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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 20, 2025

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

Language background shapes third-party communication expectations in 14-month-old infants.

M Colomer¹, N Sebastian-Galles¹

¹Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain.

|May 28, 2020

Summary

Infants understand that communication requires a shared language. Bilingual infants, unlike monolinguals, expect speakers to use different languages effectively, suggesting early awareness of linguistic diversity.

Keywords:

Bilingualism Communication Infant social cognition Language Social affiliation Third-party expectations

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Last Updated: Dec 20, 2025

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

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

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

Published on: February 8, 2019

Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Linguistics
Cognitive Science

Background:

Infants learn language and expect speech to convey information.
Understanding communication relies on shared conventional systems like language.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if infants understand communication depends on shared languages.
To explore how monolingual vs. bilingual experience shapes infants' expectations of communication.

Main Methods:

14-month-old monolingual and bilingual infants observed two actresses.
Actresses spoke distinct or same foreign languages, with one communicating object preference.
Infants' expectations of effective communication were measured through their reactions.

Main Results:

Infants expected communication when actresses shared a language.
Bilingual infants, but not monolinguals, expected effective communication between speakers of distinct languages.
Bilingual infants showed surprise when communication failed between speakers of different languages.

Conclusions:

Infants expect shared conventional systems for effective communication.
Bilingualism fosters an expectation that speakers can navigate multiple linguistic systems.
Early language experience influences infants' understanding of social communication and language use.