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Zettersten M, Bredemann C, Kaul M, Ellis K, Vlach HA, Kirkorian H, Lupyan G. Nameability supports rule-based category learning in children and adults. Child Dev 2024; 95:497-514. [PMID: 37728552 PMCID: PMC10922161 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 05/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
The present study tested the hypothesis that verbal labels support category induction by providing compact hypotheses. Ninety-seven 4- to 6-year-old children (M = 63.2 months; 46 female, 51 male; 77% White, 8% more than one race, 4% Asian, and 3% Black; tested 2018) and 90 adults (M = 20.1 years; 70 female, 20 male) in the Midwestern United States learned novel categories with features that were easy (e.g., "red") or difficult (e.g., "mauve") to name. Adults (d = 1.06) and-to a lesser extent-children (d = 0.57; final training block) learned categories composed of more nameable features better. Children's knowledge of difficult-to-name color words predicted their learning for categories with difficult-to-name features. Rule-based category learning may be supported by the emerging ability to form verbal hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Zettersten
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Psychology, 1202 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Princeton University, Department of Psychology, South Dr, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Catherine Bredemann
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Educational Psychology, 1025 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Megan Kaul
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Educational Psychology, 1025 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Kaitlynn Ellis
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Educational Psychology, 1025 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Haley A. Vlach
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Educational Psychology, 1025 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Heather Kirkorian
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Human Development and Family Studies Department, 1300 Linden Dr, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Gary Lupyan
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Psychology, 1202 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Dumont É, Castellanos-Ryan N, Parent S, Jacques S, Séguin JR, Zelazo PD. Transactional longitudinal relations between accuracy and reaction time on a measure of cognitive flexibility at 5, 6, and 7 years of age. Dev Sci 2022; 25:e13254. [PMID: 35195319 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Whereas accuracy is used as an indicator of cognitive flexibility in preschool-age children, reaction time (RT), or a combination of accuracy and RT, provide better indices of performance as children transition to school. Theoretical models and cross-sectional studies suggest that a speed-accuracy tradeoff may be operating across this transition, but the lack of longitudinal studies makes this transition difficult to understand. The current study explored the longitudinal and bidirectional associations between accuracy and RT on the DCCS (mixed block) at 5, 6, and 7 years of age using cross-lagged panel analyses. The study also examined the roles of working memory and language, as potential longitudinal mediators between RT at Time X and accuracy at Time X + 1, and explored the role of inhibitory control. The sample consisted of 425 children from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Results show lagged associations from slower RT to greater improvements in accuracy between 5 and 6 years and between 6 and 7 years. Further, higher accuracy at 6 years predicted faster RT at 7 years. Only working memory acted as a partial mediator between RT at 5 years and accuracy at 6 years. These results provide needed longitudinal evidence to support theoretical claims that slower RT precedes improved accuracy in the development of cognitive flexibility, that working memory may be involved in the early stage of this process, and that accuracy and reaction time become more efficient in later stages of this process. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Émilie Dumont
- School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,CHU Ste-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Natalie Castellanos-Ryan
- School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,CHU Ste-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sophie Parent
- School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,CHU Ste-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sophie Jacques
- Departement of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Jean R Séguin
- CHU Ste-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Departement of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Philip David Zelazo
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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