ERIC Number: EJ1333839
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Feb
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Ostensive Gaze Shifting Changes Referential Intention in Word Meanings: An Examination of Children's Learning of Part Names
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v48 n2 p272-283 Feb 2022
Learning part names, such as hands of a clock, can be a challenge for children because of the whole object assumption; that is, a child will assume that a given label refers to the whole object (e.g., a clock) rather than the object part (e.g., hands of a clock). We examined the effect of gaze shifting and deliberate pointing on learning part names. The experiment consisted of 2 conditions: (a) no-shifting and (b) shifting-to-object. No-shifting was when the experimenter continuously looked at the participant's face after establishing mutual gaze even while pointing at an object part to teach the part name. The shifting-to-object condition was the same as the no-shifting condition, except for the experimenter's gaze shifting to the object when teaching part names. The results showed that 4-and-a-half-year-olds and adults correctly inferred a part name only during gaze shifting. Two-and-a-half-year-olds were not yet sensitive to this ostensive flow. Especially while learning part names, a continuous gaze at the face may violate the quantity maxim--that is, the criterion that the speaker must provide the appropriate amount of information--in Grice's cooperative principle. To utilize ostensive signals in learning part names, children need to notice the combination of gaze direction and ostensive signals, such as a pointing gesture. In 4-and-a-half-year-olds, the use of social-pragmatic information is more advanced, allowing them to understand an adult's pointing gesture when gaze shifting occurs.
Descriptors: Eye Movements, Naming, Vocabulary Development, Language Acquisition, Human Body, Comparative Analysis, Linguistic Theory, Pragmatics, Nonverbal Communication, Preschool Children, Learning Processes, Undergraduate Students, Task Analysis, Foreign Countries, Visual Stimuli
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan (Tokyo)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A