Abstract
Two of the most formidable skills that characterize human beings are language and our prowess in visual object recognition. They may also be developmentally intertwined. Two experiments, a large sample cross-sectional study and a smaller sample 6-month longitudinal study of 18- to 24-month-olds, tested a hypothesized developmental link between changes in visual object representation and noun learning. Previous findings in visual object recognition indicate that children’s ability to recognize common basic level categories from sparse structural shape representations of object shape emerges between the ages of 18 and 24 months, is related to noun vocabulary size, and is lacking in children with language delay. Other research shows in artificial noun learning tasks that during this same developmental period, young children systematically generalize object names by shape, that this shape bias predicts future noun learning, and is lacking in children with language delay. The two experiments examine the developmental relation between visual object recognition and the shape bias for the first time. The results show that developmental changes in visual object recognition systematically precede the emergence of the shape bias. The results suggest a developmental pathway in which early changes in visual object recognition that are themselves linked to category learning enable the discovery of higher-order regularities in category structure and thus the shape bias in novel noun learning tasks. The proposed developmental pathway has implications for understanding the role of specific experience in the development of both visual object recognition and the shape bias in early noun learning.
Highlights
Language and visual object recognition are domains of human intelligence that impact almost all cognitive systems, and potentially influence each other
Past work showed that both developments occur between 18 and 24 months: both are related to early noun vocabulary size, and both are about object shape – but different aspects of attending to object shape
Two of the most formidable skills that characterize human beings are language and our prowess in visual object recognition. Young children build these skills together which raises the possibility of mutual developmental dependencies
Summary
Language and visual object recognition are domains of human intelligence that impact almost all cognitive systems, and potentially influence each other. Young children consistently generalize the name to new instances by shape This “shape bias,” becomes increasingly robust between 18 and 24 months of age and is more strongly related than is age to the number of nouns in individual children’s vocabularies (Gershkoff-Stowe and Smith, 2004). The task used to measure this ability is known as “shape caricature recognition.” In this task, children are presented with abstract three-dimensional representations of common things – hats, chairs, cats – constructed from 2 to 4 geometric volumes so as to represent only the major object parts in their proper spatial relations (Smith, 2003). Like the shape bias, is more strongly related to noun vocabulary size than age (Smith, 2003; Pereira and Smith, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
