Developing referential communication: Transfer across novel tasks

Abstract

Communication can be conceptualized as consisting of substantive knowledge, enabling skills, and procedural rule knowledge. Deficits in any of these components can cause communications to go awry. Much recent research has focused on developmental differences in procedural rule knowledge. This study examined the child’s acquisition of the difference rule (an informative message must distinguish referent from nonreferent). First graders evaluated the performance of a speaker doll and a listener doll engaged in a referential communication game (criticism task). Children received difference rule feedback on their evaluations on each trial. Training transferred to novel speaking, listening, and criticism tasks presented 1 week after training. Discussion focuses on applied and theoretical implications for the development of communication. © 1986, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.