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When does an ostrich become a bird? The role of typicality in early word comprehension
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WHEN DOES AN OSTRICH BECOME A BIRD? THE ROLE OF TYPICALITY IN EARLY WORD COMPREHENSION Kerstin Meints and Paul Harris Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, U.K. Which objects are children willing to accept as referents of words they understand? With the exception of diary-based research, most investigations of this issue have involved children beyond 18 months. Hence, little has been firmly established regarding the role of typicality in the initial acquisition of the lexicon. Using preferential looking as an index of comprehension, we examined two issues. First, it was anticipated that infants might link any new name to a mental representation of a category that is biased toward typical members. In that case, infants should recognise typical instances of a named category more easily than atypical instances. To test this prediction, children’s early word comprehension was investigated using images of typical and atypical category members. They were presented with photographs of two different objects and heard the name of one of the two objects - (i.e. the so-called target as opposed to the distracter). Both the target and the distracter could be either typical or atypical members of their category. The experimental prediction was that preferential looking to the target (as opposed to the distracter) would be greater if the target was a typical rather than an atypical member of the named category. The second issue concerned age changes in the impact of typicality. One possibility is that as infants acquire a name for a given category, and then broaden their understanding of that name to include atypical as well as typical members, the impact of typicality is attenuated - so that they respond similarly to typical and atypical instances of the category. The second possibility is that, notwithstanding any extension of the category name to new instances, typicality effects continue to operate throughout development, reflecting a fundamental and enduring aspect of the process. This latter possibility is consistent with much research with adults who show typicality effects despite their ability to appropriately name a broad range of category members. To examine, this prediction, infants of 12- and l&months were compared in order to find out if typicality effects were equally potent at both ages.
WHEN DOES AN OSTRICH BECOME A BIRD? THE ROLE OF TYPICALITY IN EARLY WORD COMPREHENSION Kerstin Meints and Paul Harris Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, U.K. Which objects are children willing to accept as referents of words they understand? With the exception of diary-based research, most investigations of this issue have involved children beyond 18 months. Hence, little has been firmly established regarding the role of typicality in the initial acquisition of the lexicon. Using preferential looking as an index of comprehension, we examined two issues. First, it was anticipated that infants might link any new name to a mental representation of a category that is biased toward typical members. In that case, infants should recognise typical instances of a named category more easily than atypical instances. To test this prediction, children’s early word comprehension was investigated using images of typical and atypical category members. They were presented with photographs of two different objects and heard the name of one of the two objects - (i.e. the so-called target as opposed to the distracter). Both the target and the distracter could be either typical or atypical members of their category. The experimental prediction was that preferential looking to the target (as opposed to the distracter) would be greater if the target was a typical rather than an atypical member of the named category. The second issue concerned age changes in the impact of typicality. One possibility is that as infants acquire a name for a given category, and then broaden their understanding of that name to include atypical as well as typical members, the impact of typicality is attenuated - so that they respond similarly to typical and atypical instances of the category. The second possibility is that, notwithstanding any extension of the category name to new instances, typicality effects continue to operate throughout development, reflecting a fundamental and enduring aspect of the process. This latter possibility is consistent with much research with adults who show typicality effects despite their ability to appropriately name a broad range of category members. To examine, this prediction, infants of 12- and l&months were compared in order to find out if typicality effects were equally potent at both ages.