Expectations of Processing Ease, Informativeness, and Accuracy Guide Toddlers' Processing of Novel Communicative Cues
Marie Aguirre1, Mélanie Brun2, Olivier Morin3,4
1Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Institute of Language and Communication Sciences, University of Neuchâtel.
Cognitive Science
|November 11, 2023
Summary
Toddlers expect novel communication to be easy and beneficial. These cognitive utility expectations guide their learning, even when evidence suggests otherwise, favoring efficient communication systems.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Learning novel communicative cues involves navigating complex hypothesis spaces.
- Theories suggest learners simplify this by expecting cues to have low processing costs and high cognitive benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether toddlers' processing of novel communicative cues is guided by expectations of cognitive utility.
- To test if toddlers assume cues are easy to process and highly informative.
Main Methods:
- Three studies involved 90 toddlers searching for a hidden reward.
- An adult used an ambiguous, novel cue to indicate the reward's location.
- Processing costs and cognitive benefits of cue interpretations were manipulated.
Main Results:
- Toddlers' processing of novel cues was influenced by expectations of low processing costs and high cognitive benefits.
- Toddlers treated cues as easy, informative, and accurate, persisting even with contrary evidence.
Conclusions:
- Expectations of cognitive utility shape the processing of novel communicative cues from toddlerhood.
- Toddlers' learning processes exert pressure favoring cognitive efficiency in communication systems.
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