Development of children's understanding of the metalinguistic term word..

Designed 3 experiments to assess 24 preschool (mean age 64.63 mo), 24 1st-grade (mean age 76.25 mo), and 24 2nd grade (mean age 88.61 mo) children's understanding of the term word. A modified aural discrimination task was used in which Ss were required to discriminate word from nonword stimuli along only 1 dimension at a time. Exp I tested Ss' discrimination of words and sounds. Exp II examined word–phrase differentiation. Both of these experiments followed previous research in examining children's comprehension of the term word in relation to nouns. Exp III examined Ss' understanding of word with stimuli from a variety of form classes. Results indicate that Ss' word concepts have been underestimated in past research suggesting that young children lack an adequate word concept: although preschool Ss did not understand the term properly, by 1st grade word was understood. These experiments also show that Ss benefited from brief training in which they were taught to attach the metalinguistic label word to their developing concept of the word as a unit of spoken language. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the implicit learning of novel associations by amnesic patients and normal subjects.

Examined whether amnesic patients and normal Ss can acquire novel associations implicitly and whether such learning can occur rapidly in a single trial. In 2 experiments, Ss studied novel word pairs either once or multiple times and were then asked to read old, new, and recombined word pairs as quickly as possible. In this paradigm, the learning of novel associations would be indicated by slower reading times for recombined word pairs than for old word pairs. In a 3rd experiment, a perceptual identification paradigm was used to assess implicit learning of new associations. One-trial learning of new associations was not observed in the 1st 2 experiments, but learning of new associations did occur after multiple learning trials. An advantage of old vs recombined word pairs was obtained after a single trial only in Exp 3 (using perceptual identification) when the results were combined across S groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's use of syntactic cues to learn proper names and count nouns.

In 6 experiments, 144 toddlers were tested in groups ranging in mean age from 20 to 37 months. In all experiments, children learned a novel label for a doll or a stuffed animal. The label was modeled syntactically as either a count noun (e.g., "This is a ZAV") or a proper name (e.g., "This is ZAV"). The object was then moved to a new location in front of the child, and a second identical-looking object was placed nearby. The children's task was to choose 1 of the 2 objects as a referent for the novel word. By 24 months, both girls (Experiment 2) and boys (Experiment 5) were significantly more likely to select the labeled object if they heard a proper name than if they heard a count noun. At 20 months, neither girls (Experiments 1 and 6) nor boys (Experiment 1) demonstrated this effect. By their 2nd birthdays, children can use syntactic information to distinguish appropriately between labels for individual objects and those for object categories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for a form of mutual exclusivity during label acquisition by grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus)?

The authors present context-dependent evidence for a form of mutual exclusivity during label learning by Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus). For human children, mutual exclusivity refers to their assumption during early word learning that an object has one and only one label. Along with the whole-object assumption (that a label likely refers to an entire object rather than some partial aspect), mutual exclusivity is thought to guide children in initial label acquisition. It may also help children overcome the whole-object assumption by helping them interpret a novel word as something other than an object label, but for young children, any second label for an object can initially be more difficult to acquire than the first. The authors show that Grey parrots quickly learn object labels for items, then have considerable difficulty learning to use color labels with respect to a previously labeled item unless specifically taught to use a color and object label as a pair. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children associate novel words with complex objects rather than salient parts.

How do children learn associations between novel words and complex perceptual displays? Using a visual preference procedure, the authors tested 12- and 19-month-olds to see whether the infants would associate a novel word with a complex 2-part object or with either of that object's parts, both of which were potentially objects in their own right and 1 of which was highly salient to infants. At both ages, children's visual fixation times during test were greater to the entire complex object than to the salient part (Experiment 1) or to the less salient part (Experiment 2)--when the original label was requested. Looking times to the objects were equal if a new label was requested or if neutral audio was used during training (Experiment 3). Thus, from 12 months of age, infants associate words with whole objects, even those that could potentially be construed as 2 separate objects and even if 1 of the parts is salient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Habituation–dishabituation to speech in the neonate.

