Discourse Development: Progress in Cognitive Development Research

1 Implications of Ethology for the Study of Pragmatic Development.- Ethology.- Etiological Methods and Pragmatics.- The Ontogeny and Phylogeny of Pragmatic Behaviors.- The Functional Significance of Pragmatic Behaviors.- Conclusions.- References.- 2 Answering Appropriately: A Developmental Perspective on Conversational Knowledge.- The Nature of Early Contingent Responding.- Toward an Understanding of Responses to Speech Acts by Both Children and Adults.- Further Considerations.- Summary.- References.- 3 Structure and Process in Children's Conversational Development.- The Structure of Conversation.- Structure in the Conversation of Young Children.- Applied Discourse Analysis.- Appendix A.- Appendix B.- References.- 4 Skill in Peer Learning Discourse: What Develops?.- What Is a Peer?.- What Is Peer Learning?.- Issues for the Study of Peer Learning Discourse.- Constraints on Children's Effectiveness.- Research Evidence: Three Studies of Children's Discourse During Peer Learning.- Summary and Conclusions.- References.- 5 The Development of Narrative Skills: Explanations and Entertainments.- The Content of Children's Stories.- The Plots of Children's Stories.- Causes and Consequences in Children's Stories.- Conclusions.- References.- 6 Of Hawks and Moozes: The Fantasy Narratives Produced by a Young Child.- Method.- Results and Discussion.- Summary and Conclusions.- References.- 7 Children's Deictic Reference: The Role of Space and Animacy.- Simple Comprehension and Production Studies.- Results-Comprehension Study.- Production Study.- Discussion.- A More Complex Descriptive Task: The Doll's House.- The Language Used While Conducting the Tour.- General Discussion.- Conclusion.- References.- 8 Discourse Development in Atypical Language Learners.- Description of the Language-Impaired Population.- Current Level of Knowledge Concerning Discourse Development in Atypical Language Learners.- Analyzing Discourse Skills in Atypical Populations: Segmentation of the Verbal/Nonverbal Stream.- Future Research Directions.- References.- Author Index.