Adults and children predict in complex and variable referential contexts.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Prediction is theorized to support language processing and learning.
• Previous research often uses constrained stimuli, limiting ecological validity.
• Listeners' ability to predict with complex, naturalistic input remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate prediction generation in adults and children.
• To investigate prediction with complex visual and variable speech stimuli.
• To assess prediction in more naturalistic language contexts.

Main Methods:

• Three eye-tracking experiments were conducted with 72 adults and 72 children (4-5 years old).
• Stimuli included complex visual scenes, variable speech, and both concurrently.
• Participants' prediction generation was monitored via eye movements.

Main Results:

• Listeners successfully generated predictions with either complex visual or variable speech stimuli.
• When stimuli were more naturalistic, predictions were signaled using verbs.
• Adjectives and number markings did not effectively signal predictions in naturalistic contexts.

Conclusions:

• Listeners can generate predictions in ecologically relevant contexts.
• Prediction plays a role in language processing and learning, particularly with informative verbs.
• Further research is needed to understand prediction in naturalistic language environments.