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How Children Learn From Others: An Analysis of Selective Word Learning
Author(s) -
Sobel David M.,
Finiasz Zoe
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13415
Subject(s) - psychology , word learning , metacognition , competence (human resources) , word (group theory) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , linguistics , cognition , social psychology , vocabulary , philosophy , neuroscience
One way children are remarkable learners is that they learn from others. Critically, children are selective when assessing from whom to learn, particularly in the domain of word learning. We conducted an analysis of children’s selective word learning, reviewing 63 papers on 6,525 participants. Children’s ability to engage in selective word learning appeared to be present in the youngest samples surveyed. Their more metacognitive understanding that epistemic competence indicates reliability or that others are good sources of knowledge has more of a developmental trajectory. We also found that various methodological factors used to assess children influence performance. We conclude with a synthesis of theoretical accounts of how children learn from others.