2023/11/29 by Elise Breitfeld, Jenny R Saffran, Jenny R. Saffran · 3 citations
Psychology · Engineering · #Child and Animal Learning Development #Hearing Impairment and Communication #Spatial Cognition and Navigation
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/cdev.14046
During word learning moments, toddlers experience labels and objects in particular environments. Do toddlers learn words better when the physical environment creates contrasts between objects with different labels? Thirty-six 21- to 24-month-olds (92% White, 22 female, data collected 8/21-4/22) learned novel words for novel objects presented using an apparatus that mimicked a shape-sorter toy. The manipulation concerned whether or not the physical features of the environments in which objects occurred heightened the contrasts between the objects. Toddlers only learned labels for objects presented in environments where the apparatus heightened the contrast between the objects (b = .068). These results emphasize the importance of investigating word learning in physical environments that more closely approximate young children's everyday experiences with objects.