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I vaguely remember a study claiming that children heard the word "no" a lot more often than the word "yes". I could not find it today; I did find this claim

A UCLA survey from a few years ago, reported that the average one year old child hears the word, ‘No!’ more than 400 times a day!

I could not find this study either, and the post has no reference.

Does this claim have a solid academic backing?

Note: migrated from Parenting.

miguelmorin
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    I don't see it saying precisely what is claimed above, but if you follow the links you may find something: https://www.mindful.org/dr-dan-siegel-hearing-yes-childs-brain/ – Daniel R Hicks May 21 '20 at 20:55
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    The "no" vs "yes" discrepancy wouldn't be too surprising because the words aren't used symmetrically in English. For example "no" can be used as an adjective ("there are no cookies left") in a way that "yes" cannot. – Nate Eldredge May 21 '20 at 21:22
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    Reasons for this (difference) aside, this is a valid Skeptics question. (The whole "yes brain" theory probably deserves a separate question.) – Fizz May 21 '20 at 21:29
  • @DanielRHicks I read the post and the links in the text and did not find the answer. – miguelmorin May 21 '20 at 22:33
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    Anecdotal, but I'd venture to guess if you ask any parent, your average toddler probably does quite a bit to warrant a few "no"s in any given day – PC Luddite May 22 '20 at 03:43

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