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Object name learning provides on-the-job training for attention.
Linda B Smith1, Susan S Jones, Barbara Landau
1Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA. smith4@indiana.edu
Psychological Science
|March 15, 2002
Summary
Children learn to focus on shape when learning object names. This shape-focused learning helps them acquire new object names more efficiently, improving vocabulary development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Linguistics
Background:
- Children aged 3 can name objects and generalize names based on shape.
- Learning object names may direct attention to relevant properties like shape.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if learning object names hones children's attention to shape.
- To determine if this shape-focused attention facilitates further object name acquisition.
Main Methods:
- A 9-week longitudinal study with 17-month-old children.
- Experiment 1: Children learned names for shape-organized object categories.
- Experiment 2: Replicated findings, emphasizing category structure and name learning.
Main Results:
- Children generalized that similar shapes share names.
- Trained children showed increased acquisition of new object names.
- Learning coherent categories and names was crucial for shape attention.
Conclusions:
- Learning object names, particularly within shape-based categories, enhances attention to shape.
- This focused attention improves the ability to learn new object names.
- Early learning experiences shape attentional biases for efficient vocabulary acquisition.