Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 1, 2026

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
Communicative cues in the absence of a human interaction partner enhance 12-month-old infants' word learning
Sho Tsuji1, Nobuyuki Jincho2, Reiko Mazuka3
1International Research Center for Neurointelligence, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Departement d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure de Paris (ENS), École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), 75005 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Is infants' word learning boosted by nonhuman social agents? An on-screen virtual agent taught infants word-object associations in a setup where the presence of contingent and referential cues could be manipulated using gaze contingency. In the study, 12-month-old Japanese-learning children (N = 36) looked significantly more to the correct object when it was labeled after exposure to a contingent and referential display versus a noncontingent and nonreferential display. These results show that communicative cues can augment learning even for a nonhuman agent, a finding highly relevant for our understanding of the mechanisms through which the social environment supports language acquisition and for research on the use of interactive screen media.
More Related Videos
11:14A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants
Published on: October 4, 2015
06:35Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Language Development
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...
Non-Verbal Cues
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Nonconscious Mimicry
Purposive Learning
Relationship with Parents: Attachment