Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults

Effects of linguistic labels on learning outcomes are well-established; however, developmental research examining possible mechanisms underlying these effects have provided mixed results. We used a novel paradigm where 8-year-olds and adults were simultaneously trained on three sparse categories (ca...

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Main Authors: Wesley R. Barnhart, Samuel Rivera, Christopher W. Robinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00358/full
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author Wesley R. Barnhart
Samuel Rivera
Christopher W. Robinson
author_facet Wesley R. Barnhart
Samuel Rivera
Christopher W. Robinson
author_sort Wesley R. Barnhart
collection DOAJ
description Effects of linguistic labels on learning outcomes are well-established; however, developmental research examining possible mechanisms underlying these effects have provided mixed results. We used a novel paradigm where 8-year-olds and adults were simultaneously trained on three sparse categories (categories with many irrelevant or unique features and a single rule defining feature). Category members were either associated with the same label, different labels, or no labels (silent baseline). Similar to infant paradigms, participants passively viewed individual exemplars and we examined fixations to category relevant features across training. While it is well established that adults can optimize their attention in forced-choice categorization tasks without linguistic input, the present findings provide support for label induced attention optimization: simply hearing the same label associated with different exemplars was associated with increased attention to category relevant features over time, and participants continued to focus on these features on a subsequent recognition task. Participants also viewed images longer and made more fixations when images were paired with unique labels. These findings provide support for the claim that labels may facilitate categorization by directing attention to category relevant features.
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spelling doaj.art-2b95b14d20e84015a9cd655be3837c932022-12-21T23:33:04ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782018-03-01910.3389/fpsyg.2018.00358325882Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young AdultsWesley R. Barnhart0Samuel Rivera1Christopher W. Robinson2ID/ASD Research Group, Nisonger Center, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, The Ohio State University at Newark, Newark, OH, United StatesEffects of linguistic labels on learning outcomes are well-established; however, developmental research examining possible mechanisms underlying these effects have provided mixed results. We used a novel paradigm where 8-year-olds and adults were simultaneously trained on three sparse categories (categories with many irrelevant or unique features and a single rule defining feature). Category members were either associated with the same label, different labels, or no labels (silent baseline). Similar to infant paradigms, participants passively viewed individual exemplars and we examined fixations to category relevant features across training. While it is well established that adults can optimize their attention in forced-choice categorization tasks without linguistic input, the present findings provide support for label induced attention optimization: simply hearing the same label associated with different exemplars was associated with increased attention to category relevant features over time, and participants continued to focus on these features on a subsequent recognition task. Participants also viewed images longer and made more fixations when images were paired with unique labels. These findings provide support for the claim that labels may facilitate categorization by directing attention to category relevant features.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00358/fulllinguistic labelsvisual attentioneye trackingdevelopment
spellingShingle Wesley R. Barnhart
Samuel Rivera
Christopher W. Robinson
Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults
Frontiers in Psychology
linguistic labels
visual attention
eye tracking
development
title Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults
title_full Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults
title_fullStr Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults
title_short Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults
title_sort effects of linguistic labels on visual attention in children and young adults
topic linguistic labels
visual attention
eye tracking
development
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00358/full
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