Novel labels support 10-month-olds’ attention to novel objects

Mather, Emily; Plunkett, Kim

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2009.11.004

Cited by 46 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Consistent with previous studies, the critical time window began 300 ms after word onset (to account for planning an eye movement) and lasted 3,000 ms. Trials on which children were not looking at either of the two pictures at the onset of the word were excluded (24.2% of the dataset) [12–16]. In experiment 1, each child contributed an average of just under six test trials for each condition out of a possible eight (predictable: mean = 5.8, SD = 1.5; unpredictable: mean = 5.9, SD = 1.6).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictable Events Enhance Word Learning in Toddlers

Benitez

Saffran

2018

Current Biology

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SUMMARY Sensitivity to the predictability of the environment supports young children’s learning in many domains [1, 2], including language [3–6]; perception [7, 8]; and the processing of objects, space, and time [1, 9]. Predictable regularities allow observers to generate expectations about upcoming events and to learn from violations of those expectations [10, 11]. Given the benefits of detecting both predictable and unpredictable events, a key question concerns which types of input facilitate learning in young children. In the current research, we assessed the effects of predictability on toddlers’ word learning by embedding word-learning moments within events that were either predicted or violated predictions. 2-year-olds observed a continuous visual sequence in which novel objects were revealed from one of four locations in a predictable spatiotemporal pattern (1, 2, 3, 4). Objects were then labeled either during events that were predicted by the sequence (1, 2, 3, 4) or events that violated the sequence (1, 2, 3, 2). Results from two studies revealed better word learning for objects labeled during predictable events than objects labeled during unpredictable events. These findings suggest that predictable events create advantageous learning moments for toddlers, with implications for the role played by predictable input in early development.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictable Events Enhance Word Learning in Toddlers

Benitez

Saffran

2018

Current Biology

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“…This may facilitate cross-language learning of synonyms. However, it may also inhibit learning within a language, where known words can facilitate the acquisition of novel words (Mather & Plunkett, 2010). That is, if monolinguals use mutual exclusivity to enhance their learning rate, and bilingual infants reduce their use of mutual exclusivity, this should reduce their learning rate within and possibly across languages.…”

Section: Cross-language Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semantic facilitation in bilingual first language acquisition

et al. 2015

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“…In Mather and Plunkett (2010), 10-month-olds viewed pairs of familiar and novel objects and heard different labeling phrases. Prior to naming, the infants preferred to look at the novel objects; yet their looking behavior diverged upon hearing different phrases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Novelty in Early Word Learning

Mather

Plunkett

2012

Cognitive Science

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What mechanism implements the mutual exclusivity bias to map novel labels to objects without names? Prominent theoretical accounts of mutual exclusivity (e.g., Markman, 1989Markman, , 1990 propose that infants are guided by their knowledge of object names. However, the mutual exclusivity constraint could be implemented via monitoring of object novelty (see Merriman, Marazita, & Jarvis, 1995). We sought to discriminate between these contrasting explanations across two preferential looking experiments with 22-month-olds. In Experiment 1, infants viewed three objects: one nameknown, two name-unknown. Of the two name-unknown objects, one was novel, and the other had been previously familiarized. The infants responded to hearing a novel label by increasing attention only to the novel, name-unknown object. In a second experiment in which the name-known object was absent, a novel label increased infants' attention to a novel object beyond baseline preference for novelty. The experiments provide clear evidence for a novelty-based mechanism. However, differences in the time course of disambiguation across experiments suggest that novelty processing may be influenced by contextual factors.

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Novel labels support 10-month-olds’ attention to novel objects

Cited by 46 publications

References 22 publications

Predictable Events Enhance Word Learning in Toddlers

Predictable Events Enhance Word Learning in Toddlers

Semantic facilitation in bilingual first language acquisition

The Role of Novelty in Early Word Learning

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