Too much of a good thing: How novelty biases and vocabulary influence known and novel referent selection in 18-month-old children and associative learning models

Identifying the referent of novel words is a complex process that young children do with relative ease. When given multiple objects along with a novel word, children select the most novel item, sometimes retaining the word‐referent link. Prior work is inconsistent, however, on the role of object novelty. Two experiments examine 18‐month‐old children's performance on referent selection and retention with novel and known words. The results reveal a pervasive novelty bias on referent selection with both known and novel names and, across individual children, a negative correlation between attention to novelty and retention of new word‐referent links. A computational model examines possible sources of the bias, suggesting novelty supports in‐the‐moment behavior but not retention. Together, results suggest that when lexical knowledge is weak, attention to novelty drives behavior, but alone does not sustain learning. Importantly, the results demonstrate that word learning may be driven, in part, by low‐level perceptual processes

Examining the incremental process of word learning: Word-form exposure and retention of new word-referent mappings

This study examines the process of learning new word-object mappings and how repeated exposure to word-forms impacts retention. Infants 18- and 24-months-of-age were first exposed to new word-object mappings in a referent selection task. To examine the influence of extra word-form repetitions on retention, newly mapped word-forms were repeated in a preferential listening task prior to a delayed retention test. Retention was tested in an object selection task. Consistent with prior work, infants performed very well on novel referent selection yet demonstrated a novelty bias on known referent selection trials that was especially prominent in the younger age group. There were no differences in listening times across age groups during the preferential listening task. However, there was some evidence that longer listening time predicted retention. As a group, 24-month-olds showed above chance retention of word-object mappings created during referent selection – an ability rarely seen at this age. This suggests additional exposure to word-forms after mapping may increase learning, at least in 24-month-old children. These findings both replicate prior work on children’s referent selection abilities and highlight the incremental and cascading nature of the processes that strengthen new word-object mappings over repetition and development

Reproducibility and a unifying explanation: Lessons from the shape bias

The goal of science is to advance our understanding of particular phenomena. However, in the field of development, the phenomena of interest are complex, multifaceted, and change over time. Here, we use three decades of research on the shape bias to argue that while replication is clearly an important part of the scientific process, integration across the findings of many studies that include variations in procedure is also critical to create a coherent understanding of the thoughts and behaviors of young children. The “shape bias,” or the tendency to generalize a novel label to novel objects of the same shape, is a reliable and robust behavioral finding and has been shown to predict future vocabulary growth and possible language disorders. Despite the robustness of the phenomenon, the way in which the shape bias is defined and tested has varied across studies and laboratories. The current review argues that differences in performance that come from even seemingly minor changes to the participants or task can offer critical insight to underlying mechanisms, and that working to incorporate data from multiple labs is an important way to reveal how task variation and a child’s individual pathway creates behavior—a key issue for understanding developmental phenomena

Measuring parents' regulatory media use for themselves and their children

IntroductionParents often use media to manage their own or their child's emotions and behaviors, which is called “regulatory media use.” While the use of media to alleviate negative emotions and behaviors may be helpful in the short-term, there may be negative consequences in the long-term (e.g., for children's development of self-regulatory skills). Research remains limited, often relying on a single, binary question asking whether a parent ever uses media to calm their child. To enable future research on the effects of regulatory media use, this paper described initial scale development efforts for measuring parents' regulatory media use for themselves (parent scale) and their children (child scale).MethodsThese scales were tested in an aggregate sample of parents with children 1–10 years old, and with each of three subsamples representing parents of children in infancy (15-25 months old), early childhood (2–5 years old), and middle childhood (5–10 years old).ResultsOverall, the results provide initial support for the scales as a reliable tool for measuring regulatory media use. Both scales for parents and children had a stable three-factor structure that held within each of the three subsamples. Further, both scales had predictive validity, each predicting parenting stress and child screen time.DiscussionBuilding upon earlier studies that often focused on single items to measure regulatory purposes, the initial scales appear to capture a multifaceted range of regulatory uses of media. The comprehensive measurement of regulatory media use enabled by these scales can inform more effective and tailored media guidelines and interventions, and the potential applications and implications for future research are discussed

Sometimes it is better to know less: How known words influence referent selection and retention in 18 to 24-month-old children

Young children are surprisingly good word learners. Despite their relative lack of world knowledge and limited vocabularies, they consistently map novel words to novel referents and, at later ages, show retention of these new word–referent pairs. Prior work has implicated the use of mutual exclusivity constraints and novelty biases, which require that children use knowledge of well-known words to disambiguate uncertain naming situations. The current study, however, presents evidence that weaker vocabulary knowledge during the initial exposure to a new word may be better for retention of new mappings. Children aged 18–24 months selected referents for novel words in the context of foil stimuli that varied in their lexical strength and novelty: well-known items (e.g., shoe), just-learned weakly known items (e.g., wif), and completely novel items. Referent selection performance was significantly reduced on trials with weakly known foil items. Surprisingly, however, children subsequently showed above-chance retention for novel words mapped in the context of weakly known competitors compared with those mapped with strongly known competitors or with completely novel competitors. We discuss implications for our understanding of word learning constraints and how children use known words and novelty during word learning

