scholarly journals Moving beyond "nouns in the lab": Using naturalistic data to understand why infants' first words include uh-oh and hi

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kennedy Casey ◽  
Christine Potter ◽  
Casey Lew-Williams ◽  
Erica H Wojcik
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Behavioral Experiment ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Observational Methods ◽  
Object Mapping ◽  
First Words

Why do infants learn some words earlier than others? To explain how and when words are learned, existing theories of word learning prioritize visual information and draw mainly on lab-based studies of noun-to-object mapping. However, words that are more abstract than object nouns, such as uh-oh, hi, more, up, and all-gone, are typically among the first to appear in infants' vocabularies. We combined a behavioral experiment with naturalistic observational research to explore how infants learn and represent this understudied category of high-frequency, routine-based non-nouns, which we term ‘everyday words’. In Study 1, we found that conventional eye-tracking measures of comprehension were insufficient to capture 10- to 16-month-old infants' emerging understanding of everyday words. In Study 2, we analyzed the visual and social scenes surrounding caregivers' and infants' use of everyday words in a naturalistic video corpus. This ecologically-motivated research revealed that everyday words rarely co-occurred with consistent visual referents, making their early learnability difficult to reconcile with dominant word learning theories. Our findings instead point to complex patterns in the types of situations associated with everyday words that could contribute to their early representation in infants’ vocabularies. By leveraging both experimental and observational methods, this investigation underscores the value of using naturalistic data to broaden theories of early learning.

A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Word Frequency and Rime-Neighborhood Size on Beginning Readers' Rime Reading Accuracy in Words and Nonwords

2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Anne Calhoon ◽  
Lauren Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Beginning Readers ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Neighborhood Size ◽  
Reading Accuracy ◽  
High Frequency Words

Beginning readers' rime reading accuracy was assessed over three years to examine the influence of word frequency and rime-neighborhood size (the number of single syllable words with the same rime) on words presented in lists and stories. Twenty-seven 1st- and 2nd- grade students read 54 words and 27 nonwords containing rimes from different size neighborhoods. In Year 1, children showed effects of neighborhood size in high frequency words read in stories and in low frequency words read in lists and stories. In Year 2, rimes from large neighborhoods were read more accurately than rimes from medium and small neighborhoods in high- and low-frequency words. In Year 3, no effects of rime-neighborhood size were found for high-frequency words, but effects on low-frequency words continued. These results support Leslie and Calhoon's (1995) developmental model of the effects of rime-neighborhood size and word frequency as a function of higher levels of word learning.

scholarly journals How does gaze to faces support face-to-face interaction? A review and perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy S Hessels
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Literature Overview ◽  
Social Gaze ◽  
Human Social Behaviour

Gaze – where one looks, how long, and when – plays an essential part in human social behaviour. While many aspects of social gaze have been reviewed, there is no comprehensive review or theoretical framework that describes how gaze to faces supports face-to-face interaction. In this review, I address the following questions: (1) When does gaze need to be allocated to a particular region of a face in order to provide the relevant information for successful interaction; (2) How do humans look at other people, and faces in particular, regardless of whether gaze needs to be directed at a particular region to acquire the relevant visual information; (3) How does gaze support the regulation of interaction? The work reviewed spans psychophysical research, observational research and eye-tracking research in both lab-based and interactive contexts. Based on the literature overview, I sketch a framework for future research based on dynamic systems theory. The framework holds that gaze should be investigated in relation to sub-states of the interaction, encompassing sub-states of the interactors, the content of the interaction as well as the interactive context. The relevant sub-states for understanding gaze in interaction vary over different timescales from microgenesis to ontogenesis and phylogenesis. The framework has important implications for vision science, psychopathology, developmental science and social robotics.

Spatial Scale Interactions and Visual-Tracking Performance

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1047-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard C Hughes ◽  
David M Aronchick ◽  
Michael D Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
High Spatial Frequency ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
High Frequency Component ◽  
Stimulus Velocity ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Wide Range

It has previously been observed that low spatial frequencies (≤ 1.0 cycles deg−1) tend to dominate high spatial frequencies (≥ 5.0 cycles deg−1) in several types of visual-information-processing tasks. This earlier work employed reaction times as the primary performance measure and the present experiments address the possibility of low-frequency dominance by evaluating visually guided performance of a completely different response system: the control of slow-pursuit eye movements. Slow-pursuit gains (eye velocity/stimulus velocity) were obtained while observers attempted to track the motion of a sine-wave grating. The drifting gratings were presented on three types of background: a uniform background, a background consisting of a stationary grating, or a flickering background. Low-frequency dominance was evident over a wide range of velocities, in that a stationary high-frequency component produced little disruption in the pursuit of a drifting low spatial frequency, but a stationary low frequency interfered substantially with the tracking of a moving high spatial frequency. Pursuit was unaffected by temporal modulation of the background, suggesting that these effects are due to the spatial characteristics of the stationary grating. Similar asymmetries were observed with respect to the stability of fixation: active fixation was less stable in the presence of a drifting low frequency than in the presence of a drifting high frequency.

