Research article summary (published 30 Aug 2005):

Toddlers recognize verbs in novel situations and sentences.

Full Abstract

Toddlers' (MA=22 and 27 months) ability to extend newly taught verbs to new situational and sentential contexts was investigated. Children were interactively taught two novel verbs, presented in only the transitive frame (e.g. You're lorping the ball), in a playroom setting. They then viewed the verb actions presented on side-by-side monitors and were asked to distinguish the verbs in three test frames (transitive, intransitive, neutral (e.g. lorping)). Both groups demonstrated learning of the verbs in the new situation and generalized the verbs to the intransitive sentence frame, but neither generalized reliably to the neutral frame. We conclude that even 22-month-olds demonstrate considerable context independence in their verb representations.

Author information

Author/s: Naigles, Letitia R (LR); Bavin, Edith L (EL); Smith, Melissa A (MA);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut 06269-1020, USA. letitia.naigles(-atsign-)uconn.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Developmental science (Dev Sci), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2005-Sep; vol 8 (issue 5) : pp 424-31

Dates: Created 2005/07/28; Completed 2005/10/18; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16048515, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Analysis of Variance Child Language Concept Formation Female Humans Infant Language

Language Development Language Tests Linguistics Male Verbal Behavior Verbal Learning Vocabulary

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