Which of the following words is an example of underextension? Group of answer choices A. Ben only calls his father’s coffee mug a cup. B. Ben calls all farm animals cows. C. Ben calls every kind of ball a basketball. D. Ben calls all men he sees “Daddy.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer: A. Ben only calls his father’s coffee mug a cup.
Explanation:
Underextension is a common phenomenon observed in early language development where a child applies a word too narrowly. Instead of using a word in all the appropriate contexts, the child restricts its use to a specific object or situation. This limited application does not reflect the full range of meanings that the word typically holds.
In the case of Option A, Ben only calls his father’s coffee mug a cup, even though many other objects—such as tea cups, plastic cups, or paper cups—also fall under the category of “cup.” This indicates underextension because Ben is using the word “cup” only for a very specific instance, rather than understanding and applying the word to all appropriate objects.
Now let’s compare this to the other options:
- Option B: Ben calls all farm animals cows. This is an example of overextension, where a child applies a word too broadly. Instead of limiting “cow” to the specific animal, Ben is using it to label a wide variety of farm animals.
- Option C: Ben calls every kind of ball a basketball. This also illustrates overextension, as Ben is extending the label of one type of ball to encompass all balls, despite differences in type, function, and appearance.
- Option D: Ben calls all men he sees Daddy. This is again overextension, where the child uses a familiar term for a broad group of people based on one shared feature (being male adults), not understanding the specific relational meaning of the word.
In summary, underextension is characterized by overly restrictive word use, and Option A best demonstrates this by showing a child who uses “cup” for only one specific item instead of recognizing it as a general category.
