Twomey, Katherine E, Morse, Anothony F, Cangelosi, Angelo and Horst, Jessica S (2016) Children's referent selection and word learning: insights from a developmental robotic system. Interaction Studies, 17 (1). pp. 101-127. ISSN 1572-0373

	PDF - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)
	PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)

Abstract

It is well-established that toddlers can correctly select a novel referent from an ambiguous array in response to a novel label. There is also a growing consensus that robust word learning requires repeated label-object encounters. However, the effect of the context in which a novel object is encountered is less well-understood. We present two embodied neural network replications of recent empirical tasks which demonstrated that the context in which a target object is encountered is fundamental to referent selection and word learning. Our model offers an explicit account of the bottom-up associative and embodied mechanisms which could support children’s early word learning and emphasises the importance of viewing behaviour as the interaction of learning at multiple timescales.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Psychology > Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion
Depositing User:	Lene Hyltoft
Date Deposited:	11 Mar 2016 14:16
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2019 18:18
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/60013

View download statistics for this item

📧 Request an update