A counterbalanced between-groups design with repeated measures was used to demonstrate that both male and female neonates would habituate and dishabituate to repeated and novel speech sounds. 24 full-term newborns with a birth weight greater than 2,400 g and a mean age of 72.2 hrs served as Ss in a head-turning sound-localization task. Experimental Ss listened to repetitions of a 2-syllable word until they turned toward the sound. They then heard a new word in the dishabituation phase. This was followed by trials with the original word. Results indicate the reliable occurrence of 2 basic processes in the neonate: spatial orientation to sounds and response decrement to repeated speech sounds followed by response increment to novel speech sounds. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial behavior in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).

Investigated whether adult gerbils could use an allocentric frame of reference to efficiently solve a spatial memory task. 38 male Ss were allowed to explore an arena containing an object. The external reference frame was reduced to a single visual landmark. After habituation, Ss entered the arena from a new direction. A 2nd object, identical to the 1st object, was placed symmetrically with regard to the landmark. The 2nd object was explored more than the 1st object, a result showing that the 2nd object was differentiated on the basis of location. This result suggests that, during the course of exploration, Ss had learned about the spatial features of the experimental situation. It is suggested that Ss' final discrimination performance (preference for the novel stimulus location) reflected an allocentric rather than egocentric frame of reference. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing in the Stroop task: Mental set as a determinant of performance.

Examined whether the Stroop effect is inevitable under conditions where the stimuli and overt responses are held constant across 2 instructional conditions, but the mental set given to the Ss is different. 112 Ss responded to the print color of an irrelevant word that spelled a congruent or incongruent color word. In the CLASSIFY condition, Ss were instructed to map 1 color to 1 response button and the other color to another response button. In the DETECT condition, Ss were instructed to signal the presence of a target color with 1 response button, and its absence with another response button. The CLASSIFY instructions produced the standard result: The incongruent condition was slower than the congruent condition. In contrast, there was no Stroop effect given DETECT instructions. Results are discussed in terms of mental set as an important determinant of processing, and contrasted with the received view that reading the irrelevant word is largely "automatic" and virtually always results in a Stroop effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rapid word learning in 13- and 18-month-olds.

A number of theorists have argued that the productive naming explosion results from advances in abilities that underlie language learning (e.g., the realization that words are symbols, changes in conceptual structure, or the onset of word learning constraints). If any of these accounts are accurate, there should be parallel developments in comprehension. To explore this issue, 4 studies assessed whether pre- and postnaming explosion children differ in their ability to learn a new word after limited exposure. 13- and 18-mo-olds heard a new object label just 9 times in a 5-min training session and then their comprehension was assessed in a multiple-choice procedure. Under favorable testing conditions, both 18- and 13-mo-olds showed comprehension of the new word, even after a 24-hr delay. These results suggest that well before the productive naming explosion, children can learn a new object label quickly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isolation-induced aggression in newly hatched ducklings.

Describes 3 experiments with a total of 40 Khaki Campbell ducklings. In Exp I newly hatched Ss were initially housed in pairs and subsequently transferred to isolated housing conditions. Ss living with another bird displayed filial behavior and little aggression upon encountering another duckling in a test arena. In contrast, Ss housed in isolation exhibited aggressive pecking in addition to filial behavior when another duckling was subsequently encountered. In Exp II, Ss were housed with an imprinting object (i.e., an object that elicits attachment behavior) but were otherwise isolated from other birds. These Ss displayed little aggression when they were subsequently reunited with a conspecific, indicating that the aggression-precluding effects of social housing are not limited to the particular social stimulus with which the ducklings are housed. In Exp III, Ss were again housed with an imprinting object, but this time the object was behind glass, thereby precluding tactile contact with it. Since these Ss also exhibited little aggression when reunited with a conspecific, it is apparent that visual stimulation from an imprinting object is sufficient in itself to preclude subsequent aggression. Findings suggest that stimulation that elicits attachment behavior is the critical factor mediating isolation-induced aggression. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading strategies of fast and slow readers.

