Context Effects on Word Learning and Generalization

描述(由申请人提供)：本研究计划的长期目标是为言语语言病理学家提供有关如何最好地利用物理语境(例如，房间或环境)来改善初级语言障碍(LI)儿童的单词学习和概括的信息。该项目将侧重于训练环境的变化如何影响单词学习的两个重要组成部分：学习词与对象的联系(即，当听到其标签时能够识别正确的物体)和学习词形(即，当向目标物体显示时能够识别正确的标签)。拟议研究的具体目的是确定：1-训练语境的变异性对儿童对新学单词-对象链接的记忆的影响程度，以及这些链接对未经训练的样本和语境的概括；2-训练语境的变异性对儿童对新学习的单词-对象链接的记忆的影响程度 新学习的词形及其对未经训练的样本和语境的概括；3--在生态有效的干预期间训练语境的变异性在多大程度上支持李氏综合症儿童的词汇学习和概括。根据过去文献的发现，中心假设是，在可变背景下的训练将促进最大的学习优势，因为它将使对未经训练的样本和未训练的背景进行更好的泛化。研究策略包括3个实验，在实验中，学习和不学习学习语言的儿童学习陌生事物的新单词，然后要求他们在训练和未训练的环境中记住词-物联系和词形，在延迟几天后。这项研究将提供有价值的信息，关于语境在儿童保持新的词指代映射中的作用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this research program is to provide speech-language pathologists with information about how to best use physical context (e.g., the room or setting) to improve word-learning and generalization in children with primary language impairment (LI). The project will focus on how variations of training contexts affect two important components of word learning: learning the word-object link (i.e., being able to identify the correct object when its label is heard), and learning the word-form (i.e., being able to identiy the correct label when shown the target object). The specific aims of the proposed research are to determine: 1-The extent to which variability of training contexts affects children's memory for newly learned word-object links and their generalization of those links to untrained exemplars and contexts; 2- The extent to which variability of training contexts affects children's memory for newly learned word-forms and their generalization of those word-forms to untrained exemplars and contexts; 3-The extent to which variability of training contexts during ecologically-valid interventions supports word learning and generalization among children with LI. Based on findings from past literature, the central hypothesis is that training in variable contexts will promote the most learning advantages as it will enable superior generalization to untrained exemplars and untrained contexts. The research strategy involves 3 experiments in which children with and without LI will be taught new words for unfamiliar objects and then asked to remember the word-object links and word forms in trained and untrained contexts after a delay of several days. This study will provide valuable information about the role of context in children's retention of new word-referent mappings.