Erika Hoff

Professor
Ph.D. University of Michigan '81
Research Area: Developmental

Contact Information:
Office: E&S/274
Telephone: (954) 236-1142
Fax: (954) 236-1099
E-mail: ehoff@fau.edu
Links: Lab Home Page

General Research Interests

Erika Hoff directs the Language Development Lab which comprises several projects aimed at identifying the human abilities and human experiences that contribute to language development. One line of research is aimed at discovering the skills that underlie 1- and 2-year-old children's ability to learn new words and the factors that influence the development of these word learning skills. Another line of research focuses on the influence of environmental variables on early language development, including the influence of bilingualism, socioeconomic status, and patterns of language use in the home.

Representative Publications

Hoff, E. & Naigles, L. (2002). How children use input to acquire a lexicon. Child Development, 73, 418-433.

Hoff, E. (2002). Causes and consequences of SES-related differences in parent-to-child speech. In M. H. Bornstein & R. H. Bradley (Eds.), Socioeconomic status, parenting, and child development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.

Hoff, E. (2003). The specificity of environmental influence: Socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. Child Development, 74, 1368-1378.