title: Visual variability affects early verb learning.
abstract: Research demonstrates that within-category visual variability facilitates noun learning; however, the effect of visual variability on verb learning is unknown. We habituated 24-month-old children to a novel verb paired with an animated star-shaped actor. Across multiple trials, children saw either a single action from an action category (identical actions condition, for example, travelling while repeatedly changing into a circle shape) or multiple actions from that action category (variable actions condition, for example, travelling while changing into a circle shape, then a square shape, then a triangle shape). Four test trials followed habituation. One paired the habituated verb with a new action from the habituated category (e.g., 'dacking' + pentagon shape) and one with a completely novel action (e.g., 'dacking' + leg movement). The others paired a new verb with a new same-category action (e.g., 'keefing' + pentagon shape), or a completely novel category action (e.g., 'keefing' + leg movement). Although all children discriminated novel verb/action pairs, children in the identical actions condition discriminated trials that included the completely novel verb, while children in the variable actions condition discriminated the out-of-category action. These data suggest that - as in noun learning - visual variability affects verb learning and children's ability to form action categories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Twomey
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lush
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: Jessica S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Horst
mesh_terms: D001245:Association Learning; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014825:Vocabulary
keywords: categorization; habituation; variability; verb learning; word learning