Slot-filler and Conventional Category Organisation in Young Korean Children

Abstract

Previous research has found that young English-speaking children rely on event schema knowledge in forming object categories and using them in verbal tasks. The present study examined category knowledge in young Korean children. In Experiment 1, 5and 8-year-olds produced category instances under either slot-filler or taxonomic instructions. Five-year-olds produced more instances in the slot-filler condition, whereas 8-year-olds produced more in the taxonomic condition. In Experiment 2, children were presented with a list of words composed of either slot-filler category items or taxonomic category items for either free or cued recall. For the 5-year-olds, slot-filler categories led to superior recall, higher levels of organisation, and shorter latencies than taxonomic categories in both recall conditions, and led to increased recall when script cues were provided. These findings support the view that slot-filler categories represent a closer match to the categorical structures of the young child's semantic organisation than taxonomic categories, and that slot-filler categories are combined into larger taxonomic categories as the child develops and learns.