Evaluated in 3 S-paced experiments reading patterns at the word, line, and sentence levels for fast and slow readers. A moving-window method was used to collect word reading times for natural texts. At the reading level, reading times of word N were influenced by features of word N–2 for fast (but not slow) Ss. The lag effect shown by fast Ss indicates that they continue to process a word when it is no longer in view. Both reader groups processed many new arguments (NAs) from a sentence. However, fast Ss exhibited greater NA effects relative to lines, whereas slow Ss exhibited greater NA effects relative to sentences. Results are discussed in terms of a buffer-and-integrate model of reading comprehension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sens et référence: estimation subjective de la familiarité des concepts.

Studied differences between subjective perceptions of familiarity with the meaning of words and subjective perceptions of familiarity with their referents. 560 university students (aged 17–63 yrs) were presented with a set of 130 words from a list of 520 words encompassing 18 semantic categories. Familiarity with the meaning of a word was measured by asking Ss to evaluate the ease with which they would recognize a definition of the word. Familiarity with the referent was measured by asking Ss to evaluate the ease with which they would recognize a picture of the object corresponding to the word. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children can learn to communicate in a word-pair task: Evidence against egocentrism.

Showed 48 kindergarten, 48 2nd-, and 48 4th-grade Ss word-pairs (e.g., cow–horse) and asked them to generate a 1-word clue that did not rhyme with the target word (cow) so that another person could guess which was the underlined word. Each S was assigned to a good-communicator or poor-communicator group and was then assigned to a training condition or a no-training condition. Ss in the training condition were taught how to generate effective clues. The results indicate that training fosters an increase in clue generation ability and that communication ability in a word-pair task is modifiable. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Providing attachment objects to facilitate learning and reduce distress: Effects of mothers and security blankets.

Evaluated the effects of the presence of an attachment object on preschoolers' emotionality and discrimination performance in a novel learning situation. Maternal ratings were used to select 30 blanket-attached and 30 blanket-nonattached children. Either their mother, security blanket, or no familiar object was nearby while the Ss could key press for candy reward when a cue was given. Ss with mothers and blanket-attached Ss with blankets demonstrated no differences in discrimination performance and distress postponement, but they were superior to blanket-nonattached Ss with blankets and to Ss with no familiar object available. It is concluded that both social and inanimate attachment objects may serve to reduce young children's anxiety in novel situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can Language Do the Driving? The Effect of Linguistic Input on Infants' Categorization of Support Spatial Relations.

Two experiments explored the effect of linguistic input on 18-month-olds' ability to form an abstract categorical representation of support. Infants were habituated to 4 support events (i.e., one object placed on another) and were tested with a novel support and a novel containment event. Infants formed an abstract category of support (i.e., looked significantly longer at the novel than familiar relation) when hearing the word "on" during habituation but not when viewing the events in silence (Experiment 1) or when hearing general phrases or a novel word (Experiment 2). Results indicate that a familiar word can facilitate infants' formation of an abstract spatial category, leading them to form a category that they do not form in the absence of the word. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants' reactions to unfamiliar adults varying in novelty.

Assessed the 10-mo-old infant's reactions to a new adult as a function of the relative novelty of the adult. Each of the 12 Ss, in an unfamiliar environment with his mother, first faced a new adult who sat at a distance and responded simply to his overtures. In a 2nd contrast trial he faced the same new adult (familiarized adult) and another adult never before seen (novel adult). Ss reacted by looking and smiling at the new adults, but they smiled reliably more often at a more novel adult, whether the contrast was drawn between the initial minute with a new adult and later minutes or between the novel adult and the familiarized adult. Results are consonant with the proposition that the infant's smiles at new persons represent his active exploration of them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pictures in sentences: Understanding without words.

