ERIC Number: ED663764
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0965
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Lumping and Splitting: Developmental Changes in the Structure of Children's Semantic Networks
Catarina Vales; Patience Stevens; Anna V. Fisher
Grantee Submission, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology v199 Article 104914 2020
Organized semantic representations encoding across- and within-domain distinctions are a hallmark of mature cognition, and understanding how they change with experience and learning is a key endeavor in developmental science. Existing computational modeling studies provide a mechanistic framework for understanding how structured semantic representations emerge as a result of development and learning. However, their predictions remain largely untested in young children, with the existing evidence providing only indirect tests of these predictions. Across two experiments, we provide the first direct examination of a key prediction derived from these computational models -- that early in development, broad across-domain distinctions should generally be more strongly represented relative to finer-grained within-domain distinctions. The results support this hypothesis, being consistent with the exploitation of patterns of covariation among entities as a mechanism supporting the acquisition of structured semantic representations.
Descriptors: Child Development, Semantics, Developmental Stages, Prediction, Computational Linguistics, Cognitive Development, Language Acquisition, Task Analysis, Classification, Preschool Children, Children, Urban Areas, Low Income Groups, Pictorial Stimuli, Age Differences, Vocabulary Development
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B150008; 1918259
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/vjkcm/
Author Affiliations: N/A