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Talker variability shapes early word representations in English-learning 8-month-olds.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bulgarelli, F; Bergelson, E
Published in: Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies
March 2022

Infants must form appropriately specific representations of how words sound and what they mean. Previous research suggests that while 8-month-olds are learning words, they struggle with recognizing different-sounding instances of words (e.g., from new talkers) and with rejecting incorrect pronunciations. We asked how adding talker variability during learning may change infants' ability to learn and recognize words. Monolingual English-learning 7- to 9-month-olds heard a single novel word paired with an object in either a "no variability," "within-talker variability," or "between-talker variability" habituation. We then tested whether infants formed appropriately specific representations by changing the talker (Experiment 1a) or mispronouncing the word (Experiment 2) and by changing the trained word or object altogether (both experiments). Talker variability influenced learning. Infants trained with no-talker variability learned the word-object link, but failed to recognize the word trained by a new talker, and were insensitive to the mispronunciation. Infants trained with talker variability dishabituated only to the new object, exhibiting difficulty forming the word-object link. Neither pattern is adult-like. Results are reported for both in-lab and Zoom participants. Implications for the role of talker variability in early word learning are discussed.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies

DOI

EISSN

1532-7078

ISSN

1525-0008

Publication Date

March 2022

Volume

27

Issue

2

Start / End Page

341 / 368

Related Subject Headings

  • Verbal Learning
  • Speech Perception
  • Learning
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Adult
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 3213 Paediatrics
  • 1701 Psychology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Bulgarelli, F., & Bergelson, E. (2022). Talker variability shapes early word representations in English-learning 8-month-olds. Infancy : The Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies, 27(2), 341–368. https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12452
Bulgarelli, Federica, and Elika Bergelson. “Talker variability shapes early word representations in English-learning 8-month-olds.Infancy : The Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies 27, no. 2 (March 2022): 341–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12452.
Bulgarelli F, Bergelson E. Talker variability shapes early word representations in English-learning 8-month-olds. Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies. 2022 Mar;27(2):341–68.
Bulgarelli, Federica, and Elika Bergelson. “Talker variability shapes early word representations in English-learning 8-month-olds.Infancy : The Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies, vol. 27, no. 2, Mar. 2022, pp. 341–68. Epmc, doi:10.1111/infa.12452.
Bulgarelli F, Bergelson E. Talker variability shapes early word representations in English-learning 8-month-olds. Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies. 2022 Mar;27(2):341–368.
Journal cover image

Published In

Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies

DOI

EISSN

1532-7078

ISSN

1525-0008

Publication Date

March 2022

Volume

27

Issue

2

Start / End Page

341 / 368

Related Subject Headings

  • Verbal Learning
  • Speech Perception
  • Learning
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Adult
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 3213 Paediatrics
  • 1701 Psychology