In 5 experiments with a total of 120 Ss of college age, sentences were presented in which a pictured object replaced a word (rebus sentences). Sentences were shown using rapid serial visual presentation at a rate of 10 or 12 words/second. With one set of materials (Exp I and II), Ss took longer to judge the plausibility of rebus sentences than all-word sentences, although the accuracy of judgment and of recall were similar for the 2 formats. With 2 new sets of materials (Exps III and V), rebus and all-word sentences were virtually equivalent except in 1 circumstance: when a picture replaced the noun in a familiar phrase such as seedless grapes. In contrast, when the task required overt naming of the rebus picture in a sentence context, latency to name the picture was markedly longer than to name the corresponding word, and the appropriateness of the sentence context affected picture naming but not word naming (Exp IV). It is concluded that the results fail to support theories that place word meanings in a specialized lexical entry. Instead, the results suggest that the lexical representation of a noun or familiar noun phrase provides a pointer to a nonlinguistic conceptual system, and it is in that system that the meaning of a sentence is constructed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of object movement on infants' decision of object structure.

Explored the 6-mo-old's ability to recognize an object in a new orientation after being familiarized with the object while it was moving. In Exp I with a total of 58 Ss, there were 4 experimental conditions in which the object moved in different ways during familiarization and a control in which movement was minimal. The Ss in 3 of the movement conditions showed significant differentiation between the novel and familiar objects, whereas Ss in the control group did not, suggesting that movement does facilitate recognition. In the condition in which the infants could observe continuous transformations from one orientation to the next, there was no significant differentiation; the data suggest that the apparent difficulty in this case was due, in general, to the complexity of the movement and, in particular, to rotation. Translatory movement seemed to be the most effective in helping the Ss learn to recognize the object regardless of its orientation. Exp II, with 24 Ss, confirmed that 6-mo-olds learn or detect an object's structure faster during translation than during rotation. The role of optical change in the detection of an object's invariant structure is discussed. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binocular vision and spatial perception on 4- and 5-month-old infants.

Conducted 4 experiments investigating the relation between the development of binocular vision and infant spatial perception. Exps I and II compared monocular depth perception in 39 4- and 5-mo-old infants. Results show that Ss in both age groups reached more consistently for the nearer of 2 objects under binocular viewing conditions than under monocular viewing conditions. Exps III and IV investigated whether the superiority of binocular depth perception in 89 4-mo-olds is related to the development of sensitivity to binocular disparity. In Exps I–II, under binocular viewing conditions, Ss who were identified as disparity-sensitive reached more consistently for the nearer object than did Ss who were identified as disparity-insensitive. The 2 group's performances did not differ under monocular viewing conditions. Results suggest that, binocularly, the disparity-sensitive Ss perceived the objects' distances more accurately than did the disparity-insensistive Ss. In Exps II–IV when Ss were habituated to an object, then presented with the same object and a novel object that differed only in size, disparity-sensitive Ss showed size constancy by recovering from habituation when viewing the novel object. Disparity-insensitive Ss did not show clear evidence of size constancy. Findings suggest that the development of sensitivity to binocular disparity is accompanied by a substantial increase in the accuracy of infant spatial perception. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Automaticity of word recognition under phonics and whole-word instruction.

38 undergraduates learned to read words spelled with novel letters under phonics or whole-word conditions. Training was carried through several overlearning trials, and vocalization latency of word recognition responses was measured. On initial overlearning trials, vocalizations of phonics Ss were faster than those of whole-word Ss. At no stage of overlearning were whole-word Ss faster than phonics Ss. Vocalization latencies declined as overlearning progressed at approximately equal rates for phonics and whole-word Ss but did not reach fully automated speeds. Correlations of vocalization latencies from overlearning trials and a baseline task indicated that whole-word instruction resulted in word recognition mechanisms similar to fully automated mechanisms but that phonics instruction did not. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)