Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
Child Dev. 2012 May-Jun;83(3):977-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01737.x. Epub 2012 Feb 24.
To learn motion verbs, infants must be sensitive to the specific event features lexicalized in their language. One event feature important for the acquisition of English motion verbs is the manner of motion. This article examines when and how infants detect manners of motion across variations in the figure's path. Experiment 1 shows that 13- to 15-month-olds (N = 30) can detect an invariant manner of motion when the figure's path changes. Experiment 2 reveals that reducing the complexity of the events, by dampening the figure's path, helps 10- to 12-month-olds (N = 19) detect the invariant manner. These findings suggest that: (a) infants notice event features lexicalized in English motion verbs, and (b) attention to manner can be promoted by reducing event complexity.
为了学习动作动词,婴儿必须对其语言中词汇化的特定事件特征敏感。对于英语动作动词习得来说,一个重要的事件特征是运动方式。本文考察了婴儿在图形路径变化时,如何以及何时发现运动方式。实验 1 表明,13 至 15 个月大的婴儿(N = 30)可以在图形路径改变时检测到不变的运动方式。实验 2 表明,通过减弱图形的路径来降低事件的复杂性,有助于 10 至 12 个月大的婴儿(N = 19)检测到不变的运动方式。这些发现表明:(a)婴儿注意到英语动作动词中词汇化的事件特征;(b)通过降低事件复杂性,可以促进对方式的关注。