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What Can Be Learned from Something's Not Being Named
Author(s) -
Merriman William E.,
Marazita John M.,
Jarvis Lorna H.,
EveyBurkey Julie A.,
Biggins Michael
Publication year - 1995
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.1467-8624.1995.tb00972.x
Subject(s) - generalization , psychology , object (grammar) , similarity (geometry) , word (group theory) , perception , linguistics , cognitive psychology , preference , artificial intelligence , computer science , mathematics , statistics , mathematical analysis , philosophy , neuroscience , image (mathematics)
A new word‐learning phenomenon is demonstrated and a new word‐learning principle is proposed to account for it. In Study 1, 60 3‐year‐olds were shown a pair of objects and heard a novel label used repeatedly for one, but not for the other. In a forced‐choice test of generalization of the label, the latter object was selected less often by the children than one that had not been present during training. This so‐called Nominal Passover Effect was the same whether the speaker had completely ignored the comparison object during training or had referred to it with pronouns. The performance of a no‐word control group ( N = 24) indicated that the effect was not due to a preference for the less exposed of the two choice objects. The effect is consistent with the Exhaustive Reference Principle, which stipulates that whenever a new generic word is used to name something, expect it to be extended to all entities in a situation that the speaker perceives and believes to be exemplars of the name. In Study 2 ( N = 48), the Nominal Passover Effect was replicated with 3 new sets of objects and with training language that contained only indefinite forms of reference. The passover experience was often sufficient to counteract children's tendency to generalize a novel label on the basis of perceptual similarity. The passover effect was not evident in free‐choice name generalization tests in either study.