This study investigated the development of noun definition by grade school children and adults (N = 100). Subjects were asked to define 15 common nouns in one of two conditions: with objects present or without objects present. Definitions were classified on the basis of perceptual attributes (CONCRETE), everyday usage (FUNCTIONAL) or a combination of these (COMBINATORIAL). Results were analysed with a 5 (Grade) × 2 (Condition × 3 (Category) Analysis of Variance which indicated no effects for condition, but a Grade × Category interaction. With increasing age, there was a shift from FUNCTIONAL to COMBINATORIAL definitions; CONCRETE definitions were infrequent for all grades. In addition, age changes were found in the forms of the definitions subjects produced. In contrast to the children, adults formulated definitions in a more complex Aristotelian form. It was concluded that noun definition is a metalinguistic ability which follows a course of development similar to that for the acquisition of word meaning.

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This study investigated the effects of age, schooling, and parental profession on the acquisition of conservation by Ghanaian children. Subjects were 120 girls, ages 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11 years. Half the subjects were from traditional-profession homes (making and selling products in the marketplace) and half from non-traditional-profession homes (clerical positions). Also, half the subjects attended school and half were unschooled. All subjects were given two tasks measuring conservation of continuous quantity (liquid and solid substances). Results were that older subjects scored significantly higher than younger subjects and the traditional-profession group scored higher than the nontraditional group. Surprisingly, unschooled subjects tended to perform better than schooled subjects. Results were interpreted as contrasting the effects of a rich natural environment with a relatively less stimulating school experience.