load

[Brian MacWhinney]

Dear Info-CHILDES,
     Most of the replies to my query regarding load were posted directly 
to the list.  However, a few were not. In addition, I think it is 
worthwhile noting that this issue brought up pointers to three major 
research areas.  All seem interesting and important in their own right.
1.  The first was a direct response to the question about experimental 
studies of the effect of load on
sentence processing.  The idea here is typically to manipulate load by 
a non-related secondary task
such as counting back from 100 by threes or monitoring for some beep.
2.  The second notion is that, as syntactic complexity in child 
productions increases, the precision of morphological, lexical, or 
phonological marking decreases.  The idea here is that the child is in 
effect generating an internal load that leads to degradation in some 
otherwise smoothly functioning procedure.
3.  The third notion is that the imposition of language external 
conditions, including emotional activations, can lead to marked changes 
in language.

Let me here list the major pointers to each of these three topics.  I 
may have missed a few that were included in posting to the net that 
people have already seen.

ISSUE #1  The experimental control of load during sentence processing.

Lynne Hewitt and Bruce Tomblin point to

Montgomery, J. 2000. Verbal working memory and sentence comprehension 
in children with specific language impairment. JSLHR, 43, 293-308.  
(Clear working memory problems for SLI with dual load).

Bruce Tomblin points to

Weismer, S. E., Evans, J., & Hesketh, L. J. (1999). An examination of
verbal working memory capacity in children with specific language
impairment. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 42,
1249-1260.

Ellis Weismer, S. (1996). Capacity limitations in working memory: The
impact on lexical and morphological learning by children with language
impairment. Topics in Language Disorders, 17, 33-44.

Johnston, Judith R; Smith, Linda B; Box, Peggy. Cognition and
communication: Referential strategies used by preschoolers with specific
language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, & Hearing Research.
Vol 40(5) Oct 1997, 964-974.

Hermann Schöler points to:

Janczyk, M., Schöler, H. & Grabowski, J. (2004). Arbeitsgedächtnis und 
Aufmerksamkeit bei Vorschulkindern mit gestörter und unauffälliger 
Sprachentwicklung. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und 
Pädagogische Psychologie, 36, 200-206.

Jean Berko-Gleason points to a recent dissertation from Elena Zaretsky


ISSUE #2  Internally imposed load

Joe Stemberger points to

Crystal, D. (1987). Towards a 'bucket' theory of language disability: 
Taking account of interaction between linguistic levels. Clinical 
Linguistics and Phonetics, 1, 7-22.

Scollon, R.T. (1976). Conversations with a one-year-old. Honolulu: 
University of Hawaii Press.

Etti Dromi points to

Dromi, E., Leonard, L.B., Adam, G. & Zadoneisky-Ehrlich, S. (1999).Verb 
agreement morphology in Hebrew - speaking children with specific 
language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 
42 (6), 1414-1431.

Leonard, L.B., Dromi, E. ,Adam, G. & Zadoneisky-Erlich, S. (2000).Tense 
and finiteness in the speech of children with Specific Language 
Impairment acquiring Hebrew. International Journal of Language and 
Communication Disorders , 35, 319-335.


ISSUE #3  Affective load

Lois Bloom points to three of her reports of an in-depth, longitudinal 
study (9 to about 28 months) of the interactive effects of cognitive 
and affective processing load for language, object play, and emotional 
expression.

Bloom, L. (1993). The transition from infancy to language: Acquiring 
the power of expression. New York: Cambridge University.

Bloom, L. & Tinker, E. (2001). The intentionality model and language 
acquisition: Engagement, effort, and the essential tension. Monographs 
of the Society for Research in Child Development, 66 (4, Serial No. 
267).

Bloom, L. (2003). The Integration of Expression into the Stream of 
Everyday Activity.  In I. Stockman, Ed., Movement and action in 
learning and development. Elsevier.


--Brian MacWhinney