Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 20, 2025
06:07
Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
8.9K
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.
Cognition
|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.
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.
Keywords:
BilingualismCommunicationInfant social cognitionLanguageSocial affiliationThird-party expectationsMore Related Videos
05:35Experience 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
7.0K
07:31Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms
Published on: February 8, 2019
7.1K
Related Concept Videos
01:22Language Development
727
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 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...
727
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment
164
Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
164
01:21The Nativist Approach
307
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...
307
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
337
Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
Primary Temperament Types
337
01:27Language and Cognition
623
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.
623
01:20Attachment
403
Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
403