Abstract

Cross-situational word learning (XSWL) – children’s ability to learn words by tracking co-occurrence statistics of words and their referents over time – has been identified as a fundamental mechanism underlying lexical learning. However, it is unknown whether children can acquire new words when faced with variable input in XSWL paradigms, such as varying object exemplars and variable speakers. In the present study, we examine the separate and combined effects of exemplar and speaker variability on XSWL in typically developing English-speaking monolingual children. Results revealed that variability in speakers and exemplars did not facilitate or hinder XSWL performance. However, input that varied in both speakers and exemplars simultaneously did hinder children’s word learning. Results from this work suggest that XSWL mechanisms may support categorization and generalization beyond word-object associations, but that accommodating multiple forms of variable input may incur costs. Overall, this research provides new theoretical insights into how fundamental mechanisms of word learning scale to more complex and naturalistic forms of input.

中文翻译：

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说话者和范例变异对儿童跨情境单词学习的影响

摘要

跨情境单词学习（XSWL）——儿童通过跟踪单词及其所指对象随时间的共现统计来学习单词的能力——已被确定为词汇学习的基本机制。然而，当面对 XSWL 范式中的可变输入（例如不同的对象范例和可变的说话者）时，儿童是否能够习得新单词尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们研究了典型的英语单语儿童中范例和说话者变异对 XSWL 的单独和综合影响。结果表明，说话者和范例的差异不会促进或阻碍 XSWL 的表现。然而，说话者和范例的输入同时变化确实阻碍了儿童的单词学习。这项工作的结果表明，XSWL 机制可能支持词-对象关联之外的分类和泛化，但容纳多种形式的变量输入可能会产生成本。总的来说，这项研究为单词学习的基本机制如何扩展到更复杂和自然的输入形式提供了新的理论见解。