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Object movement in preschool children's word learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2009

JASON SCOFIELD ,
ANDREA MILLER  and
TRAVIS HARTIN
JASON SCOFIELD*
Affiliation:
University of Alabama
ANDREA MILLER
Affiliation:
University of Alabama
TRAVIS HARTIN
Affiliation:
University of Alabama
*
Address for correspondence: Jason Scofield, 222 Child Development Research Center, Human Development and Family Studies, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0160. e-mail: scofield@ches.ua.edu
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Abstract

Two studies examined whether preschool children preferred to select a moving object over stationary objects when determining the referent of a novel word. In both studies three- and four-year-olds observed three novel objects, one moving object and two stationary objects. In Study 1, children (n=44) were asked to select the object that best matched a novel word. In Study 2, children (n=45) were asked to select the object that best matched a novel fact. Results across the two studies indicated that three- and four-year-olds showed a preference for selecting the moving object and that this preference was similar for both words and facts. These results suggest that preschool children are able to use movement to determine the referent of a novel word, especially when other cues are unavailable or unhelpful, but that movement may not be uniquely helpful for word learning.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 181 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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