The Use of Objects and Pictures as Language Stimuli: Influence On Response Complexity

Abstract

The influence of object and picture stimuli on the language production of second-grade subjects was investigated. The subjects were presented object or pictorial stimuli and asked to respond to open-ended questions about them. The complexity of the language production was evaluated on the following measures: total words used, total words used in each category, mean length of response, and total sentences used. Statistical anallyses revealed that the object group produced a significantly greater number of total sentences. In addition, type-token ratios and Pearson-r values are reported for each word category studied. Implications for further research and suggestions for the practicing speech-language pathologist are also provided.

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