Internal state language factor structure and development in toddlerhood: Insights from WordBank.
Tyler C McFayden, Madeleine Bruce
PMID 38466318WHAT IT FOUND
Internal state language in toddlers acts as one unified skill, not separate categories like emotion or thought.
Girls and children of college-educated mothers start with more words, but only maternal education predicts faster growth. Low scores may reflect background, not deficit.
Key findings
01Statistical analysis confirmed that internal state language in toddlers 16-30 months old functions as a single, unitary factor rather than distinct subgroups.
02Girls and children of mothers with a college degree produced more internal state words at age 2, but only maternal education predicted the rate of growth over time.
03Toddlers produce internal state words at a linear rate, gaining approximately 5 new terms every two months during this period.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was predominantly white (57%) and from families with higher education (52% of mothers had a college degree), limiting generalizability to other demographics. Data relied on parent report, which may miss nuances in word usage (e.g., 'can' as ability vs. container). The study only covered ages 16 to 30 months, so it is unknown if this single-factor structure holds in older preschoolers. Maternal education was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status and language environment, but the specific mechanisms (e.g., parent-child interaction quality) were not measured.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a toddler's lack of specific 'cognitive' words (like 'know') indicates a theory of mind deficit if their overall internal state vocabulary is age-appropriate. The study found these words act as one unified skill in this age range, so separate category deficits are not supported by the data.