Siblings in Language Development: Rethinking the Role of Multiple Speakers in Children’s Lives, a Cognitive Science Speaker Series Presentation
Speaker: Naomi Havron, Ph.D.
Title: Siblings in Language Development: Rethinking the Role of Multiple Speakers in Children’s Lives
Short Bio: An Associate Professor at the University of Haifa, where she leads the Language & Development Lab. Her research explores the cognitive and environmental factors that shape how young children acquire language, including the role of prediction in language learning, the influence of siblings and family dynamics on language outcomes, and variability and generalizability of classic cognitive findings. She is an Associate Editor in Developmental Science, and has published widely in leading journals such as Psychological Science, Child Development, and Language Learning. She is an active member of the ManyBabies consortium, a large-scale international collaboration dedicated to open and reproducible developmental science. Her work spans Hebrew, Arabic, and cross-cultural data, reflecting her commitment to understanding language acquisition across diverse populations. She is currently a visiting Professor at Cornell University.
Abstract: For decades, research on children's linguistic input and development has focused predominantly on the role of primary caregivers, almost always mothers. I will present findings from multiple studies examining the role of additional speakers in children's linguistic environments, with emphasis on the role of siblings.
Our analysis of 13 corpora from around the world finds that multiparty speech is more predominant than dyadic adult-child speech, with conversation types systematically affected by the number of siblings. Building on these descriptive findings, we examine the specific developmental consequences of having siblings. Across multiple studies, we find that having an older sibling is associated with lower language skills, as is a larger age gap between them. We hypothesize this reflects competition for parents' attention and tailored speech. To examine this competition hypothesis more closely, we combined longitudinal data from nine cohorts in four countries to examine 20,000 children. We find a non-linear relation between age gap and language outcomes. Skills decline as the age gap increases, then plateau at an age gap of around seven years, suggesting older siblings are partly transitioning from competitors to compensators.
These findings have important implications for understanding language development in diverse family structures and cultural contexts, highlighting the need for more ecologically valid approaches to studying children's linguistic environments.
ASL-English interpreters have been requested. Light refreshments will be provided.
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
Yes