Document Detail


Acquisition of word-object associations by 14-month-old infants.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  9823513     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The following experiments were designed to determine the age at which infants can first readily learn word--object pairings with only minimal exposure and without social or contextual support. To address this question, 8- to 14-month-old infants were tested on their ability to form word--object associations in a "switch" design. Infants were habituated to 2 word--object pairings and then tested with 1 trial that maintained a familiar word--object pairing and 1 that involved a familiar word and object in a new combination. Across 6 experiments, only 14-month-old infants formed word--object associations under these controlled testing conditions but appeared to do so only when the objects were moving. Although 8- to 12-month-olds did not form the associations, they appeared to process both the word and the object information. These studies provide strong evidence that 14-month-old infants can rapidly learn arbitrary associations between words and objects, that this ability appears to develop at about 14 months of age, and that the Switch design is a useful method for assessing word--object learning in infancy.
Authors:
J F Werker; L B Cohen; V L Lloyd; M Casasola; C L Stager
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Developmental psychology     Volume:  34     ISSN:  0012-1649     ISO Abbreviation:  Dev Psychol     Publication Date:  1998 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1999-03-11     Completed Date:  1999-03-11     Revised Date:  2007-11-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0260564     Medline TA:  Dev Psychol     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1289-309     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. jwerker@cortex.psych.ubc.ca
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Age Factors
Child Language*
Female
Humans
Infant
Language Development*
Male
Verbal Learning*
Vocabulary*
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
HD 23397/HD/NICHD NIH HHS

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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