Word retrieval ability on semantic fluency task in typically developing Malayalam-speaking children

Abstract

Word-retrieval abilities in children can be assessed using word generation or verbal fluency task. The ability to retrieve is related to the individual's ability to retrieve associated words from the mental lexicon in an organized manner. The present study focuses on the developmental aspects of semantic fluency in 1,015 Malayalam-speaking children in the age range of 5 years to 15 years across both genders. The study revealed a developmental trend in the mean total number of correct word scores, number of clusters generated, and switching scores; however, mean cluster size did not show any statistically significant variation. Further, the scores did not vary across genders. Overall, the study indicated a linear developmental trend during verbal fluency with the increase in complexity of strategy use.

Development of executive functioning in school-age Tunisian children

“…The results indicated a significant effect of age but no gender effect. Other studies conducted in French, Dutch, Spanish, Hebrew and Indian pediatric populations also found similar results for semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tasks (Arán-Filippetti & Allegri, 2011;Hurks et al, 2010;John & Rajashekhar, 2014;Kavé et al, 2008;Sauzéon et al, 2004). In addition, a significant effect of age and a nonsignificant effect of gender have been highlighted in studies of working memory in pediatric school-age populations (Brocki & Bohlin, 2004;Welsh et al, 1991).…”

“…these findings are not definitive, and further research is needed to highlight the nature of the strategies used by children for the recovery of words from long-term memory, such as the work that has previously addressed the issue (Arán-Filippetti & Allegri, 2011;John & Rajashekhar, 2014;Kavé et al, 2008;Sauzéon et al, 2004). Qualitative analyses based on the evolution of switching indices and clustering are therefore necessary.…”

“…Cognitive flexibility abilities have been shown to follow the same progression for both the verbal and figural modalities of spontaneous shifting (Arán-Filippetti & Allegri, 2011;Brocki & Bohlin, 2004;Hurks et al, 2010;Kavé, 2006;Kavé, Kigel, & Kochva, 2008;Koren, Kofman, & Berger, 2005;Lehto et al, 2003;Levin et al, 1991;Riva, Nichelli, & Devoti, 2000;Sevino, 1998;Tallberg, Carlsson, & Lieberman, 2011;Welsh et al, 1991). However, the age of maturity with respect to verbal fluency is debated (Anderson et al, 2001;Kavé et al, 2008;Klenberg et al, 2001;Riva et al, 2000;Sauzéon, Lestage, Raboutet, N'Kaoua, & Claverie, 2004;Sevino, 1998;Welsh et al, 1991), and the dissociation of progressive profiles according to the suggested division, semantic or phonemic (Klenberg et al, 2001;Levin et al, 1991), is difficult to check because some studies did not distinguish between the two conditions (Brocki & Bohlin, 2004;Lehto et al, 2003) or they focused on only one method (Anderson et al, 2001;John & Rajashekhar, 2014;Sevino, 1998;Welsh et al, 1991). Verbal fluency development has been studied in different languages, including French (Sauzéon et al, 2004), Italian (Riva et al, 2000), Swedish (Tallberg et al, 2011), Hebrew (Kavé et al, 2008), Dutch (Hurks et al, 2010), Spanish (Arán-Filippetti & Allegri, 2011), and Malayalam (John & Rajashekhar...…”

“…For example, John and Rajashekhar (2014) have suggested that the conflicting results regarding the effect of gender on verbal fluency performance could be linked to the nature of the selected semantic category (e.g., animals and fruits and vegetable or vehicles). For example, Capitani et al (1999) reported a benefit in favor of boys compared to girls of the same age for the semantic category "tools", but this advantage favored girls for the semantic category "fruits".…”

“…However, the age of maturity with respect to verbal fluency is debated (Anderson et al, 2001;Kavé et al, 2008;Klenberg et al, 2001;Riva et al, 2000;Sauzéon, Lestage, Raboutet, N'Kaoua, & Claverie, 2004;Sevino, 1998;Welsh et al, 1991), and the dissociation of progressive profiles according to the suggested division, semantic or phonemic (Klenberg et al, 2001;Levin et al, 1991), is difficult to check because some studies did not distinguish between the two conditions (Brocki & Bohlin, 2004;Lehto et al, 2003) or they focused on only one method (Anderson et al, 2001;John & Rajashekhar, 2014;Sevino, 1998;Welsh et al, 1991). Verbal fluency development has been studied in different languages, including French (Sauzéon et al, 2004), Italian (Riva et al, 2000), Swedish (Tallberg et al, 2011), Hebrew (Kavé et al, 2008), Dutch (Hurks et al, 2010), Spanish (Arán-Filippetti & Allegri, 2011), and Malayalam (John & Rajashekhar, 2014). However, few studies have been performed in the Arabic language.…”