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We investigate early word-based categorization by testing one sample of infants at the
ages of 14 and 16 months using an object manipulation task. Specifically, we investigate the
facilitating effect of labeling on: a) categorization of unknown objects with a shared label and
a similar shape; b) categorization of unknown objects with a shared la...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... were re-tested at 16 (15;25 to 16;15) months. Three infants refused to participate in the task at 16 months for different reasons (fusiness, refusal to follow the instructions, illness), so the sample at 16 months consisted of 13 boys and 15 girls. Infants were recruited through the listing of the Banja Luka Center for preschool education and through participating mothers' networks of acquaintances. All infants came from Bosnian middle-class backgrounds, from complete families with one or both parents employed full-time. The materials used were similar to those used in previous studies of word-based categorization of unknown objects (e.g. Bijeljac-Babić et al., 2009; Nazzi & Gopnik, 2001; Nazzi & Pilardeau, 2007). Two triads of familiar objects (plush toys, balls, blocks, etc) were used in the familiarization phase. In the testing session, six triads of small objects were chosen so that the infants would be unfamiliar with them and would not have a name for them. By designing our own stimuli we made sure that infants were not familiar with categories, and that any categorization occured during the experiment. Three of the sets were made up of a pair of similar-shaped objects and a third object that differed from the other two in shape, color, and texture (see Figure 1). The remaining three sets were made up of three disctinct objects, that differed in shape, color, and texture (see Figure 2). The objects were given the following made-up labels: chook/dal , moz/djig , vab/ newk,nol/cag, jed/leef, zoop/teech 1 . Most of these pseudowords had previously been used in Bijeljac-Babic et al. (2009), but were adapted to conform with Serbian phonological and phonotactical rules. We used six pairs of very distinct monosyllabic pseudowords in order to maximally reduce the cognitive load associated with the ...
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Children use speakers' past accuracy to make inferences about novel word meanings those individuals provide in the future. An open question is whether children can retrospectively reevaluate information after learning that the source was inaccurate. We addressed this question in two experiments where a speaker first introduced labels for novel obje...
Citations
... The materials used for the object categorization task were similar to those used in previous studies of word-based categorization of unknown objects (e.g. Bijeljac-Babić et al., 2009;Nazzi & Gopnik, 2001;Nazzi & Pilardeau, 2007), and identical to those described in Tutnjević & Lakić (2014). ...
... A detailed explanation of the procedure can be read in Tutnjević & Lakić (2014). As the details of the task itself are not relevant for this study, we will only describe its main features. ...
This study provides initial insights on the use of the Attachment Q-sort (AQS) for assessing young children's attachment quality in Bosnia & Herzegovina. We used the AQS technique to evaluate the quality of attachment in 31 mother-child dyads. The dyads were observed during home visits at the times children were aged 14, 16, 18, and 20 months.Additionally, at each visit, an object categorization task was used as a short gamelike activity between the child and the observer. The observer then instructed the mother to perform the same task with the child during the following week. Through this activity we observed the children's willingness to interact and cooperate with either a stranger or the mother in a task-oriented situation. Five out of 31 children had negative security scores and their behavior is described case-by-case. The object categorization task revealed differences in behavior towards both the mother and the observer between securely and insecurely attached children. As opposed to the secure children, insecure children tended to refuse cooperation with both the observer and the mother. Their mothers, on the other hand, either doubted their children’s willingness to cooperate, or refused to participate in the experiment. These findings provide a basis for further research of attachment in young children in the region, and offer new insights into the complex relationship between cognitive and emotional development in infancy. Limitations of the study are discussed in light of cross-cultural differences in the use of the AQS technique.
Full text available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/C8XNMAq3Rct4jgqnpG52/full
This study addressed the development of language-mediated categorization
longitudinally, on a sample of Serbian-speaking children aged 16–20 months.
Twenty four children were tested 3 consecutive times on: categorization of
unknown objects with a shared label and a similar shape; and categorization
of unknown objects with a shared label, but no visual similarity. The task was
embedded in a game-like activity which included real object manipulation,
categorization of novel objects labeled with made-up names, and socio-pragmatic
cues provided by the experimenter. Our results indicate that an average child
develops the ability to categorize novel objects with a similar shape and a shared
label around 16 months of age, whereas for novel objects with a shared label, but
no visual similarity, this ability is acquired sometime between 18 and 20 months
of age. Our results partly confirm research findings obtained in other languages,
thus emphasizing the need for cross-linguistic and cross-cultural validation of all
language-related developmental studies.