Cascading effect of context and competition on novel word learning

Learning, especially in the case of language acquisition, is notan isolated process; there is ever-present competition betweenwords and objects in the world. Such competition is known toplay a critical role in learning. Namely, the amount andvariability of competing items during word learning havebeen shown to change learning trajectories in young childrenlearning new words. However, very little work has examinedthe interaction of competition amount, competitionvariability, and task demands in adults. The current studyassesses adults’ ability to map new word-referent pairs invarying amounts of competition and competitor variability. Inaddition, the effect of mapping context on retention wasassessed. Results suggest that retention is weak in some casesand importantly, there are cascading effects of competitorvariability in mapping on later retention of new words.Results are discussed in light of associative learningmechanisms and the implications of competition for learning

When reading is harder than a mother kucker: The effect of orthographic neighbor taboo-ness on novel word pronunciation

Although taboo words are by definition aversive and offensive, they are nevertheless ubiquitous across languages. However, the consequences of taboo language on cognitive processes, such as reading, are generally not understood. Typically, when readers pronounce an unknown word, that word's orthographic similarity to known words leads to a similar pronunciation. Here we ask how taboo language affects this link between orthography and phonology in reading and pronunciation. In the current experiment, participants read aloud novel words that were either orthographic neighbors to taboo words or to frequency matched non-taboo words. Overall, participants were less accurate in pronouncing novel words with taboo neighbors than those with non-taboo neighbors. However, we also found individual differences such that participants who self-reported swearing frequently were not affected by the taboo-ness of known neighbors. Together the results suggest that taboo language has top-down influences on the reading and pronunciation of novel words

The Heterogeneity of Word Learning Biases in Late-Talking Children

Purpose The particular statistical approach researchers choose is intimately connected to the way they conceptualize their questions, which, in turn, can influence the conclusions they draw. One particularly salient area in which statistics influence our conclusions is in the context of atypical development. Traditional statistical approaches such as t tests or analysis of variance lend themselves to a focus on group differences, downplaying the heterogeneity that exists within so many atypically developing populations. Understanding such variability is important-classification of what a disorder is, an individual's diagnosis, and whether or not a child receives intervention all directly relate to an accurate classification of the disorder and individual's abilities compared to their typically developing peers. Method Here, we use word learning biases (i.e., shape and material biases) in late-talking children as a sample case and employ a variety of statistical approaches to compare the conclusions those approaches might warrant. Results We argue that advanced statistical approaches, such as mixed-effects regression, can help us make sense of heterogeneity and are more consistent with a modern dimensional view of language disorders. Conclusions Accurate characterization of late-talking children (and others at risk for delays) and their prognoses is necessary for accurate diagnosis and implementation of appropriate target interventions. It therefore requires rigorous statistical analyses that can capture and allow for interpretation of the heterogeneity inherent in populations with language delays and disorders

Shyness on language (Melnick & Kucker, 2023)

Purpose: The goal of this study is to examine how shyness affects a child’s per[1]formance on language assessments that vary in sociability. We hypothesized that accuracy on language tasks would be driven by shyness such that shyer children would perform better on nonsociable tasks compared to sociable tasks.Method: The procedures followed a quasi-experimental design. One hundred twenty-two participants, ages 17–42 months and varying in their temperament, each underwent a series of three language tasks. The order of tasks was randomized, and each task varied in the social interaction required: a looking task, a pointing task, and a production task. Data were collected via Zoom, and parents reported their child’s shyness level via the Early Child Behavior Questionnaire.Results: Shyness was compared with participants’ accuracy across the three tests while controlling for age and vocabulary percentile. There were significant differences in children’s performance across the tasks, with respect to shyness. Shyer children performed worse on the production task compared to less shy children. All children did well on the pointing task regardless of shyness level, but performance was more nuanced on the looking task such that shyer children were at times more accurate but also less likely to respond in general.Conclusions: As shown by these results, shyer and less shy children respond differentially to methods of language assessment that vary in sociability. It is important for clinicians to acknowledge shyness when choosing an appropriate assessment of children’s language. Future direction includes assessing performance on standardized assessment.Supplemental Material S1. Influence of shyness on language assessment.Melnick, L., & Kucker, S. C. (2023). The Influence of Shyness on Language Assessment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00362</p