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Word learning in early, middle and late adulthood

成年早期、中期和晚期的单词学习

基本信息

批准号：
ES/L008300/1
负责人：
Sven Mattys
金额：
$ 71.64万
依托单位：
University of York
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2015 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FL008300%2F1
关键词：
Word learning early middle late

项目摘要

In the field of cognitive aging, it is well established that some cognitive functions remain relatively stable over the lifespan (e.g., long-term representations, automatic processes, implicit learning) while others progressively decline (e.g., executive control, memory maintenance/retrieval, and speed). Language use shows a mixed aging trajectory as well: Phonological, lexical, semantic and syntactic knowledge is relatively preserved, whereas the ease of access to that knowledge and control over its activation tend to degrade with age. How this dissociation affects the dynamics and efficiency of word learning over the lifespan is unclear.The purpose of this research programme is to investigate the age-related stability vs. decline of several key word-learning mechanisms that have been documented in the word-acquisition literature in infancy and childhood, and to establish the extent to which compensatory trade-offs (e.g., reliance on stored knowledge) can stave off the decline of learning mechanisms that involve a greater degree of executive control and explicit computation. A better understanding of how the mechanisms underpinning word learning change over the lifespan has important consequences for older adults' quality of life. Indeed, owing to today's increased life expectancy and the expectation that many of those additional years will be spent in relatively good health, opportunities for older adults to acquire new knowledge, new skills, or learn new languages have flourished.The target groups will be young adults (< 25y), middle-age adults (40y to 50y), and older adults (> 65y). The middle-age group is critical because it will enable us not only to draw a more accurate trajectory of word learning mechanisms, but also to establish whether compensation based on context and long-term representations begins to operate earlier than traditionally assumed. The learning mechanisms under study will be: (1) Adjacent dependencies: This represents a form of domain-general learning based on implicitly computing statistical regularities in the speech input. We expect this type of learning to be comparatively robust over time. (2) Non-adjacent dependencies: This will instantiate a form of word learning that relies on both association and abstraction, a more complex form of learning that could potentially engage processing resources that are in short supply in older adults. (3) Abstract patterns: These experiments will instantiate abstract pattern learning and generalisation to entirely new materials, unlike adjacent dependencies which require no generalisation to new materials and non-adjacent dependencies which require only partial generalisation to new materials. (4) Rule-based abstraction (first-order logic): This will be similar to the previous set of experiments, except that the abstract patterns defining the acceptable words of the language will be regulated by a grammar containing logical operators (equivalent to if, then, else). This is the most language-specific form of learning of the four sets. Its resilience to aging is largely unknown.The above learning mechanisms will be compared to their matched explicit-learning counterpart. As a whole, this study will highlight the dynamics and plasticity of language learning over the lifespan and, in doing so, will contribute to our theoretical understanding of language processing, language learning, and cognitive aging.

在认知老化领域，已经确定一些认知功能在寿命期间保持相对稳定（例如，长时表征、自动过程、内隐学习）而其他逐渐下降（例如，执行控制、存储器维护/检索和速度）。语言的使用也呈现出一种混合的老化轨迹：语音、词汇、语义和句法知识相对保存下来，而获取这些知识的容易程度和对其激活的控制往往会随着年龄的增长而下降。这种分离如何影响整个生命周期中单词学习的动态和效率尚不清楚。本研究计划的目的是调查与年龄相关的稳定性与几个关键单词学习机制的下降，这些机制已在婴儿期和儿童期的单词习得文献中记录在案，并建立补偿权衡（例如，对存储知识的依赖）可以避免涉及更大程度的执行控制和显式计算的学习机制的衰退。更好地理解单词学习的基础机制如何在一生中发生变化，对老年人的生活质量有重要影响。事实上，由于今天预期寿命的增加，以及人们期望这些额外的岁月中有许多将在相对良好的健康状况下度过，老年人获得新知识、新技能或学习新语言的机会越来越多。目标群体将是年轻人（<25岁）、中年人（40岁至50岁）和老年人（> 65岁）。中年组至关重要，因为它不仅使我们能够更准确地绘制单词学习机制的轨迹，而且还可以确定基于上下文和长期表征的补偿是否比传统假设更早开始运作。所研究的学习机制将是：（1）相邻依赖性：这代表了一种基于隐式计算语音输入中的统计依赖性的域一般学习形式。我们希望这种类型的学习随着时间的推移会相对稳健。(2)非相邻依赖关系：这将实例化一种依赖于联想和抽象的单词学习形式，一种更复杂的学习形式，可能会涉及老年人短缺的处理资源。(3)抽象模式：这些实验将实例化抽象模式学习和推广到全新的材料，不像相邻的依赖关系，不需要推广到新材料和非相邻的依赖关系，只需要部分推广到新材料。(4)基于规则的抽象（一阶逻辑）：这将类似于前面的一组实验，除了定义语言可接受单词的抽象模式将由包含逻辑运算符（相当于if，then，else）的语法来规范。这是四种学习方法中最具语言特色的一种。上述学习机制将与相应的外显学习机制进行比较。总的来说，这项研究将突出语言学习在生命周期中的动态性和可塑性，这样做，将有助于我们对语言处理，语言学习和认知老化的理论理解。