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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to exist...
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Language01:16

Language

Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
05:35

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

Using Language to Navigate the Infant Mind.

Laura Wagner1, Laura Lakusta2

  • 1Ohio State University wagner.602@osu.edu.

Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science
|February 18, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Infants may represent events by mirroring linguistic structures. Research suggests early conceptual representations align closely with language categories, particularly for motion and semantic roles.

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Last Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
05:35

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Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
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Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms
07:31

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Understanding how infants form conceptual representations of events is crucial.
  • Linguistic theory offers a framework for analyzing semantic structures in language.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether infants' event representations reflect linguistic semantic structures.
  • To examine if infants represent motion events using components like path and manner.
  • To determine if infants use semantic roles (agent, patient) in event representation.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent infant cognition research.
  • Analysis of prominent linguistic theories on semantic roles and event components (Talmy, Jackendoff, Dowty).
  • Focus on studies guided by linguistic categories with potential nonlinguistic correlates.

Main Results:

  • Infant cognition findings are consistent with representations mirroring linguistic categories.
  • Evidence suggests infants' event representations align with proposed linguistic components (e.g., path, manner).
  • Infants' use of semantic roles in event representation appears linked to linguistic structures.

Conclusions:

  • Infant conceptual representations of events closely reflect linguistic categories.
  • Linguistic frameworks are valuable tools for investigating early cognitive development.
  • Language provides a useful lens for posing questions about infants' nonlinguistic conceptualizations.