Labels direct infants' attention to commonalities during novel category learning

PLoS One. 2014 Jul 11;9(7):e99670. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099670. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Recent studies have provided evidence that labeling can influence the outcome of infants' visual categorization. However, what exactly happens during learning remains unclear. Using eye-tracking, we examined infants' attention to object parts during learning. Our analysis of looking behaviors during learning provide insights going beyond merely observing the learning outcome. Both labeling and non-labeling phrases facilitated category formation in 12-month-olds but not 8-month-olds (Experiment 1). Non-linguistic sounds did not produce this effect (Experiment 2). Detailed analyses of infants' looking patterns during learning revealed that only infants who heard labels exhibited a rapid focus on the object part successive exemplars had in common. Although other linguistic stimuli may also be beneficial for learning, it is therefore concluded that labels have a unique impact on categorization.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Attention / physiology*
  • Concept Formation / physiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Language
  • Learning / physiology*
  • Male
  • Pattern Recognition, Physiological / physiology*
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual / physiology*
  • Problem Solving / physiology
  • Psychology, Child

Grants and funding

This work was supported by European Commission grant MESTCT-2005-020725 (http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/), Economic and Social Research Council UK grant RES-062-23-0819 (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/) and the Winkler Career Development Fellowship at St Hugh’s College (http://www.st-hughs.ox.ac.uk) to Nadja Althaus. Denis Mareschal is partially supported by a Royal Society Wolfson research merit award (http://royalsociety.org/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.