Early lexical acquisition: the role of cross-situational learning

Abstract

Several theorists have proposed that children may learn the meaning of a new word by paying attention to the element that remains constant across multiple uses of that word. The current study presents a direct test of this hypothesis. Two-, three- and four-year-olds (N = 24 in each group) were presented with novel objects that differed systematically in shape and texture. Children were shown one target object and were told 'This is a modi one'. In the Shape condition, two objects that matched the target object in shape (and differed in texture) were also labelled 'modi ones'. In the Texture condition, the two objects matched the target in texture (and differed in shape). Subsequent tests indicated that, in extending the novel adjective to other exemplars, children in all age groups attended to the consistent element across naming contexts. Implications for theories of lexical acquisition are discussed.