Preschoolers' extension of novel words to animals and artifacts
Date
2009-10
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Publisher
Cambridge University Press : Journal of Child Language
Abstract
We examined whether preschoolers' ontological knowledge would influence lexical extension. In Experiment 1, four-year-olds were presented with a novel label for either an object with eyes described as an animal, or the same object without eyes described as a tool. In the animal condition, children extended the label to similar-shaped objects, whereas in the tool condition, children extended the label to similar-function objects. In Experiment 2, when four-year-olds were presented with objects with eyes described as tools, they extended the label on the basis of shared function. These experiments suggest that preschoolers' conceptual knowledge guides their lexical extension.
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Citation
Graham, S. A., Welder, A. N., Merrifield, B. A., & Berman, J. M. J. (2009). Preschoolers' extension of novel words to animals and artifacts. "Journal of Child Language". 37(2010). 913-927. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S030500090999002X