Factors Affecting Assumptions about Mutual Exclusivity and Novel Name-Nameless Category

Abstract

48 five-yr.-old girls and boys were given the first set for a task which had three familiar and one unfamiliar drawings and were asked to select one drawing for the novel word. Then they were given the second set for the task which had four different familiar and four types of unfamiliar drawings and were asked to select the drawings for the novel word under the labeling or the inclusion instructions. These selections were repeated four times successively. Based on the selection patterns in the second set, children whose selecting was consistent with the assumption of mutual exclusivity and those whose selecting was consistent with the novel name-nameless assumption were identified. Children were more sensitive to the former assumption for the labeling than for the inclusion instructions. Children who were sensitive to the latter assumption extended the novel word mainly to the shape category for the labeling instruction, although they could extend the novel word to the unnamed and broader category for the inclusion instruction. The findings suggest that children show flexibility in applying the two assumptions.