Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Division

School of Education Counseling and Psychology in Education

Keywords

word learning, co-viewing, contingency, video chat, pedagogical cues, symbols

Disciplines

Cognitive Psychology | Developmental Psychology | Educational Psychology

Abstract

Social cues are one way young children determine that a situation is pedagogical in nature -- containing information to be learned and generalized. However, some social cues (e.g., contingent gaze and responsiveness) are missing from pre-recorded video, a potential reason why toddlers’ language learning from video can be inefficient compared to their learning directly from a person. This study explored two methods for supporting children’s word learning from video by adding social-communicative cues. Eighty-eight 30-month-olds began their participation with a video training phase. In one manipulation, an on-screen actress responded contingently to children through a live video feed (similar to Skype or FaceTime “video chat”) or appeared in a pre-recorded demonstration. In the other manipulation, parents either modeled responsiveness to the actress’ on-screen bids for participation or sat out of their child’s view. Children then viewed a labeling demonstration on video, and their knowledge of the label was tested with 3D objects. Results indicated that both on-screen contingency and parent modeling increased children’s engagement with the actress during training. However, only parent modeling increased children’s subsequent word learning, perhaps by revealing the symbolic (representational) intentions underlying this video. This study highlights the importance of adult co-viewing in helping toddlers interpret communicative cues from video.

Publication Title

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

Volume

160

First Page

310

Last Page

326

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.09.005

Comments

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.09.005

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