Comprehension of Linguistic Ambiguity and Development of Classification

Abstract

This study assessed comprehension of structurally related ambiguous sentences and classification problems by children in Grades K through 5. Each of three ambiguous-sentence tasks and three classification tasks was based on one of the principles of substitution, grouping, and logical relations. Results indicated that these tasks form two factors, the developmentally easier factor composed of those tasks that required a single operation and the developmentally harder factor composed of tasks that required a multiple operation.