| The present investigation studied the development of adjective definitions in preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults as well as the influence of word frequency on definition. In addition, a word association task was used to better understand the development and organization of the internal lexicon for adjectives and consequently, how the internal lexicon influences the nature of definitions. Findings revealed that adjective definitions follow a developmental course of concrete/functional to more abstract, similar to noun development. However, adjective definitions are more variable, and this variability may be due to the manner in which the mental lexicon is organized. The findings also revealed that word frequency has a robust influence on definition as well as word association. Previous findings of the robust nature of high frequency words were extended to definition. In comparing noun to adjective lexical development, it was found that adjective "neighborhood" growth is more protracted than for nouns.; In comparing word association and definition, it is suggested that adjectives are supported by word association. Word associations seem to contribute to the content of definitions (as opposed to form). However, grammatical skill also appears to be involved. It is concluded that content and form are two distinct definitional skills. Finally, it was found that socioeconomic status (SES) had a more influential effect on definition than word association. Furthermore, it appears that SES effects are gradual: Content seems to differentiate high from mid SES levels, whereas form seems to differentiate low from mid SES levels. |
