Event perception by children in the early stages of language production

The distribution of attention to the actors in a visual event and the influence of linguistic variables on attention were studied. 1-word and 2-word children viewed a filmed event that portrayed a brief agent-action-recipient sequence in the presence of a nonparticipant. The event was accompanied by linguistic input that was general or named an actor. A habituation paradigm was used with a cardiac response measure. Response recovery to brief occlusions of the actors in the test trials indicated the existence of a neutral period before the action began during which attention was evenly distributed across the actors. During and after the action, the agent commanded a priority in the distribution of attention. Naming an actor had a strong directing influence on attention in the neutral period and more limited effects on attention during and after the action. There were no effects of sex or language status.