Age Related Difference Essay

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The first research hypothesis addressed the issue of whether an age-related difference exists in the use of three types of referential expressions (i.e., nominal, pronominal and elliptical). Management of referential expressions was analyzed using a mixed model, repeated measures (2 x 2 x 3) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA): Age Group (older, younger), Narrative Condition (story retelling, personal narrative), and Reference Form (nouns, pronouns, ellipses). The dependent variable for this analysis was frequency of nominal, pronominal and elliptical references for each narrative condition adjusted for length of story (i.e., frequency per 40 T-units). Table 2 presents the means and standard deviations for the frequency of coreferential options.
---------- Insert Table 2 ---------- Examination of the data, alone, revealed that, overall, participants produced more pronominal references than nominal or elliptical references combined and more referential expressions were produced in the story-retelling condition than in
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The values on the Y axis represent the frequency of occurrence for each reference form within the specified T-unit distances. Both age groups produced a similar pattern; however, the magnitude of responses was greater among younger participants. The majority of pronominal references occurred within 1 T-unit. There was a stepwise increase in the use of nominal expressions with the majority occurring between 2 - 4 T-units. Similarly, in Figure 1(c,d), displaying the distribution for personal narratives; the majority of pronominal references occurred within 1 T-unit. Younger participants produced nominal references with a stepwise increase from 0 - 4 T-units, with a decrease from 5 - 10 T-units and an increase again at 11 T-units. Older participants produced the most nominal references at 1 T-unit with a decrease from 2 T-units and