The Influence of Social Context on Requests in Young Iranian Children

Abstract

This study concerns the influence of social contexts on young children's communication. The aim was to show that, at a very young age, children take into account the conversational context and certain conventions governing social relations. Iranian children's request behaviours were analyzed in three situations: (a) the adult immediately complies (satisfaction), (b) the adult asks a clarification question (clarification), and (c) the adult refuses to comply (refusal). Two groups of 12 children aged 18 and 30 months were observed in day‐care centres during dyadic interaction with an Iranian adult. The verbal and nonverbal productions of the two groups were considered. The results showed that the children modified their behaviours in accordance with the adult's attitude. Comparison with a study conducted in France suggests that reformulations in the clarification situation are similar in the two cultures. The intercultural differences observed concern both overall request production and the characteristics of reformulations in the refusal situation. These specificities reflect the early influence of cultural values concerning the difference between the social status of children and adults.