Social Class Differentials in Vocabulary Expansion

Abstract

Socio‐economic status differences in performance on intelligence and other cognitive tests are among the most firmly established generalisations in psychological research, though their causal interpretation remains a focus of lively controversy (Anastasi, 1960). There is a considerable weight of evidence indicating that the verbal inferiority of working class children may account in part for the differences (Bernstein, 1961). The existence of a verbal handicap is unquestioned, but its fate over time remains somewhat doubtful. Thus, Eells, et al. (1951) held that status differences remain constant in magnitude, invoking the ‘levelling effect of a common school environment’ as one of the reasons. As against this, Bernstein (1961) contends that with increasing age, working class children tend to fall further behind. A study by Ravenette and Kahn (1962) supports Bernstein's view, but suffers from the limitation of being confined to a comparison of verbal and performance I.Qs. within a disturbed working class population. The aim of the present study was to undertake a direct comparison of working and middle class children at two age levels.

Developmental and Social Interaction in Categories of Word‐definition

“…Wiseman (1968), in a discussion of the educational effects of disadvantageous environmental factors, has pointed out that such effects may be cumulative over the years of school attendance. Labov (1969), on the other hand, has criticised the concept of veibal deprivation on the ground that it is based on the results of conventionally administered tests that underrate the verbal competence of working-class children. Cazden (1972) has suggested that lower-class children may be especially constrained in a test situation, and Ginsburg (1972) cites studies by Zigler and Butterfield (1968) and Hertzig et al (1968) as evidence that poor test motivation can lead to IQ underestimation for young children whose culture is person-rather than task-oriented.…”

“…The tendency for occupational group differences to increase with age had been observed by Jahoda (1964) for quantitative vocabulary. This effect was hypothesised and confirmed for abstract-type responses in the present study.…”

“…268 Bernstein's (1962) distinction between ' elaborated ' and ' restricted ' modes of communication had its beginnings in the empirical observation that differences between English working-class and middle-class children are revealed most strikingly on a test of vocabulary (Bernstein, 1958(Bernstein, , 1960. Bernstein's (1961) further suggestion that such differences will increase with age was confirmed by Jahoda (1964) in a small-scale study in which samples of lower working-class and middle-class children were matched on non-verbal intelligence at ages 10 and 14. Both age-groups were tested on the Heim and Watt's Self-Judging Vocabulary Scale.…”

Language Inadequacy and Intellectual Potential: An Educational Priority in Ghana

“…[9] The implication here is that language restrictions, while posing a considerable problem for educational settings, do not restrict ability in fairly abstract mental manipulations.…”