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Related Experiment Videos

Two-year-olds readily learn multiple labels for the same basic-level category

C B Mervis1, R M Golinkoff, J Bertrand

  • 1Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.

Child Development
|August 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Children often learn new words by associating them with known object categories. This study shows 2-year-olds treat novel terms as additional basic-level names for familiar objects, supporting early lexical development theories.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Two primary frameworks exist for lexical principles: Golinkoff, Mervis, & Hirsh-Pasek and Markman.
  • These frameworks generally align on how toddlers interpret new words, but diverge in specific scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate 2-year-olds' interpretation of novel terms when labels for all objects are already known.
  • To test predictions from existing lexical development frameworks in a specific ambiguous context.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted with 58 subjects (2-year-olds).
  • Participants were presented with novel terms in situations where all objects present had known labels.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • The novel term was predominantly interpreted as a second basic-level name for the object's category.
  • A significant majority (50 out of 58) of children favored basic-level over part-level responses.

Conclusions:

  • Findings suggest toddlers extend novel terms to existing basic-level categories when familiar labels are present.
  • Results inform models of early lexical development, particularly regarding word learning strategies in ambiguous situations.