Cognitive Science

The latest breakthroughs, innovations, and cool happenings at the cutting edge of the world of cognitive science. Updated daily.

Can Infants Retain Statistically Segmented Words and Mappings Across a Delay?

Abstract Infants are sensitive to statistics in spoken language that aid word-form segmentation and immediate mapping to referents. However, it is not clear whether this sensitivity influences the formation and retention of word-referent mappings across a delay, two real-world challenges that learners must overcome. We tested how the timing of referent training, relative to familiarization […]

Published on March 25, 2024

Computational Modeling of the Segmentation of Sentence Stimuli From an Infant Word‐Finding Study

Abstract Computational models of infant word-finding typically operate over transcriptions of infant-directed speech corpora. It is now possible to test models of word segmentation on speech materials, rather than transcriptions of speech. We propose that such modeling efforts be conducted over the speech of the experimental stimuli used in studies measuring infants’ capacity for learning […]

Published on March 25, 2024

Embodying Similarity and Difference: The Effect of Listing and Contrasting Gestures During U.S. Political Speech

Abstract Public speakers like politicians carefully craft their words to maximize the clarity, impact, and persuasiveness of their messages. However, these messages can be shaped by more than words. Gestures play an important role in how spoken arguments are perceived, conceptualized, and remembered by audiences. Studies of political speech have explored the ways spoken arguments […]

Published on March 25, 2024