Caregivers use gesture contingently to support word learning.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Computational Linguistics
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Children learn words amidst environmental variability in referents and cues.
• Caregiver adaptation of gestural cues to referential uncertainty is underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how caregivers adapt gestural cues to referential uncertainty.
• To model cross-situational word learning with variable gesture cues.
• To examine the impact of environmental and gestural variability on word acquisition.

Main Methods:

• A computational model of cross-situational word learning was developed.
• The model assessed the benefit of variable gesture cues under different referential uncertainties.
• An experimental study with 18-24-month-old children and caregivers replicated model conditions.

Main Results:

• Gestural cues provided greater benefit under referential uncertainty.
• Optimal learning occurred with variability in both environmental referents and gestural cue use.
• Caregivers increased gesture use with more potential referents; children learned best with some referential ambiguity.

Conclusions:

• Caregivers are sensitive to environmental referential uncertainty and adjust gestures accordingly.
• Children benefit from environmental variability, leading to more robust word learning.
• Variable training circumstances can enhance, rather than impede, learning.