Distinct labels attenuate 15-month-olds’ attention to shape in an inductive inference task

Frontiers in Psychology

Susan Annetta Graham¹  Melanie eKhu¹  Ena eVukatana¹  Jeany eKeates² 

[1] University of Calgary;University of Manitoba;

关键词: Cognition;    word learning;    generalization;    categorisation;    induction;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00586

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

We examined the role of distinct labels on infants’ inductive inferences. Thirty-six 15-month-old infants were presented with target objects that possessed a nonobvious property, followed by test objects that varied in shape similarity relative to the target. Infants were tested in one of two groups, a Same Label group in which target and test objects were labelled with the same noun, and a Distinct Label group in which target and test objects were labelled with different nouns. When target and test objects were labelled with the same count noun, infants generalized the nonobvious property to both test objects, regardless of similarity to the target. In contrast, labeling the target and test objects with different count nouns attenuated infants’ generalization of the nonobvious property to both high and low similarity test objects. Our results suggest that by 15-months, infants recognize that object labels provide information about underlying object kind and appreciate that distinct labels are used to designate members of different categories.

【 授权许可】

Unknown