Abstract
Zusammenfassung. Die Verarbeitung abstrakter Begriffe ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil der sprachlichen und kognitiven Entwicklung, der gerade in der späteren Kindheit relevant ist. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde ein Reaktionszeitexperiment zum lexikalischen Entscheiden über konkrete und abstrakte Nomen durchgeführt, an dem je 20 Kinder im Alter von acht bzw. zwölf Jahren sowie Erwachsene teilnahmen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Qualität und Geschwindigkeit der Wortverarbeitung in Abhängigkeit vom Alter und vom Konkretheitsgrad variieren. Achtjährige Kinder verarbeiteten konkrete Begriffe sowohl sicherer als auch schneller als abstrakte. Auch Zwölfjährige konnten Konkreta sicherer verarbeiten, die Reaktionszeiten für konkrete und abstrakte Wörter unterschieden sich hingegen nicht. Erwachsene Probanden verarbeiteten Konkreta und Abstrakta gleich schnell und zeigten sogar etwas bessere Leistungen für Abstrakta. Damit deutet sich ein Umschwung in der Verarbeitung abstrakter Begriffe zwischen acht und zwölf Jahren an, der im Zusammenhang mit einer zunehmenden Abstraktionsfähigkeit und Lösung vom Konkreten in dieser Altersstufe diskutiert wird.
Abstract. Processing of abstract words is an important component of linguistic and cognitive development, especially during the last years of childhood. The present study investigates processing of concrete and abstract nouns in German children and adults with a lexical decision task. Participants were 2×20 children aged 8 and 12 years, respectively, and 20 adults. Results demonstrate that accuracy and speed of lexical decisions vary depending on age and degree of concreteness. The younger children processed concrete nouns faster and more accurately than abstract nouns. Likewise the 12-year-old children showed a higher accuracy for concrete words, whereas no difference in reaction times was detected. Adults showed equal reaction times for concrete and abstract words and even a slightly better performance for abstract words. The results indicate a developmental shift in word processing between eight and twelve years of age, which correlates with an increasing capability of abstraction and a reorganisation of the conceptual system.
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