Which term describes when a child's definition of a word is too narrow?

Which term describes when a child's definition of a word is too narrow?

• A. Underextension
• B. Cognates
• C. Schema
• D. Discovery Learning

Answer: (A)

Understanding how children learn words includes noticing when they apply a word to fewer things than adults do. This occurs when a child defines a word too narrowly, using it only for one example and not for all items that belong to that category. This pattern is called underextension. For instance, a child might call only their own family dog “dog,” while not using the word for other dogs. In contrast, overextension would be applying the word too broadly, such as calling all four-legged animals “dog.” Other terms refer to different ideas: cognates are words that look or sound similar across languages with similar meanings; a schema is a mental framework for organizing knowledge; discovery learning is a teaching approach where learners explore to build understanding. So the term that describes a child’s definition of a word being too narrow is underextension.

Understanding how children learn words includes noticing when they apply a word to fewer things than adults do. This occurs when a child defines a word too narrowly, using it only for one example and not for all items that belong to that category. This pattern is called underextension. For instance, a child might call only their own family dog “dog,” while not using the word for other dogs. In contrast, overextension would be applying the word too broadly, such as calling all four-legged animals “dog.” Other terms refer to different ideas: cognates are words that look or sound similar across languages with similar meanings; a schema is a mental framework for organizing knowledge; discovery learning is a teaching approach where learners explore to build understanding. So the term that describes a child’s definition of a word being too narrow is underextension.