Object movement in preschool children's word learning

Abstract

Two studies examined whether preschool children preferred to select a moving object over stationary objects when determining the referent of a novel word. In both studies three- and four-year-olds observed three novel objects, one moving object and two stationary objects. In Study 1, children (n=44) were asked to select the object that best matched a novel word. In Study 2, children (n=45) were asked to select the object that best matched a novel fact. Results across the two studies indicated that three- and four-year-olds showed a preference for selecting the moving object and that this preference was similar for both words and facts. These results suggest that preschool children are able to use movement to determine the referent of a novel word, especially when other cues are unavailable or unhelpful, but that movement may not be uniquely helpful for word learning.

Early word learning is influenced by physical environments

“…For example, the quality of caregivers' linguistic input, along with the social cues that caregivers provide (such as pointing), affects children's ability to identify referents and learn words (e.g., Cartmill et al., 2013; Choi & Rowe, 2021; Salo et al., 2019; Tamis‐Lemonda et al., 2013). Additionally, the perceptual salience of objects and children's interest in particular object categories can direct their attention to the appropriate referent during word learning (e.g., Ackermann et al., 2020; Pruden et al., 2006; Scofield et al., 2011).…”