Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Labeling objects enhances fundamental cognitive capacities like categorization, individuation, and memory in young chil-dren. However, the mechanism by which labels support these cognitive processes remains unknown. One possibility isthat providing a label for an object changes childrens online visual processing of that object. To address this, we consid-ered several indices of visual attention, asking whether 2-year-old children attend to an object differently if it is labeled(Look at the dax) than if it is paired with a non-labeling phrase (Look at that). We find that 2-year-old childrens visualfixations are longer when objects are paired with a labeling phrase, rather than a non-labeling phrase. Indeed, after hearinga label, children showed a sustained increase in fixation duration. However, the number of fixations children made did notchange as a function of labeling. This illustrates an attentional mechanism by which language might enhance learning in2-year-old children.