Infant object exploration during an object-label mapping task

• In Event: Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Topic - Language, Communication

Abstract

Studies have revealed a link between motor and language development, where gains in locomotor skills correspond to increases in receptive and productive vocabulary (Oudgenoeg-Paz et al., 2016; Walle & Campos, 2014). Increased object and environmental exploration seems to mediate this relationship (Oudgenoeg-Paz et al., 2015). In the context of word learning during dyadic play, infants map a word to an object better if a caregiver delivers the label during object exploration because it provides an optimal moment of visual attention (Smith & Yu, 2012). Additionally, infants who create more varied object views during a play session have greater vocabulary sizes later in development (Slone et al., 2019). This growing body of work demonstrates an established relationship between action and language development, yet we do not understand how in the moment object exploration and different object views impact word learning. The present study aims to examine the role of object exploration, including varied object views, during an object-label mapping task.

Thirty 18-21-month-old infants sat in a highchair across from an eye-tracker (Tobii x2-60). After calibration, infants proceeded through 15 learning trials divided between three conditions. Three objects were paired with a novel label; each was presented 4 times with auditory stimuli using carrier phrases (novel label repeated 3 times). The other three objects remained unlabeled but were referred to ambiguously. The timing of the object, label, and object manipulation varied according to 3 conditions. One condition was visual only; infants did not manipulate the objects. Two conditions allowed object manipulation but differed in their timing of label. In-Sync condition: Infants heard the label while manipulating the object. Out-of-Sync condition: Infants heard the label while viewing the object and then were allowed to manipulate it. The learning trials were followed by 12 test trials (4 trials per labeled object), in which the labeled object was tested against one of the unlabeled objects.

Results show that infants manipulate the object similarly across all conditions, but they observe their own object movements more in the In-Sync condition than the Out-of-Sync condition (Z = -2.22, p = 0.026). This indicates that the synchronous moment of hearing the label while holding the object can drive visual attention towards the object. Subsequently, longer bouts of observed, self-created object movement in the In-Sync condition was related to better learning of the novel label (rs = 0.415, p = 0.31). The amount of movement alone was not related to learning, which supports that the visual attention during these moments plays an important role in learning. These results provide support that active exploration of the object while hearing its label promotes better object-label mapping.

Authors

• Abigail DiMercurio, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
  Presenting Author

• Daniela Corbetta, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
  Non-Presenting Author