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There is a long-standing debate on the extent to which early word learning is shaped by the child’s existing lexical knowledge relative to the child’s environment. We investigated the influence of the connectivity of words in the child’s lexicon (preferential attachment), the child’s environment (preferential acquisition), or between novel and known words (lure of associates) in the development of early phonological and semantic networks, using longitudinal data from 17-to-36-monthold Norwegian children. We compared the extent to which the different scenarios predicted individual children’s lexical acquisition whilst also examining the joint influence of form and meaning on vocabulary growth. Our results revealed a ‘rich-get-richer’ pattern whereby semantically well-connected words in children’s existing lexicons best predicted the likelihood of a word entering the lexicon earlier. Phonological connectivity tended to impede word learning, with leveraging effects only in early development when semantic connectivity was low. Our findings imply that words are learned more easily when they are similar to many words in meaning, but not, necessarily, in form. Furthermore, relative to previous studies examining the influence of phonological connectivity on word learning, our study highlights the importance of considering the interplay between semantics and phonology and accounting for individual differences in vocabulary development.

Research showcases children’s active role in steering their learning progress by choosing what, when and whom to learn from. Here, we examined differences in children’s preferred way to sample their environment and the extent to which children’s sampling preferences predict learning outcomes. During training, 3- and 6-year-olds chose whether they wanted to actively sample objects (whose labels they would be presented with) or passively view a set of object-label associations. Following this choice, they were then presented with novel object-label associations in the chosen manner. We found that when given the choice to learn in their preferred manner, children who had a reduced preference for active sampling learned better in the passive condition. This effect was more pronounced in younger children. Our findings highlight the dynamics of children’s active learning, with children’s learning outcomes being influenced by how they choose to sample their environment. Children are not just active in terms of choosing what to learn but also accurately estimate how they ought to sample their environment.

Future Day 2025 at the Historical Observatory Göttingen – An insight into psychological research

On this year's Future Day, we welcomed six curious young researchers – three girls and three boys – to the Göttingen Historical Observatory, who were given an interactive insight into the world of psychology.