Researchers compare three groups of immigrants who arrived in an English-speaking country at ages 4, 12, and 22. After 10 years of immersion, syntactic test scores are nearly native for the youngest group, intermediate for the middle group, and significantly lower for the oldest group, despite equal exposure. Vocabulary scores show no group differences.
A behaviorist critic argues the data could be explained without nativism. Which alternative finding would MOST weaken Chomsky's account?
- Acheck_circle
Demonstrating that adults given identical operant reinforcement schedules reach native syntactic competence
- B
Documenting universal grammatical features across unrelated languages
- C
Showing that feral children isolated until adolescence struggle with syntax
- D
Finding deaf infants babble manually on a typical schedule
Explanation
If structured reinforcement alone produced native syntax in adults, the maturational/innate account would be undermined. The other findings each support, rather than weaken, nativist claims.