6. Communication Development in Infancy and Statistical Learning

Flashcards on Communication Development in Infancy and Statistical Learning

What does research suggest about prenatal language exposure?

Newborns prefer the language(s) they heard while in utero.

What are some early communicative behaviors infants engage in from birth?

Eye contact, facial expressions, and vocalizations.

Besides biological capacities, what is essential to activate and develop innate language abilities in humans?

Social interaction.

What are vital for infants to develop language skills effectively?

Responsive caregiving and interactive communication.

What did the study by Saffran, Aslin, and Newport (1996) investigate regarding infant language acquisition?

Statistical cues to segment words from continuous speech.

What was the key finding regarding statistical word segmentation in the Saffran, Aslin, and Newport (1996) study?

Infants could distinguish pseudowords from sequences with lower transitional probabilities.

According to the Saffran, Aslin, and Newport (1996) study, what plays a crucial role in early language development, allowing infants to parse continuous speech?

Statistical learning.

What does the study by Saffran, Aslin and Newport (1996) emphasize regarding early development and language acquisition?

Exposure to language patterns.