Development of skills to report with different levels of exactness: "Roughly" and "exactly"

Abstract

This study examined the development of skills to report with different levels of exactness. A total of 62 firstgrade children and 58 fourth-grade children were asked about numbers and lengths (numeral tasks) and colors and positions of objects (nominal tasks) with instructions suggesting different levels of exactness, "roughly" or "exactly". In Study 1, the instructions were given as a between-subjects factor. The results showed mat when the "roughly" instruction was given, participants gave approximate answers more frequently than when the "exactly" instruction was given especially in the numeral tasks, and older children did so more frequently than younger children. In Study 2, the instructions were given as a within-subjects factor: a half of participants were given "roughly" and then "exactly" instructions, and the others were given the instructions in the opposite order. The results showed that younger children could change the levels of answers depending on instruction in the numeral tasks but not in the nominal tasks, whereas older children could do so in both tasks. The results suggest that the skills for reporting with different levels of exactness are related not only to cognitive development, but also to the linguistic context, such as the tasks and instructions.