Premium
Two‐Year‐Olds Readily Learn Multiple Labels for the Same Basic‐Level Category
Author(s) -
Mervis Carolyn B.,
Golinkoff Roberta Michnick,
Bertrand Jacquelyn
Publication year - 1994
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/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00810.x
Subject(s) - psychology , categorization , object (grammar) , concept learning , interpretation (philosophy) , cognitive psychology , term (time) , outcome (game theory) , developmental psychology , linguistics , mathematics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , mathematical economics
2 basic frameworks for lexical principles have been proposed (Golinkoff, Mervis, & Hirsh‐Pasek; Markman). In many types of situations, these frameworks make the same predictions regarding 2‐year‐olds' interpretation of novel terms. However, the predictions diverge in some cases. 3 experiments were conducted to address 1 such situation: the case in which the child hears a novel term but already knows a label for each of the objects present. Results of all 3 studies converged on the same outcome: The new term was most likely to be treated as a second basic‐level name for the category to which the object belonged. Analyses of individual patterns of responding revealed that, of the 58 subjects, 50 made more basic‐level responses than part responses, 1 made equal numbers of basic‐level and part responses, and 7 made more part responses than basic‐level responses. Implications of these findings for models of early lexical development are discussed.