Relating object memory to word learning: Data from a new test of toddlers’ object recognition

Bakopoulou, Milena, Archer, Jade and Samuelson, Larissa K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-3286 (2026) Relating object memory to word learning: Data from a new test of toddlers’ object recognition. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. ISSN 0261-510X (In Press)

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Abstract

Learning names for concrete objects, which dominate early vocabularies, relies on visual processes such as object recognition and memory for previously named objects. We examined the relation between memory for pairs of familiar and novel objects and early vocabulary development. We tested 52 14- to 24-month-olds (26 girls) in a preferential-looking object recognition task. Analysis on data from 44 toddlers suggested memory performance was based on whether the stimuli were from categories known to children in this age range, and a vocabulary percentile score based on age and gender, rather than just age or total productive vocabulary. We found some evidence that toddlers with higher vocabulary percentile scores remembered familiar, but not novel, object pairs. We discuss possible reasons for differences in memory for familiar and novel objects, limitations of our task, and how our findings fit with proposals on the relations between memory, visual processing, and variability in vocabulary development.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	psychology (child),cognitive development,language development,memory,developmental and educational psychology,experimental and cognitive psychology,2* ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3200/3204
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	16 Sep 2026 08:27
Last Modified:	16 Sep 2026 08:27
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104547
DOI:	issn:0261-510X

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