Erica is a two-year-old girl touring the local zoo with her parents. She sees an owl for the first time and asks a zoo attendant what it is, and the attendant replies that “it is an owl.” Now, every time Erica sees a bird she calls it an “ool.” This process is called _____.

Question

a. habituation
b. overextension
c. canalization
d. deferred imitation

Answer 1

The correct answer is b. overextension.

Overextension occurs when a child applies a broader label to a wider range of objects than is appropriate, which is typical in early language development. In this case, Erica refers to all birds as "ool," understanding the term "owl" but extending it to refer to other birds as well.