Exploring Cues of Reciprocity in Third-Party Word Learning

This study examined how toddlers learn novel words by observing two adults interact in third-party contexts. Specifically, we examined whether toddlers show stronger evidence of selective referent identification for labeled objects in third-party contexts and how word learning may be supported by cues of reciprocity between adult interlocutors, including physical exchange of the object, verbal exchange about the object, and/or the adult listener's response to the information provided. Toddlers (n = 64, Mage = 29.9 mos., SD = 1.7 mos) were assigned to one of four conditions: Object Exchange + Action Imitation, Object Exchange Only, Verbal Exchange + Label Repetition, or Verbal Exchange Only. In the Object Exchange conditions, children observed one adult speaker label and manipulate a target object and then hand it to another adult listener, who either imitated the object manipulation or held the object without manipulation. In the Verbal Exchange conditions, one adult speaker labeled and manipulated the target object without handing it over, and the other adult listener either repeated the label or provided a neutral verbal response. Children's learning was assessed by whether they selected the target object in response to its label; preference responses were used to distinguish target selection from object preference. Children showed stronger evidence of selective referent identification in the Object Exchange conditions compared to the Verbal Exchange conditions. These results suggest that physical exchange of a labeled object between adult interlocutors may help toddlers identify the interaction as referentially relevant and therefore support word learning in third-party contexts.