Labeling guides object individuation in 12-month-old infants. 2005

Fei Xu, and Melissa Cote, and Allison Baker
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. fei@psych.ubc.ca

A new manual search method was used to investigate the impact of naming on object individuation in 12-month-old infants. In Experiment 1, on a two-word trial, an experimenter looked into a box while the infant was watching and provided two labels (e.g., "Look, a fep!" and "Look, a wug!"). On a one-word trial, the experimenter instead repeated the same label (e.g., "Look, a zav!"). After the infant retrieved one object from the box, subsequent search behavior was recorded. Infants searched more persistently (i.e., for a longer duration) after hearing two labels than one, suggesting that hearing two labels led the infants to expect two objects inside the box. In Experiment 2, infants' search behavior did not differ depending on whether they heard one or two emotional expressions, suggesting that the facilitation effect observed in Experiment 1 may be specific to linguistic expressions. Thus, we provide the first evidence that infants as young as 12 months are able to use intentional and referential cues to guide their object representations. These findings also suggest that a rudimentary version of the mutual-exclusivity constraint may be functional by the end of the first year.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D008297 Male Males
D002663 Child Language The language and sounds expressed by a child at a particular maturational stage in development. Child Languages,Language, Child,Languages, Child
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012660 Semantics The relationships between symbols and their meanings. Semantic
D013060 Speech Communication through a system of conventional vocal symbols. Public Speaking,Speaking, Public
D014705 Verbal Behavior Includes both producing and responding to words, either written or spoken. Behavior, Verbal,Behaviors, Verbal,Verbal Behaviors
D018730 Infant Behavior Any observable response or action of a neonate or infant up through the age of 23 months. Behavior, Infant

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