Social Class Differences in Preschool Children's Comprehension of Wh-Questions

Abstract

GULLO, DOMINIC F. Social Class Differences in Preschool Children's Comprehension of WhQuestions. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1981, 52, 736-740. Social class differences in language use were examined in this study as they affect children's comprehension of wh-questions. 60 middle-class and 60 lower-class children between the ages of 3-6 and 5-2 were asked to respond to 6 types of wh-questions. The study controlled syntax and vocabulary while varying the whwords. Social class significantly affected the overall frequency of correct responses within each age group of children tested. Significantly more questions were answered correctly by those children in the middle-class sample. It was also found that word type was a salient factor in predicting social class differences in frequency of correct response. Where the relationship between the wh-word and its referent was abstract, social class differences were great; where the relationships were concrete, social class differences were negligible or nonexistent.