Developmental Differences in the Comprehension of Simple and Compound Comparative Relations

Abstract

KALLIO, KENNETH D. Developmental Differences in the Comprehension of Simple and Compound Comparative Relations. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1988, 59, 397-410. Spatial adjectives and comparative relations can be contrasted in terms of the reference points they utilize. Spatial adjectives (e.g., tall) use a primary reference point that provides the nominal sense of the word and a secondary reference point that provides the contrastive sense. Simple comparatives (e.g., John is taller than Bill) mark a tertiary reference point that is the basis of comparison in place of the secondary reference point. Compound comparatives (e.g., John is taller than Bill, but shorter than Harry) use a tertiary and a quaternary reference point. In 3 experiments children ranging in age from 5 to 10 years old were assessed on their comprehension of simple and compound comparatives using a picturequestion answering task. The ability to use the appropriate reference points increases with age on both the simple and compound comparative relations.