The role of gaze direction and mutual exclusivity in guiding 24‐month‐olds' word mappings

Graham, Susan A.; Nilsen, Elizabeth S.; Collins, Sarah; Olineck, Kara M.

doi:10.1348/026151009x424565

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Ostensive naming may facilitate word learning due to social pragmatic cues. A rich literature demonstrates that social pragmatic cues, such as pointing and eye-gaze, are highly beneficial in early word learning (e.g., Akhtar and Tomasello, 1996; Moore et al, 1999; Graham et al, 2010; Grassmann and Tomasello, 2010). Horst and Samuelson (2008) used pointing as a social pragmatic cue during ostensive naming, but no cues during follow-in labeling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Right Thing at the Right Time: Why Ostensive Naming Facilitates Word Learning

Axelsson¹,

Churchley²,

Horst³

2012

Front. Psychology

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The current study examines how focusing children’s attention immediately after fast mapping improves their ability to retain novel names. Previous research suggests that young children can only retain novel names presented via referent selection if ostensive naming is provided and that such explicit naming works by increasing children’s attention to the target and decreasing their attention to the competitor objects (Horst and Samuelson, 2008). This explanation of the function of ostensive naming after referent selection trials was tested by drawing 24-month-old children’s attention to the target either by illuminating the target, covering the competitors, or both. A control group was given a social pragmatic cue (pointing). Children given social pragmatic cue support did not demonstrate retention. However, children demonstrated retention if the target object was illuminated, and also when it was illuminated and the competitors simultaneously dampened. This suggests that drawing children’s attention to the target object in a manner that helps focus children’s attention is critical for word learning via referent selection. Directing attention away from competitors while also directing attention toward a target also aids in the retention of novel words.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Right Thing at the Right Time: Why Ostensive Naming Facilitates Word Learning

Axelsson¹,

Churchley²,

Horst³

2012

Front. Psychology

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“…For example, toddlers tend to ignore gaze when it is in conflict with the child's knowledge of lexical conventions or when a speaker looks at a familiar object and uses a novel word (Graham, Nilsen, Collins, & Olineck, 2010;Jaswal, 2010;Jaswal & Hansen, 2006).…”

Section: Pragmatic Information Children Use In Word Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, when a speaker does not speak a certain language or has a history of unconventional language use, children do not seem to exclude any of the available objects as potential referents of the speaker's utterance (Diesendruck, 2005;Diesendruck, Carmel, & Markson, 2010;Diesendruck & Markson, 2001;Grassmann, Schreiner, & Tomasello, 2011;Sobel, Sedivy, Buchanan, & Hennessy, 2011). Forth, exclusion is facilitated when the speaker's gaze, gestures, and/or language provides converging evidence (Graham et al, 2010;Saylor, Sabbagh, & Baldwin, 2002).…”

Section: Contrast and Conventionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The pragmatics of word learning

Grassmann¹

2014

Trends in Language Acquisition Research

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The reason for the basic role of observations […] (Quine, 1974: 37) Children use and integrate a variety of information when learning novel words. Most strikingly, children are skillful in drawing inferences about speakers' intentions. This chapter reviews the current state of affairs regarding the wide variety of pragmatic information that children employ in word learning. Current debates on whether seemingly pragmatic phenomena in word learning should be explained by simpler processes are addressed throughout the chapter. Suggestions for future research directions are made. Finally, I suggest that in order to acknowledge the role that pragmatic information plays in word learning, the field needs to come to an agreement on what it is that children acquire in word learning: word-object/concept-associations or means to communicate and direct other's attention to certain objects?

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“…Like imitation, labelling occurs within a social context. Parental object labelling is frequent and predictable during early development such that by 2 years of age, children reliably use social cues (eye‐gaze) conveyed by a social agent to learn object‐label pairings (Graham, Nilsen, Collins, & Olineck, ). These types of social learning environments also support toddlers’ ability to use a provided label to transfer learning from pictures to real‐world objects (Geraghty, Waxman, & Gelman, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How self‐generated labelling shapes transfer of learning during early childhood: The role of individual differences

Moser

Olsen

Rusnak

et al. 2018

British J of Dev Psycho

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Multiple factors influence imitation during toddlerhood, including task complexity, social contingency, and individual differences. We conducted a secondary data analysis of individual differences in self-generated labelling using data collected from a complex puzzle imitation task with 355 2- to 3-year-olds. This analysis indicated that toddlers' ability to label the completed puzzle (fish or boat) was associated with better imitation performance. Labelling occurs during social interactions; therefore, our second analysis tested how labelling differed as a function of the level of social scaffolding in each condition. This analysis revealed that self-generated labelling was lower when the social demonstrator was removed and the task was presented on a touchscreen. This study is one of the first to examine self-generated labelling during a complex imitation task in toddlers and increases our understanding of the complexity of memory processing needed for imitation learning. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Toddlers exhibit a transfer of learning deficit from 2D media, including books, TV, and tablets. Self-generated labelling enhances children's learning, through attentional and cognitive mechanisms. Children are sensitive to reduced social cues in screen media contributing to the transfer deficit. What does this study add? Self-generated labelling is associated with better goal imitation performance. Self-generated labelling occurs more frequently under social conditions.

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The role of gaze direction and mutual exclusivity in guiding 24‐month‐olds' word mappings

Cited by 23 publications

References 54 publications

The Right Thing at the Right Time: Why Ostensive Naming Facilitates Word Learning

The Right Thing at the Right Time: Why Ostensive Naming Facilitates Word Learning

The pragmatics of word learning

How self‐generated labelling shapes transfer of learning during early childhood: The role of individual differences

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