@inproceedings{ImaiSajiGrosseetal., author = {Imai, Mutsumi and Saji, Noburo and Große, Gerlind and Schulze, Cornelia and Asano, Michiko and Saalbach, Henrik}, title = {General mechanisms of color lexicon acquisition : insights from comparison of German and Japanese speaking children}, series = {Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society}, organization = {Cognitive Science Society}, pages = {3315 -- 3320}, abstract = {This research investigated how German-speaking children learn color words, both in terms of centroid mappings and boundary delineation, and how they construct the color lexicon as a connected system. The results were compared to those of Japanese children to draw insights on general mechanisms that underlie the acquisition of words in the color lexicon. For both languages, input frequency and category size contributed to the ease of learning. In contrast, in both language groups, naming (in)consistency in adults predicted the adult-like boundary delineation.}, subject = {Kindersprache}, language = {en} } @article{BuergermeisterGrosseLeuchteretal., author = {B{\"u}rgermeister, Annika and Große, Gerlind and Leuchter, Miriam and Studhalter, Ueli and Saalbach, Henrik}, title = {Interaktion von p{\"a}dagogischen Fachkr{\"a}ften und Kindern in naturwissenschaftlichen Lerngelegenheiten im Kindergarten}, series = {Fr{\"u}he Bildung}, volume = {8}, journal = {Fr{\"u}he Bildung}, number = {1}, publisher = {Hogrefe}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {2191-9194}, doi = {10.1026/2191-9186/a000406}, pages = {13 -- 21}, abstract = {Im Zusammenhang mit der Gestaltung von Lehr-Lerngelegenheiten im Vorschulbereich wird zunehmend die Bedeutung der Interaktionsqualit{\"a}t zwischen der p{\"a}dagogischen Fachkraft (PFK) und den Kindern f{\"u}r das fr{\"u}hkindliche Lernen diskutiert. Mit der vorliegenden Studie wird die Interaktionsqualit{\"a}t im Rahmen einer naturwissenschaftlichen Lerngelegenheit in 34 schweizerischen Vorschulgruppen differenziert erfasst und sowohl qualitative (verbale Lernunterst{\"u}tzung der PFK) als auch quantitative Aspekte (Redeanteile der Kinder und PFK) und deren Effekt auf das inhaltliche Lernen der Kinder untersucht. Die Befunde zeigen, dass die Redeanteile zwischen PFK und Kindern {\"a}hnlich verteilt sind, die der PFK jedoch umfangreicher sind. Zudem belegen Ergebnisse aus Mehrebenenanalysen einen positiven Zusammenhang zwischen aktiver Beteiligung der Kinder in den Kleingruppengespr{\"a}chen und dem naturwissenschaftlichen Lernen. Je mehr die PFK dabei das Vorwissen der Kinder aktiviert, desto gr{\"o}ßer ist dieser Effekt, sodass von einem Interaktionseffekt zwischen Lernunterst{\"u}tzung der PFK und aktiver Gespr{\"a}chsbeteiligung der Kinder auf das Lernen ausgegangen wird. Die Befunde werden mit Blick auf die Gestaltung von Lehr-Lernprozessen im Kontext fr{\"u}hkindlicher naturwissenschaftlicher Bildung diskutiert.}, subject = {Gruppengespr{\"a}ch}, language = {de} } @article{StreubelGunzenhauserGrosseetal., author = {Streubel, Berit and Gunzenhauser, Catherine and Große, Gerlind and Saalbach, Henrik}, title = {Emotion-specific vocabulary and its contribution to emotion understanding in 4- to 9-year-old children}, series = {Journal of Experimental Child Psychology}, volume = {193}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Child Psychology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0022-0965}, doi = {10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104790}, abstract = {Positive associations between children's general language skills and emotion understanding are well documented. Concurrently, research from other domains highlights the importance of domain-specific language skills for conceptual development. The current study examined the relative contributions of emotion-specific and general vocabulary to individual differences in multiple early-acquired components of emotion understanding (e.g., facial emotion recognition) and later-acquired components (e.g., knowledge of emotion regulation strategies) in 4- to 9-year-old children (N = 86). Emotion-specific vocabulary was measured by size (i.e., number of emotion words children use) and depth (i.e., adult-like use of emotion words). Findings emphasize the role of children's emotion-specific vocabulary rather than general vocabulary for early-acquired and later-acquired components of emotion understanding, especially when measured by expressive tasks. At preschool age, the size of emotion-specific vocabulary explains children's knowledge of emotion regulation strategies. In primary school, however, the depth of emotion-specific vocabulary becomes relevant for individual differences in emotion understanding.}, subject = {Sprachkompetenz}, language = {en} } @article{GrosseStreubelGunzenhauseretal., author = {Große, Gerlind and Streubel, Berit and Gunzenhauser, Catherine and Saalbach, Henrik}, title = {Let's Talk About Emotions}, series = {Affective Science}, volume = {2}, journal = {Affective Science}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, issn = {2662-205X}, doi = {10.1007/s42761-021-00040-2}, pages = {150 -- 162}, abstract = {Learning to use language in an adult-like way is a long-lasting process. This may particularly apply to complex conceptual domains such as emotions. The present study examined children's and adults' patterns of emotion word usage regarding their convergence and underlying semantic dimensions, and the factors influencing the ease of emotion word learning. We assessed the production of emotion words by 4- to 11-year-old children (N = 123) and 27 adults (M = 37 years) using a vignette test. We found that the older the children, the more emotion words they produced. Moreover, with increasing age, children's pattern of emotion word usage converged with adult usage. The analysis for semantic dimensions revealed one clear criterion—the differentiation of positive versus negative emotions—for all children and adults. We further found that broad covering emotion words are produced earlier and in a more adult-like way.}, subject = {Kleinkind}, language = {en} } @article{SajiSaalbachGrosseetal., author = {Saji, Noburo and Saalbach, Henrik and Große, Gerlind and Schulze, Cornelia and Imai, Mutsumi}, title = {Cross-linguistic comparison of color word learning in German and Japanese children shows universal and language-specific processes}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {15}, journal = {Scientific reports}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-025-23286-3}, pages = {12}, abstract = {This study examines how German- and Japanese-speaking children acquire the meanings of color words, focusing on two theoretically distinct processes: centroid mapping and boundary delineation. While previous cross-linguistic studies have typically addressed these aspects in isolation, this paper explicitly investigates both processes simultaneously, assessing language-specific and perceptual factors contributing to lexical acquisition. Using previously collected Japanese data (re-analyzed here for comparative purposes) and newly collected German data, we explore how input frequency, naming inconsistency, category size, and perceptual saliency influence these processes. Our findings show that centroid mapping in both languages is primarily shaped by input frequency, that is, children learn prototypical meanings by hearing the respective color words often. In contrast, boundary delineation is predicted by naming consistency in adult speakers, that is, children's differentiation of color categories is based on the consistency with which adults refer to the same color with the same word. The structural characteristics of each language's lexicon affect these qualitative aspects, highlighting an interplay between perceptual constraints and language-specific lexical structures. This comparative approach provides novel insights into lexical and conceptual development, contributing to broader theoretical debates on continuity and discontinuity in semantic acquisition and informing computational models of lexical development.}, subject = {Deutsch}, language = {en} }