Infant Categorization of Path Relations During Dynamic Events

• Autores: Shannon M. Pruden, Sarah Roseberry, Tilbe Göksun, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff
• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 84, Nº. 1, 2013, págs. 331-345
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Fundamental to amassing a lexicon of relational terms (i.e., verbs, prepositions) is the ability to abstract and categorize spatial relations such as a figure (e.g., boy) moving along a path (e.g., around the barn). Three studies examine how infants learn to categorize path over changes in manner, or how an action is performed (e.g., running vs. crawling). Experiment 1 (n = 60) finds that 10- to 12-month-old English-learning infants categorize a figure’s path. In Experiment 2 (n = 27) categorization is disrupted when the ground object is removed, suggesting the relation between figure and ground defines the path. Experiment 3 (n = 24) shows that language may be a mechanism guiding category formation. These studies suggest that English-learning infants can categorize path, a component lexicalized in the world’s languages.