Browsing by Author "Graham, Susan Annetta"

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    Children’s Sensitivity to Emotional Prosody in an Unfamiliar Language: The Role of Referential Context
    (2023-09-12) Waly, Yomna Khaled; Graham, Susan Annetta; Chambers, Craig Gary; Hughes, Kathleen M.; Kam, Julia W. Y.; Makarenko, Erica Marie
    Research suggests that preschoolers use emotional prosody to make sophisticated judgements, such as using a speaker’s tone of voice (happy vs. sad) to identify an intended referent (e.g., a broken vs. intact toy). However, 4-year-olds only make these associations in familiar, but not unfamiliar languages. Here, we sought to understand these discrepant findings by investigating the role of referential cues (i.e., cues that signal the speaker’s intended object) in children’s use of emotional prosody to resolve referential ambiguity. Results indicated that 4-year-old children did not use emotional prosody to modulate their looking nor pointing to the target object. Instead, they consistently fixated to the negative object whilst pointing to the positive object. Conversely, 8-year-olds looked at and point to the target object during sad-sounding trials. Their looking and pointing to the negative object was attenuated during happy-sounding trials such that they looked and pointed equally to both objects. Taken together, findings suggest that even in the presence of heightened referential cues, use of emotional prosody in an unfamiliar language remains an emergent skill during childhood.
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    Taking Research out of the Lab: Embodied and Situated Language Development
    (2024-02-17) Reggin, Lorraine Dale; Pexman, Penelope Marion; Graham, Susan Annetta; Madigan, Sheri; McArthur, Brae Anne
    Language acquisition is influenced by the child, in terms of their genetic and biological make-up, but also acquired within the context of their family, social systems, schools, and community. Development is influenced by the culture, language, and social context surrounding the child. Embodied cognition is the view that thinking is grounded in perceptual, action, and emotion systems. An embodied theory of language acquisition predicts that early concepts develop from sensorimotor experience. Evidence regarding the role of the body in language acquisition can influence teaching, community programs, and families. Researchers also can learn from the experiences of the child and their communities when supporting young language learners. In Chapter 2, I describe embodied cognition for educators. I describe the shift in cognitive psychology from describing thinking as the manipulation of arbitrary symbols to the view that an integrated system houses sensory and motor systems but also language information. I provide evidence for the role of sensorimotor experience in learning. I also discuss some critical areas that need to be explained by embodied cognition, where more research is required and take-home messages for teachers. In Chapter 3, I delineate embodied from situated cognition in language acquisition. Language is embodied in that our internal cognitive mechanisms are grounded in our sensorimotor and affective systems but also situated because language is learned within a broader context. In Chapter 4, I describe a community-based research project testing a program designed to increase adult talk and conversation between caregivers and children. Community-based research allows for an exploration of language learning in the context of the families and communities in which children live. With training, caregivers can increase the quantity of speech they share with their children, and feedback could be one way to help facilitate this process. I consider how these findings could influence a broader discussion around the role of parental input in language development. Across these diverse studies, I explore language outside the traditional laboratory setting for language research. I bring knowledge of language acquisition theory and principles to teachers for direct application in their classrooms. I delineate the need for lab-based research and research in naturalistic environments and examine one such endeavour.
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    The Association between Adolescent Dating Violence, Depressive Symptomology, and Subjective Well-Being: School Climate as a Protective Factor
    (2023-09-15) Kermer, Lindsey Erin; Exner-Cortens, Deinera Marea; Craig, Wendy M.; Graham, Susan Annetta; Schwartz, Kelly Dean; Wilcox, Gabrielle
    Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a worldwide concern that is associated with negative mental health outcomes. Research in ADV is saturated with identifying risk factors to reduce the prevalence of ADV, however, research on protective factors associated with ADV is scarce. This project attempts to fill this gap by examining school climate as a potential protective factor. Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) data were used to examine the association between ADV, depressive symptomology and subjective well-being in a nationally representative sample of Canadian youth, and whether this relationship was moderated by school climate and/or teacher support. Linear and logistic regression analysis was conducted, and results demonstrated that individuals who experienced ADV (either victimization only or mutual violence) had lower subjective well-being scores and greater odds of experiencing depressive symptoms. More positive school climate and teacher support scores were also associated with higher subjective well-being and lower depressive symptoms. Youth who experienced ADV also had lower school climate and teacher support scores, a statistically significant difference as compared to youth who did not experience ADV. However, a statistically significant interaction was not found between school climate or teacher support and ADV on depressive symptomology or subjective well-being. This study emphasizes the importance of continuing to explore ADV among Canadian youth, as well as the role that school climate plays in adolescent mental health. Future research should also explore mechanisms that explain the ADV-depressive symptoms/subjective well-being associations, to identify protective factors and advance a strength-based approach to ADV research.