Effects of Animacy and Executive Functions in Mandarin-Speaking Children's Processing of Relative Clauses: A Self-Paced Listening Task
Saved in:
| Title: | Effects of Animacy and Executive Functions in Mandarin-Speaking Children's Processing of Relative Clauses: A Self-Paced Listening Task |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Yuxin Yang, Fabrizo Arosio, Shenai Hu (ORCID |
| Source: | First Language. 2026 46(1):100-125. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 26 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Executive Function, Cognitive Processes, Language Processing, Form Classes (Languages), Mandarin Chinese, Child Language, Preschool Children, Pacing, Listening Comprehension, Short Term Memory, Inhibition, Cues, Foreign Countries, Intelligence Tests, Vocabulary, Verbal Ability |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Raven Progressive Matrices, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01427237251352334 |
| ISSN: | 0142-7237 1740-2344 |
| Abstract: | This study investigated how animacy cues and executive functions (i.e., working memory [WM], inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) influence 4- to 5-year-old Mandarin-speaking children's processing of subject relative clauses and object relative clauses (ORCs). Using a self-paced listening task combined with a picture selection task, two experiments tested distinct animacy configurations. Experiment 1 employed relative clauses (RCs) with animate embedded nouns and manipulated the head noun animacy (animate vs. inanimate), revealing a facilitation effect for inanimate head nouns. Experiment 2 used RCs with inanimate embedded nouns and the same head noun animacy manipulation but found the opposite pattern: a facilitation effect for animate head nouns. The reverse animacy effects support the similarity-based interference processing account. Both experiments showed an ORC preference in accuracy, modulated by head noun animacy, and critically, WM played a prominent role in children's comprehension of RCs. The study underscores the multifaceted nature of RC comprehension, which is influenced by syntactic complexity, animacy cues, and cognitive resources. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1496491 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This study investigated how animacy cues and executive functions (i.e., working memory [WM], inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) influence 4- to 5-year-old Mandarin-speaking children's processing of subject relative clauses and object relative clauses (ORCs). Using a self-paced listening task combined with a picture selection task, two experiments tested distinct animacy configurations. Experiment 1 employed relative clauses (RCs) with animate embedded nouns and manipulated the head noun animacy (animate vs. inanimate), revealing a facilitation effect for inanimate head nouns. Experiment 2 used RCs with inanimate embedded nouns and the same head noun animacy manipulation but found the opposite pattern: a facilitation effect for animate head nouns. The reverse animacy effects support the similarity-based interference processing account. Both experiments showed an ORC preference in accuracy, modulated by head noun animacy, and critically, WM played a prominent role in children's comprehension of RCs. The study underscores the multifaceted nature of RC comprehension, which is influenced by syntactic complexity, animacy cues, and cognitive resources. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0142-7237 1740-2344 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01427237251352334 |
