The development of the planning function and the discourse structure of 'private' speech.
Item
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Title
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The development of the planning function and the discourse structure of 'private' speech.
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Identifier
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AAI9000692
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identifier
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9000692
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Creator
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Feigenbaum, Peter.
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Contributor
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Adviser: John Dore
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Date
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1989
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Developmental | Language, Linguistics | Health Sciences, Human Development
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Abstract
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This study inventoried the cognitive functions and linguistic forms of 'private' speech and, using these descriptive data, tested three particular claims about private speech development. Two claims were put forward by Vygotsky--private speech develops into an instrument for planning, and, simultaneously, its syntax fragments and abbreviates--while the third claim was put forth by this author--the discourse structure of private speech grows in size and complexity with development. Subjects included 30 children who were approximately 4, 6, and 8 years of age and whose native language is English. Five girls and five boys at each age level were randomly selected from child-care centers and schools located mainly in Brooklyn, New York.;The experiment, which consisted of two problem-solving tasks in plane geometry (one difficult, one very difficult), involved the construction of different roads using wooden tracks. To help motivate the children, the tasks were couched in the form of a game. The subjects were tested individually, and their performances were videotaped for subsequent analysis. Previous methods of differentiating private from social speech were revised, and new methods were invented to describe the planning functions and discourse structure of private speech.;A repeated measures Analysis of Variance was used to test the observed differences between the three age groups and the two tasks. Highly significant differences were detected with regard to the fragmentation and abbreviation of the syntax of private speech: there was a marked increase from age 4 to age 8, and from Task 1 (the difficult problem) to Task 2 (the very difficult problem). As for the development of the planning function of private speech, the observed increase with age narrowly missed significance, while the increase from Task 1 to Task 2 was highly significant. Other results, though not significant, provided support for the view that private speech develops into an instrument for planning. With regard to the claim that the discourse structure of private speech grows in size and complexity with development, the findings, although not statistically significant, evidenced support for the claim.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
