Infants as Young as 15 Months Can Learn Words Without Seeing the Objects

A recent study by researchers at Northwestern University and Harvard University has unveiled that infants as young as 15 months can infer the meanings of unfamiliar words solely through language cues, without needing to see the corresponding objects. This discovery provides new insights into the early stages of language acquisition and cognitive development in children.​

The research team, led by Sandra Waxman, the Louis W. Menk Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University and director of the Infant and Child Development Center, along with co-author Elena Luchkina, a research scientist at Harvard University, conducted a series of experiments involving 134 infants—67 aged 12 months and 67 aged 15 months.​

The study comprised a three-part task designed to assess the infants' ability to associate new words with objects:​

Familiarization Phase: Infants were shown images of common fruits, such as apples and bananas, while hearing their corresponding names.​

Exposure to Novel Word: Infants listened to a conversation that included a new word, like "kumquat," in the context of familiar fruits, but without any visual representation of the kumquat.​

Identification Task: Later, infants were presented with two novel objects—a kumquat and an unrelated item, such as a whisk—and were asked, "Where is the kumquat?"​

The results were telling. While 12-month-old infants did not show a significant preference, 15-month-old infants consistently looked longer at the kumquat when prompted, indicating they had formed an association between the new word and the appropriate object based solely on linguistic context.​

"Many people believe that success in word learning requires that the infant 'map' a new word to an object that is physically present," Waxman explained. "But in the natural course of a day, it is very common for us—and for infants—to hear words when the objects to which they refer are not available to our immediate perception."​

This study challenges the traditional notion that direct visual experience is necessary for word learning. Instead, it suggests that by 15 months, infants possess the cognitive ability to use contextual language cues to form mental representations—or "gists"—of new words, which they can later apply when encountering the actual objects.​

The researchers propose that the developmental difference between 12- and 15-month-olds may be due to the older infants' more extensive vocabulary and better understanding of familiar words, enabling them to make educated guesses about new words based on context.​

These findings have significant implications for our understanding of early language development. They highlight the importance of rich linguistic environments, where infants are exposed to a variety of words and contexts, even in the absence of direct object references.​

"The study shows that even babies who are just beginning to say their first words learn from the language they hear, even if the objects or events being discussed are not present," Waxman noted. "Babies take in what they hear, and even if no object is present, they form a mental representation, or 'gist' of the new word's meaning, one that is strong enough for them to use later when its referent object does appear."​

This research underscores the remarkable capacity of infants to learn and adapt, suggesting that the foundations of language acquisition are laid well before children begin to speak, through attentive listening and contextual inference.​

Source:https://www.the-scientist.com/targeting-a-fat-cell-receptor-to-drive-weight-loss-72929

This is non-financial/medical advice and made using AI so could be wrong.