Redirective labels and early vocabulary development.
Parents' object labels can be distinguished by whether the child is already attending to the object (follow-in) or not (lead-in). Lead-in labels have been found to be associated with low vocabulary. The current study examines whether the relation between lead-in labels and child vocabulary is influenced by whether the child's attention is redirected. Eighteen mother-infant dyads were videotaped at 1;2, 1;6 and 1;10. Results indicate that parents' use of successful lead-in labels is positively correlated with children's vocabulary, whereas use of unsuccessful labels is negatively correlated. Finally, use of gesture is associated with the redirective success of lead-in labels.
Psychology Department, University of Chicago, 5848 South University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Priya Mariana
PM
Shimpi
Janellen
J
Huttenlocher
D001288:Attention; D002663:Child Language; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D014706:Verbal Learning; D014825:Vocabulary