Acquisition of word-object associations by 14-month-old infants.

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Abstract
The following experiments,were,designed,to determine the age at which infants can first readily learn word-object pairings with only minimal,exposure,and without social or contextual support. To address this question, 8- to 14-month-old infants were tested on their ability to form word-object associations,in a "Switch" design. Infants were,habituated to two word-object pairings, and then tested with one trial that maintained a familiar word- object pairing, and one that involved a familiar word and object in a new combination. Across 6 experiments, only 14-month-old infants formed word-object associations under these controlled testing conditions, but appeared to do so only when the objects were moving. Although 8- to 12-month-olds did not form the associations, they appeared to process,both the word,and the object information. These,studies provide strong evidence that 14-month-old infants can rapidly learn arbitrary associations,between,words,and objects, that this ability appears to develop at about 14 months of age, and that the “Switch” design is a useful method,for assessing,word-object learning in infancy. Word-Object Associations ,,,,3 The acquisition of language is one of the most fascinating and remarkable

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