Skip to main content
Log in

Developmental changes and socioeconomic differences in mother-infant picturebook reading

  • Published:
European Journal of Psychology of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Picturebook reading is a common form of interaction between parents and young children. This study examined developmental changes and socioeconomic differences in picturebook interactions of motherinfant Argentine dyads. 21 middle and 18 low SES mothers with their 12 to 24 months-old infants interacting with two different books, were observed. It was found that mothers of both SES groups adjusted the level of their demands not only to the task requirements (books) but also to the age of the infant. However, it was also found that the style of the interaction was different depending on the SES of the mother-infant pair. A more demanding and elaborated maternal language along with a linguistically more competent child were found in the middle SES group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bridges, A. (1977). Directing two-year-old’s attention: Some clues to understanding.Journal of Child Language, 6, 211–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. S. (1977). Early social interaction and language acquisition. In H. R. Schaffer (Ed.),Studies in mother-infant interaction (pp. 271–289). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLoache, J. S., & Peralta de Mendoza, O. A. (1987). Joint picturebook interactions of mothers and 1-year-old children.British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 5, 111–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, J., & Wooding, C. (1977). Play in the homes and their implications for learning. In B. Tizard & D. Harvey (Eds.),Biology of Play (pp. 45–58). Philadelphia: Lippincott.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, S. (1982). What no bedtime story mean. Narrative skill at home and at school.Language in Society, 1, 49–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, S. (1983).Ways with words. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (1991). Mother-child conversations in different social classes and communicative settings.Child Development, 62, 782–796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ninio, A. (1980). Picturebook reading in mother-infant dyads belonging to two subgroups in Israel.Child Development, 62, 587–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ninio, A., & Bruner, J. (1978). The achievement and antecedents of labelling.Journal of Child Language, 5, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini, A. D., Brody, G., & Sigel, I. (1985). Parent’s bookreading habits with their children.Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 332–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrini, A. D., Perlmutter, J. C., Galda, L., & Brody, G. H. (1990). Joint reading between black Head Start children and their mothers.Child Development, 61, 443–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peralta de Mendoza, O. A. (1983). Joint mother-infant picturebook reading. Master’s thesis. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • Peralta de Mendoza, O. A. (1993). El estilo tutorial de la madre y su relación con la performance independiente del niño en el armado de un rompecabezas.Revista IRICE, 7, 77–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peralta de Mendoza, O. A. (1994). Niveles de juego materno-infantil en dos grupos socioeconómicos.Revista Intercontinental de Psicología y Educación, 7, 111–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snow, C. E., & Goldfield, B. A. (1982). Building stories: the emergence of information structures from conversation. In D. Tanner (Ed.),Analyzing discourse: text and talk. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snow, C. E., & Goldfield, B. A. (1983). Turn the page please: situation specific language acquisition.Journal of Child Language, 10, 551–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teale, W. H. (1981). Parents reading to their children: what we know and need to know. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Teale, W. H. (1984). Reading to young children: its significance for literacy development. In H. Goelman, A. Oberg, & F. Smith (Eds.).Awakening to literacy, (pp. 110–121). Exeter: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978).Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scriber, & E. Souberman, Eds. and Trans.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wertsch, J. V. (1979). From social interaction to higher psychological processes.Human Development, 22, 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, D., Bruner, J., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving.Journal of Psychologgy and Psychiatry, 17, 89–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

This research was supported by the National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

de Mendoza, O.A.P. Developmental changes and socioeconomic differences in mother-infant picturebook reading. Eur J Psychol Educ 10, 261–272 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172920

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172920

Key words

Navigation