Children's use of pragmatic inference to learn about the social world.

Young children often endorse stereotypes-such as "girls are bad at math." We explore one mechanism through which these beliefs may be transmitted: via pragmatic inference. Specifically, we ask whether preschoolers and adults can learn about an unmentioned social group from what is said about another group, and if this inferential process is sensitive to the context of the utterance. Sixty-three- to five-year-old children and fifty-five adults were introduced to two novel social groups-Stripeys and Dotties-and witnessed a speaker praising abilities of one group (e.g., "the Stripeys are good at building chairs"). To examine the effect of context, we compared situations where the speaker was knowledgeable about the abilities of both groups, and had been queried about the performance of both groups (broad context), versus situations where the speaker was only knowledgeable about one group and was only asked about that group (narrow context). Both preschoolers and adults were sensitive to context: they were more likely to infer that the group not mentioned by the speaker was relatively unskilled, and were more confident about it, in the broad context condition. Our work integrates research in language development and social cognitive development and demonstrates that even young children can "read between the lines," utilizing subtle contextual cues to pick up negative evaluative messages about social groups even from statements that ostensibly do not mention them at all. HIGHLIGHTS: After hearing a speaker praise one group's skill, preschoolers and adults infer that an unmentioned group is relatively less skilled across a range of measures. These inferences are context-sensitive and are stronger when the speaker is knowledgeable of and asked about both groups' skill level. These results shed light on how children may indirectly learn negative stereotypes, especially ones that adults are unlikely to state explicitly. This work extends previous research on children's developing pragmatic ability, as well as their ability to learn about the social world from language.

Geographic distribution of cancer cases in isfahan province/2006-2010.

BACKGROUND: To facilitate analysis, interpreting and sharing cancer data and investigation spatial and geographical aspect of cancers in Isfahan province, cancer cases distribution was displayed using geographic information systems (GIS). METHODS: About 118,000 cancer data, which were confirmed in national cancer registration unit were extracted. Age-specific incidence rate and age standardized rate (ASR) of cancer cases from 2006 to 2010 was calculated for Isfahan province and its different districts. Distribution of ASR was determined according to sex and age groups. Spatial maps were drawn with the help of Arc GIS version 10 (ESRI, Redland, CA, USA) software in choropleth based maps. The data are classified in GIS environment by means of quantile method. Data were described with the help of maps spatially. RESULTS: Age standardized rate of cancers was higher in men than in women (134.58 vs. 115.4). The highest ASR was reported in the Isfahan (ASR: 133) and lowest in the Chadegan counties (ASR: 28). Different geographical distribution patterns of cancers were seen in district level. Cancer incidence was higher in the Isfahan, Lenjan, Fereidon Shahr and Falavarjan districts (134.3, 117.2, 113.5 and 111.1 respectively) among men and in Isfahan, Shahin Shahr, Lenjan and Najafabad districts (122.8, 102.3, 94 and 93 respectively) among women. The incidence rates of most cancers were lowest in the North East region of the province compared to the rest of the region. CONCLUSIONS: Using GIS for visual displaying of cancers facilitated communication with the policymakers and community. This study provided hypotheses about differences in the incidence of cancer in Isfahan districts. Higher age-specific incidence rate in the Isfahan city is probably a reflection of problems in addressing the patients in cancer registration. Complementary studies are needed to evaluate lower ASR in the North East regions of the province.