others

Child Development, v67 n3 p836-49 Jun 1996

Examined four-year olds' use of mental state terms in conversations. Found that more references to mental states were made in conversations with siblings and friends than with mothers. Frequent use of terms by both partners was related to cooperative interaction in child-friend and child-sibling dyads. Found associations with measures of language fluency, gender, and maternal education. (HTH)

Descriptors: Child Language, Dialogs (Language), Interpersonal Communication, Parent Child Relationship, Peer Relationship, Preschool Children, Sibling Relationship

Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles

Education Level: N/A

Audience: N/A

Language: English

Sponsor: N/A

Authoring Institution: N/A

Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A

Author Affiliations: N/A