Links between language and action
Current approaches to embodied cognition assume that language is integrated into a framework of shared representations, along with action perception and action production. Thus, language is assumed to be grounded in bodily states and
based on physical or imagined interactions with the environment.
In this research area I am investigating: Does language help in action prediction? Does action production help in word learning? Do we learn actions from good speakers or words from good craftsmen?
We study when children reach milestones in the domain of motor development, cognition and social skills and relate them to the growth of vocabulary and grammar. Discover your child’s world:
www.weltentdeckerapp.ch
kleineWeltentdecker-App
Behavior Research Methods
36-month-olds learned the labels of complex actions by observation and action imitation, whereas 30-month-olds learned the labels only in the action imitation but not in the observation condition. Action imitation is thus beneficial
for verb learning early in life.
Gampe, Brauer, & Daum (2016)
European Journal of Developmental Psychology
Language shows a disruptive influence on action perception at 12 months and a facilitating influence at 24 months. In the beginning, language is an additional cue that is increasingly integrated into perception.
Gampe & Daum (2014)
Infancy
Infants learn new words equally well whether they were directly addressed or have to eavesdrop on two adults.
Gampe, Liebal, & Tomasello (2012)
First Language
We study how children learn new words and new actions from differently competent adult models. We investigate, if children learn novel words from incompetent speakers or novel actions from incompetent action models.
Brehm, Gampe, & Daum
in preparation
Michelle Loher (2021 – Spring) KleineWeltentdecker App. Verband Aargauer Psychologinnen und Psychologen
(2019-11-25) App zu Entwicklungsschritten. Oekotest
(2019-11-06) kleine Weltentdecker App Universität Zürich. Psychoscope
Katharina Ledergerber (2017-06-02) Verbs link action to language. Blog on Learning and Development