Object Shape and Depth of Word Representations in Preschoolers

This study examined the effect of a shape cue (i.e., co-speech gesture) on word depth. We taught 23 preschoolers (M = 3;5 years, SD = 5.82) novel objects with either shape (SHP) or indicator (IND) gestures. SHP gestures mimicked object form, but IND gestures were not semantically related to the object (e.g., an upward-facing palm, extended toward the object). Each object had a unique IND or SHP gesture. Outcome measures reflected richer semantic and phonological learning in the SHP than in the IND condition. In the SHP condition, preschoolers (a) expressed more semantic knowledge, (b) said more sounds in names, and (c) generalized more names to untaught objects. There were also fewer disruptions to prime picture names in the SHP condition; we discuss the benefit of a co-speech shape gesture to capitalize on well-established statistical word learning patterns.