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Parallels Between Action‐Object Mapping and Word‐Object Mapping in Young Children
Author(s) -
Riggs Kevin J.,
Mather Emily,
Hyde Grace,
Simpson Andrew
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.498
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1551-6709
pISSN - 0364-0213
DOI - 10.1111/cogs.12262
Subject(s) - object (grammar) , action (physics) , noun , cognitive map , computer science , word (group theory) , parallels , cognition , natural language processing , artificial intelligence , psychology , linguistics , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , engineering , philosophy
Across a series of four experiments with 3‐ to 4‐year‐olds we demonstrate how cognitive mechanisms supporting noun learning extend to the mapping of actions to objects. In Experiment 1 ( n = 61) the demonstration of a novel action led children to select a novel, rather than a familiar object. In Experiment 2 ( n = 78) children exhibited long‐term retention of novel action‐object mappings and extended these actions to other category members. In Experiment 3 ( n = 60) we showed that children formed an accurate sensorimotor record of the novel action. In Experiment 4 ( n = 54) we demonstrate limits on the types of actions mapped to novel objects. Overall these data suggest that certain aspects of noun mapping share common processing with action mapping and support a domain‐general account of word learning.