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The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

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Fast-mapping placeholders: Using words to talk about kinds.

Susan A Gelman¹, Amanda C Brandone

¹University of Michigan.

Language Learning and Development : the Official Journal of the Society for Language Development

|November 10, 2011

Summary

Children use a "kind" concept for fast-mapping object labels, forming skeletal meanings that evolve. This suggests word learning relies on more than just associations, with generics being a default early interpretation.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science
Linguistics

Background:

Fast-mapping enables rapid word acquisition from minimal input.
Children's initial word meanings are proposed as flexible placeholders for later extension.
The role of conceptual structure in early word learning is a key area of inquiry.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose that the concept of "kind" is fundamental to children's initial object label mappings.
To explore the acquisition of generic noun phrases as evidence for kind-based mapping.
To investigate the implications of generic noun phrase acquisition for word learning mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Analysis of children's understanding of generic noun phrases.
Theoretical modeling of word learning mechanisms.
Review of existing evidence on early word acquisition.

Main Results:

Children interpret generic noun phrases as kind-referring from an early age.
The acquisition of generics suggests conceptual structure, specifically "kind," underpins fast-mapping.
Evidence indicates that associative learning alone is insufficient for acquiring generics.

Conclusions:

A notion of "kind" is crucial for children's fast-mapping of object labels.
Generic noun phrase acquisition supports a conceptual-based account of word learning.
Early word learning, particularly generics, may default to conceptual interpretations rather than purely associative processes.