Predictable locations aid early object name learning

Viridiana L. Benitez, Linda B. Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Expectancy-based localized attention has been shown to promote the formation and retrieval of multisensory memories in adults. Three experiments show that these processes also characterize attention and learning in 16- to 18-month old infants and, moreover, that these processes may play a critical role in supporting early object name learning. The three experiments show that infants learn names for objects when those objects have predictable rather than varied locations, that infants who anticipate the location of named objects better learn those object names, and that infants integrate experiences that are separated in time but share a common location. Taken together, these results suggest that localized attention, cued attention, and spatial indexing are an inter-related set of processes in young children that aid in the early building of coherent object representations. The relevance of the experimental results and spatial attention for everyday word learning are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)339-352
Number of pages14
JournalCognition
Volume125
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Attention
  • Development
  • Infancy
  • Word learning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Linguistics and Language
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

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