What Emotion Dysregulation Looks Like

2018 ◽  
pp. 52-68
Author(s):  
K. Ashana Ramsook ◽  
Pamela M. Cole ◽  
Margaret A. Fields-Olivieri
Keyword(s):  
Observational Studies ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Multiple Time Scales ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Observational Methods ◽  
New Directions

Recent conceptualizations of emotion dysregulation define it as a process that unfolds over multiple time scales and that leads to short- or long-term impairments. This chapter discusses the advantages of observational methods for measuring emotion dysregulation as a process, focusing on three patterns and associated evidence of them from observational studies. First, the chapter discusses context-inappropriate emotion, the absence of an expected emotional reaction or an atypical reaction for the situational context. Second, it discusses atypical emotion dynamics, specifically emotional expressions that change abruptly, including but not limited to emotional lability. Third, it discusses ways in which emotions endure and are difficult to modify, pointing to ineffective strategy use as a mechanism. It concludes by discussing new directions for observational research, including creative study design and analytic methods that can capture emotion dysregulation.

scholarly journals Failure to learn from feedback underlies word learning difficulties in toddlers at risk for autism

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. BEDFORD ◽  
T. GLIGA ◽  
K. FRAME ◽  
K. HUDRY ◽  
S. CHANDLER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Social Feedback ◽  
Term Retention ◽  
Vocabulary Building ◽  
Referent Selection ◽  
Long Term Retention ◽  
Object Mapping

ABSTRACTChildren's assignment of novel words to nameless objects, over objects whose names they know (mutual exclusivity; ME) has been described as a driving force for vocabulary acquisition. Despite their ability to use ME to fast-map words (Preissler & Carey, 2005), children with autism show impaired language acquisition. We aimed to address this puzzle by building on studies showing that correct referent selection using ME does not lead to word learning unless ostensive feedback is provided on the child's object choice (Horst & Samuelson, 2008). We found that although toddlers aged 2;0 at risk for autism can use ME to choose the correct referent of a word, they do not benefit from feedback for long-term retention of the word–object mapping. Further, their difficulty using feedback is associated with their smaller receptive vocabularies. We propose that difficulties learning from social feedback, not lexical principles, limits vocabulary building during development in children at risk for autism.

A Note on the Masking of Pictures

Perception ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M Forster
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Random Noise ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Pattern Mask ◽  
Type B ◽  
General Applicability ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Different Types

An experiment is described in which photographs of everyday objects were masked by frequency-filtered random visual noise. The masking functions obtained were of the same type as those obtained by masking letters and words with random noise or a pattern mask. That is, the high-frequency mask produced a type A function while the low-frequency mask produced a type B function. This result is discussed in terms of the general applicability of models of visual information processing constructed on the basis of experiments with letter or word stimuli. It is suggested that spatial-frequency concepts may usefully be employed to describe the relevant features of different types of mask.

The role of gesture meaningfulness in word learning

Gesture ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Hupp ◽  
Mary C. Gingras
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Training Study ◽  
Brief Training ◽  
Extended Training ◽  
Word Classes ◽  
Novel Word Learning

Adults regularly use word-gesture combinations in communication, and meaningful gestures facilitate word learning. However, it is not clear if this benefit of gestures is due to the speaker’s movement increasing the listener’s attention or if it needs to be a meaningful gesture, if the difficulty of the task results in disparate reliance on gestures, and if word classes are differentially affected by gestures. In the present research, participants were measured on their novel word learning across four gesture conditions: meaningful gesture, beat gesture, nonsense gesture, and no gesture with extended training (Study 1, n = 139) and brief training (Study 2, n = 128). Overall, meaningful gestures and high frequency words led to the highest word learning accuracy. This effect of word frequency did not hold true for beat gestures after brief training suggesting that adding rhythmic information — if not adding semantic information — may detract from word learning. This research highlights the importance of considering task difficulty when analyzing the effects of gestures.

Observational Research in Face-to-Face Small Groupwork: Capturing Affect as Socio-Dynamic Interpersonal Phenomena

2021 ◽  
pp. 104649642098592
Author(s):  
Cheryl Jones ◽  
Simone Volet ◽  
Deborah Pino-Pasternak
Keyword(s):  
Observational Studies ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Observational Methods ◽  
Organizational Research ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Observation Methods ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Affect Dynamics

Interpersonal affect in face-to-face small groupwork, though pervasive in university and work environments, is rarely examined as the fine-grained sequential interactions in which it manifests. This review synthesized 21 recent studies in tertiary collaborative learning and organizational research that have used observation methods to investigate affect in face-to-face small groupwork. The analysis focused on examining the extent to which observational studies captured affect as social (interactive) and dynamic (temporally unfolding). Findings showed that observational methods elicit information about affect dynamics in groupwork that is unique and complementary to other methods. Key affect constructs, behavioral operationalizations, and analytical tools used to capture affect are discussed.

scholarly journals A review of language regression in autism spectrum disorder and the role of language theories: Towards explanation

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 239694151988922
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn A Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Morphological Variations ◽  
New Words ◽  
Language Regression ◽  
First Words

Background & aims The purpose of this study is to summarize characteristics of language regression—a phenomenon most commonly associated with autism spectrum disorder, outline language theories of early word learning, and use them to propose theoretical bases to language regression. Method Using a systematic review of the current literature in language regression and a purposive sampling of language theories, hypotheses for the cause of language regression are discussed. Results The following hypotheses were developed based on the reviewed theories of word learning: (a) Initial first words were not true words, but instead were protowords; (b) fast mapped forms never progressed to truly learned words; (c) initial first words were echoed productions of heard words; (d) the described regression is actually a maintenance of previous developmental levels with increasing chronological age. Conclusions It is possible that individuals with autism spectrum disorder are not “losing” words, but instead are not progressing in their ability to learn and use new words. Early word learning in typically developing children is seemingly similar to early development in individuals with autism spectrum disorder; however, the ability to expand from early “intermediate words” to expansive vocabularies, word combinations, and morphological variations is impeded. Clinical implications for evaluation of word “loss” and treatments are discussed.

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