The development of perceptual grouping biases in infancy: a Japanese-English cross-linguistic study.
Published
Journal Article
Perceptual grouping has traditionally been thought to be governed by innate, universal principles. However, recent work has found differences in Japanese and English speakers' non-linguistic perceptual grouping, implicating language in non-linguistic perceptual processes (Iversen, Patel, & Ohgushi, 2008). Two experiments test Japanese- and English-learning infants of 5-6 and 7-8 months of age to explore the development of grouping preferences. At 5-6 months, neither the Japanese nor the English infants revealed any systematic perceptual biases. However, by 7-8 months, the same age as when linguistic phrasal grouping develops, infants developed non-linguistic grouping preferences consistent with their language's structure (and the grouping biases found in adulthood). These results reveal an early difference in non-linguistic perception between infants growing up in different language environments. The possibility that infants' linguistic phrasal grouping is bootstrapped by abstract perceptual principles is discussed.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Yoshida, KA; Iversen, JR; Patel, AD; Mazuka, R; Nito, H; Gervain, J; Werker, JF
Published Date
- May 2010
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 115 / 2
Start / End Page
- 356 - 361
PubMed ID
- 20144456
Pubmed Central ID
- 20144456
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1873-7838
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0010-0277
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.01.005
Language
- eng