Disjunctive inference in preverbal infants
Summary: Can preverbal infants utilize logical reasoning such as disjunctive inference? This logical operation requires keeping two alternatives open (A or B), until one of them is eliminated (if not A), allowing the inference: B is true. We presented to 10-month-old infants an ambiguous situation i...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-10-01
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| Series: | iScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221011718 |
| _version_ | 1818824656347463680 |
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| author | Milad Ekramnia Jacques Mehler Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz |
| author_facet | Milad Ekramnia Jacques Mehler Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz |
| author_sort | Milad Ekramnia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Can preverbal infants utilize logical reasoning such as disjunctive inference? This logical operation requires keeping two alternatives open (A or B), until one of them is eliminated (if not A), allowing the inference: B is true. We presented to 10-month-old infants an ambiguous situation in which a female voice was paired with two faces. Subsequently, one of the two faces was presented with the voice of a male. We measured infants' preference for the correct face when both faces and the initial voice were presented again. Infant pupillary response was measured and utilized as an indicator of cognitive load at the critical moment of disjunctive inference. We controlled for other possible explanations in three additional experiments. Our results show that 10-month-olds can correctly deploy disjunction and negation to disambiguate scenes, suggesting that disjunctive inference does not rely on linguistic constructs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T23:59:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-112958bb0e454cf6b3cc52fd2a08a714 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T23:59:20Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj.art-112958bb0e454cf6b3cc52fd2a08a7142022-12-21T20:46:34ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422021-10-012410103203Disjunctive inference in preverbal infantsMilad Ekramnia0Jacques Mehler1Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz2Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CNRS ERL 9003, INSERM U992, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Language, Cognition, and Development Laboratory, Scuola Internazionale di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy; Corresponding authorLanguage, Cognition, and Development Laboratory, Scuola Internazionale di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, ItalyCognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CNRS ERL 9003, INSERM U992, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, FranceSummary: Can preverbal infants utilize logical reasoning such as disjunctive inference? This logical operation requires keeping two alternatives open (A or B), until one of them is eliminated (if not A), allowing the inference: B is true. We presented to 10-month-old infants an ambiguous situation in which a female voice was paired with two faces. Subsequently, one of the two faces was presented with the voice of a male. We measured infants' preference for the correct face when both faces and the initial voice were presented again. Infant pupillary response was measured and utilized as an indicator of cognitive load at the critical moment of disjunctive inference. We controlled for other possible explanations in three additional experiments. Our results show that 10-month-olds can correctly deploy disjunction and negation to disambiguate scenes, suggesting that disjunctive inference does not rely on linguistic constructs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221011718Biological ScienceNeuroscienceCognitive neuroscienceBehavioral Neuroscience |
| spellingShingle | Milad Ekramnia Jacques Mehler Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz Disjunctive inference in preverbal infants iScience Biological Science Neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience Behavioral Neuroscience |
| title | Disjunctive inference in preverbal infants |
| title_full | Disjunctive inference in preverbal infants |
| title_fullStr | Disjunctive inference in preverbal infants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disjunctive inference in preverbal infants |
| title_short | Disjunctive inference in preverbal infants |
| title_sort | disjunctive inference in preverbal infants |
| topic | Biological Science Neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience Behavioral Neuroscience |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221011718 |
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