Thought and language: Effects of group‐mindedness on young children's interpretation of exclusive we

Abstract

AbstractThe current study investigated whether age‐related changes in the conceptualization of social groups influences interpretation of the pronoun we. Sixty‐four 2‐ and 4‐year‐olds (N = 29 female, 50 White‐identifying) viewed scenarios in which it was ambiguous how many puppets performed an activity together. When asked who performed the activity, a speaker puppet responded, “We did!” In one condition, the speaker was near one and distant from another puppet, implying a dyadic interpretation of we. In another condition, the speaker was distant from both, thus pulling for a group interpretation. In the former condition, 2‐ and 4‐year‐olds favored the dyadic interpretation. In the latter condition, only 4‐year‐olds favored the group interpretation. Age‐related conceptual development “expands” the set of conceivable plural person referents.