Children's understanding of the relation between expressions (what was said) and intentions (what was meant)

Abstract

Three studies were carried out to examine young children's skill at handling the distinction between what a speaker means, and what is actually said. It was found that young children tended to confuse what was meant with what was said, and that children who made such confusions also tended to judge that ambiguous verbal messages were in fact adequate. Suggestions are offered as to how social interaction with adults may help children to perfect the distinction between a speaker's intended meaning and how that meaning is conveyed in a message, and it is further suggested that the perfection of this distinction may promote the development of understanding about ambiguity as a cause of communication failure.