Infant spatial categorization

描述（由申请人提供）：目前的项目探讨幼儿如何获得在语言特定的语义空间类别中表达的意义。通过一系列实验研究，研究了婴儿空间认知和语言对婴儿空间分类的影响，采用了多方面的方法。特别是，一些实验研究探索了婴儿空间范畴的内容（即语言前和语言早期婴儿可以形成哪些类型的空间范畴）以及指导婴儿空间关系分类的潜在过程（即什么因素影响婴儿空间关系分类）。更多的实验研究旨在开始概述语言输入可以影响婴儿空间事件分类的程度和机制。因此，将英语学习的婴幼儿形成的空间类别类型与韩语学习的婴幼儿形成的空间类别类型以及西班牙语学习的婴幼儿形成的空间类别类型进行比较。其他的实验研究探讨了语言输入是否能促进婴儿形成特定类型的空间范畴的能力。总的来说，当前项目的发现将为婴儿在头两年的发展过程中非语言空间认知和语言之间相互作用的本质提供见解，并将有助于阐明幼儿如何形成特定于他们语言的语义空间类别。最后，研究结果将证明，在不同文化和英语以外的语言环境中长大的婴幼儿，其空间分类的发展是否会有所不同。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The current project explores how young children acquire the meanings that are expressed in language-specific semantic spatial categories. A multifaceted approach is taken in which aspects of both infant spatial cognition as well as the effect of language on infants' spatial categorization is examined across a number of experimental studies. In particular, a number of the experimental studies explore the content of infants' spatial categories (i.e., what types of spatial categories can preverbal and early-linguistic infants form?) as well as the underlying processes that guide infant categorization of spatial relations (i.e., what factors influence infants' categorization of spatial relations?). Additional experimental studies are designed to begin to outline the degree and mechanism by which linguistic input can influence infants' categorization of spatial events. For this reason, the types of spatial categories that English-learning infants and toddlers form will be compared to the types of spatial categories formed by Korean-learning infants and toddlers as well as those formed by Spanish-learning infants and toddlers. Other experimental studies explore whether the addition of linguistic input can facilitate infants' ability to form particular types of spatial categories. Together, the findings from the current project will provide insight into the nature of the interaction between infants' nonlinguistic spatial cognition and language during the first two years of development and will help elucidate how young children form the semantic spatial categories that are specific to their language. Finally, the findings will document whether the development of infant spatial categorization varies in infants and toddlers raised in different cultures and with languages other than English.