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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language Development

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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.
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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...
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Learning Disabilities01:25

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Learning disabilities are cognitive disorders caused by neurological impairments that affect cognitive functions like language and reading, without indicating overall intellectual or developmental challenges. These disabilities differ from global intellectual or developmental disabilities as they are limited to distinct cognitive functions. Common learning disabilities include dysgraphia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, each of which impacts unique aspects of learning.
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Components of Language01:24

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Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
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Language and Cognition01:27

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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.
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Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

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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.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms
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Distributional structure in language: contributions to noun-verb difficulty differences in infant word recognition.

Jon A Willits1, Mark S Seidenberg2, Jenny R Saffran2

  • 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.

Cognition
|June 9, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Infants

Keywords:
Language acquisitionStatistical learningVerb learningWord recognition

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Infants show difficulty recognizing verbs compared to nouns.
  • Distributional contexts of words influence infant word recognition.
  • Statistical learning plays a role in early language acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how distributional statistics affect infant word recognition.
  • To explore noun-verb differences in infant word recognition.
  • To determine if infants utilize contextual frames for word learning.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted with 7.5- and 9.5-month-old infants.
  • The frequency of contextual frames for verbs was manipulated.
  • Infant word recognition was assessed based on exposure to different statistical patterns.

Main Results:

  • Distributional statistics significantly impact infant word recognition.
  • Infants' ability to recognize verbs is influenced by their surrounding word contexts.
  • Evidence supports the utilization of distributional statistics by infant language learners.

Conclusions:

  • Distributional statistics are crucial for infant word recognition.
  • Contextual cues aid infants in distinguishing between nouns and verbs.
  • Infant language acquisition relies on statistical learning from ambient language input.