Does mastering of abstract words decline with age
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21537656 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lina Pezzuti (0000-0001-5810-4185, Sapienza University of Rome, corresponding author), James Dawes (0000-0002-0204-7553, Sapienza University of Rome), James Dawe (Sapienza University of Rome), Anna Maria Borghi (0009-0003-2429-0030, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 527-542 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Gerontology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0360-1277 • E-ISSN: 1521-0472 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03601277.2021.2008709 |
| OpenAlex | W3215888813 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 78 |
The aim of this study is to focus on the verbal stimuli of the Vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). To our knowledge, this is the first research to examine whether the abstractness/concreteness and the lexical category of the words in the WAIS-IV vocabulary subtest influence the ability to explain their meaning. In the first step, we collected ratings of the degree of abstractness/concreteness and the lexical category of the 27 verbal stimuli of vocabulary subtest. From the second step, the results showed that the ability to explain the meaning of words for 497 participants (aged 19–89) was better with concrete concepts than with abstract ones; and the concreteness effect, i.e., the advantage in the processing of the concrete over the abstract terms, does not disappear with age. More specifically, the ability to define the abstract words does not decline with age. Still, this ability is maintained likely because linguistic knowledge is preserved in healthy elderly. Besides, the correctness in defining nouns is always superior to that in defining adjectives and verbs across all age groups. The nouns are defined more correctly than adjectives in the all age groups. The verbs are defined more correctly than adjectives in the all age groups except for the groups over 60 years of age, although at 80–89 years of age the verbs are statistically more difficult to define than adjectives
Adjective · Age groups · Age of Acquisition · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Concreteness · Developmental psychology · Linguistics · Noun · Part of speech · Vocabulary · Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale · Language Development and Disorders · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development
Human Cognitive Abilities
Mental Representations
The representation of abstract words
The Neural Representation of Abstract Words
Individuation, relativity, and early word learning
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Fourth Edition
Mixed-effects modeling with crossed random effects for subjects and items
Gender is a multifaceted concept
Sensorimotor and interoceptive dimensions in concrete and abstract concepts
A Structural Factor Analysis of Vocabulary Knowledge and Relations to Age
Aging, Cohorts, and Verbal Ability
Family of Origin and Cohort Differences in Verbal Ability
The challenge of abstract concepts
Inner speech
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |